Holistic Health News: Not All Fish Oil is Created Equally Part 2

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by Dr. Kristina Taylor Lewis, ND
on Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Environmental Contaminants: Natural Health Concerns About Mercury and Other Toxins in the Fish Supply

When the production of fish oil starts, whatever toxins were in the fish are still in the fish oil at this point. Many fish are contaminated with toxins such as mercury, PCBs, and other dangerous substances. Good companies that care about health will choose fish with lower levels to start with, then also remove these substances through molecular distillation. But some do not.

This issue of environmental toxicity is really the #1 holistic health concern and the main reason you really want to make sure you are consuming high quality fish oil.

The most important groups of environmental toxins found in fish are chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, and heavy metals including mercury. These toxins from our environment are incorporated into the fat of fish and other small animals in the food chain and then passed on to humans. These also build up in fish, but can be removed from fish oils by molecular distillation and should be present at low levels in good quality products.

The Dangers of Mercury

Lets pick on mercury in particular. Although many studies have shown that fish oil has many health benefits, including benefits to the heart, several studies have shown that the high mercury content in cold-water fish cancels out the cardiovascular benefits of eating fish! (3, 4, 5)

Another study (5) cited that simply eating enough fish to consume enough of the daily recommended EPA and DHA intake is nearly impossible due to concerns of toxicity. The authors cited the "recommended level of EPA+DHA intake cannot be achieved solely from farmed or wild salmon while maintaining an acceptable level of carcinogenic risk." (5) The study authors suggested focusing on wild salmon, and supplementing with a fish oil supplement Other studies also suggest that supplementing with fish oil is safer than eating fish. (8, 9) This is because a properly prepared fish oil supplement can filter out the toxins that just can't be done with a whole fish.

On the other hand, a poor quality fish oil supplement can just super concentrate the toxins, making the supplement actually dangerous. These companies may use a chemical solvent to remove these toxins, or they may not independently verify the purity of their product. They may also use the wrong kind of fish in the first place, ones from fish farms (which tend to have higher toxic levels), or ones who are old, cheap, or that are not naturally high in the omega-3 fatty acids. All these steps lead to creating a cheaper product. But fish oil is definitely a supplement to apply the principle of "you get what you pay for" and going for the bargain basement fish oil supplement can actually harm you.

To find a good fish oil source, use a company that starts first with excellent quality fish from pristine waters, not from fish farms. Many good companies choose to use smaller fish because they are less likely to be contaminated than larger fish. Ask to see their environmental toxicity test results conducted by a third party laboratory. We frequently ask to see these reports from the fish oil supplements we recommend to ensure they do not have any toxins present.

Holistic Health and Article SOURCES

1: Marz, Russell, ND. Medical Nutrition from Marz, 2nd Edition. Portland, Oregon: Omni-Press, 1999.

2: Gatpandan, Nelda, Account Executive at Genestra/Seroyal. Emails to Dr. Kristina Lewis, May 6 and June 26, 2009.

3: Foran SE, Flood JG, Lewandrowski KB. Measurement of mercury levels in concentrated over-the-counter fish oil preparations: is fish oil healthier than fish?
Arch Pathol Lab Med, 2003; 127(12):1603-1605.

4: Virtanen J, Voutilainen S. Mercury, Fish Oils, and Risk of Acute Coronary Events and Cardiovascular Disease, Coronary Heart Disease, and All-Cause Mortality in Men in Eastern Finland. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology 2005;25:228.

5: Foran JA, Good DH, et al. Quantitative Analysis of the Benefits and Risks of Consuming Farmed and Wild Salmon. J. Nutr., 2005;135:2639-2643.

6: Leslie G Cleland, Michael J James, and Susanna M Proudman. Fish oil: what the prescriber needs to know. Arthritis Res Ther. 2006; 8(1): 202.

7. Perlmutter, David, MD. What are Environmental Toxins? April 2008: www.omega-research.com.

8: Melanson SF, Lewandrowski EL, Flood JG, Lewandrowski KB. Measurement of organochlorines in commercial over-the-counter fish oil preparations: implications for dietary and therapeutic recommendations for omega-3 fatty acids and a review of the literature. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2005 Jan;129(1):74-7. Clinical Laboratories Division, Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

9: Foran SE, Flood JG, Lewandrowski KB. Measurement of mercury levels in concentrated over-the-counter fish oil preparations: is fish oil healthier than fish? Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2003 Dec;127(12):1603-5. Division of Laboratory Medicine, Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass 02114, USA.

10. www.nordicnaturals.com