Everyone has heard the claims that the health benefits from eating fish every day include: reduced risk of prostate, breast, and colon cancers, reduced joint inflammation and pain, elevated mood, control over childhood disorders like ADD, improved cardiovascular health, and a host of other health benefits. Fish oil quality varies, and education is the only way to ensure that you do not waste your money on the proverbial snake oils on the market. Watch for hype when you want to buy the best fish oil and verify that the brand you choose comes from the right fish, contains all eight fatty acids.
Plenty of infomercials and online videos have been created that tout the reasons you must purchase their product in the next thirty seconds, but what does it really mean to contain oil of “pharmaceutical grade?” Absolutely nothing, because the United States Pharmacopeia does not have a quality standard for oil extracted from fish. Other brands will claim they detoxify the oil extracted from the fish to improve the quality, but heating oil to remove impurities damages the molecule and renders the oil inactive. Sorting junk fish out of their market catch and using the oil in supplements will produce a junk product that will not benefit anyone’s health.
Certain species of fish are considered fatty, including: sardines, tuna, anchovies, and salmon. Read the label and ensure that the oil comes from guaranteed toxin-free fish that carry a human-consumption rating. Further research into the product will reveal if the oil has been pressed from the flesh of the healthiest fish available. The old adage of garbage-in, garbage-out applies here as well. Only the best fish will offer the best fish oil in a supplement.
The Omega-3 fatty acids are EPA, DHA, ALA, and are available only from fish. Claims that the same benefits can be realized through plant oils are untrue. Only oil from fish contains all eight naturally occurring fatty acids. Along with the big three look for the other five fatty acids, SDA, HPA, ETA(3), DPA, and ETA, to be present in your selected brand in equal proportion. Look closely at the label and add up the milligrams of each fatty acid. If the sum of the eight parts does not equal the total number of milligrams, there is some other oil being used as filler in the product. A common oil to slip in there is Vitamin E because it sounds healthy, and the product will still sell. High quality is most important because the fish oil supplement must replace servings of fish in your diet. With proper research and knowing the important points you will gain the advertised health benefits and not waste your money.