Holistic Health News: Not All Fish Oil is Created Equally Part 3

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by Dr. Kristina Taylor Lewis, ND
on Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Are You Getting Enough of Your Fish Oil Supplement to Do Your Health Any Good?

Many times we read the labels on fish oil supplements our patients bring in and see the amounts of the active omega-3 fatty acids, known as EPA and DHA, are negligible and not present in high enough amounts to provide any health benefits. Depending on the person, patients often need 5-20 times more than is found in the average over-the-counter fish oil supplement. If you don't consume enough of these valuable essential fatty acids, the supplement is just a waste of your money. You really need therapeutic levels to see health benefits.

However, just because a fish oil is advertised as "concentrated" does not mean it will contain enough of the omega-3 fatty acids for you to receive true health benefits. It's not the oil itself that matters most; it is the amount of omega-3 fatty acids you find in the supplement (specifically DHA and EPA omega-3). A fish oil supplement can be highly concentrated, but without high levels of omega-3s, it doesn't contain all the health-giving properties of fish oil supplements.

If your fish oil says "1000 mg of fish oil" read the breakdown of the DHA and EPA on the label. Many supplements will only have small amounts of these active ingredients despite the claim that the supplement is "concentrated." The more EPA and DHA in your supplement, the more available the nutrients will be to your body. And if a brand doesn't specify the EPA and DHA amounts, it may be because they don't want you to see how small the amounts are-you would be best to look elsewhere!

Can You Trust Labels? How to Ensure You Get the Maximum Holistic Health Benefits from Your Fish Oil Supplement.

Well, after reading our Part I, Part II and Part III articles on fish oil, you now know what to look for, so it should be easy to go out, read the labels of various fish oil supplements, and make good choices. Right? Wrong!

There are no regulations in place to enforce any sort of label claims. Many fish oil supplements claim to be "pharmaceutical grade" with "no detectable toxins." They may say they are "extra-distilled," "high-potency," "natural," and "ultra-pure."

The problem is that none of these claims are regulated in the United States, so in reality any fish oil manufacturer can say anything they want about their product! This makes it very difficult as a consumer to know how to identify a good fish oil and a bad fish oil.

The Naturopathic Conclusion About Buying Fish Oil

It is very important to take high quality fish oil products, and not purchase the bargain-basement brands. Questions of environmental toxicity, therapeutic value, and chemical contamination make this a supplement you really want to make sure you are getting with the best possible quality.

For ideas about safe, beneficial brands, ask your local naturopathic physician. Companies who work with licensed naturopathic doctors hold themselves up to the high standards as set forth in this article. For more information and to read our Part 1 and 2 articles on fish oil supplements visit www.lewisnaturalstore.com or www.lewisnaturalhealth.com.

Holistic Health 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