You’ve decided to take Omega 3 supplements. You know how good they are for you, you know about the warnings over eating too much fish and you’ve decided the best way to get your Omega 3 fatty acids is daily capsules. But how to you find the highest quality fish oil supplements?
Not all Omega 3 supplements are high quality, and you do need to do some comparisons. Here’s what to look for:
1. Purity as well as cleanliness.
Fish is generally contaminated and the FDA tells us not to eat too much for this reason. Supplements can be too and some have been withdrawn for this reason. One of the biggest determinants of fish oil quality is it’s cleanliness.
Most oil from fish that is to be used for making supplements is purified by a process called molecular distillation, and this works ok. But at least one company doesn’t think this is sufficient and adds a secondary purification process to supplement molecular distillation. They also believe that they need to control the process of extracting the oil right from the moment the fish is caught and so they do so, right from the fisherman.
2. The freshness of the oil.
Fish can go rancid, or go off. When this happens it has oxidized. You get that “fishy” taste and smell. Some manufacturers even add masking scents so you can’t notice it as much. You need to choose the highest quality fish oil supplements that have only fresh oils that aren’t oxidized.
3. How much DHA you’re getting.
DHA is the most important of the Omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, along with EPA. It’s really the DHA that you’re buying, the rest is just the carrier. Most Omega 3 capsules are 18/12 capsules. That means you get 18%, or 180 mg, of DHA in a 1000 mg capsule, and 12%, or 120 mg of EPA.
The highest quality Omega 3 supplements give you 28% DHA, so you’re getting 280 mg per 1000 mg capsule. That’s almost 2 1/2 times more than most.
4. The effectiveness of the Omega 3 fats.
There’s a number of different factors that affect how well the Omega 3 fats work. “Bioavailability” is one. It gets a little complicated and you can find out more on my website, but basically it means how well your body takes up and assimilates the good healthy fats.
And some brands of fish oils have been shown to work better than others. The main benefit of a quality fish oil is that it works to combat inflammation. One supplement has been shown to work 2 1/2 times better than “average” capsules as an anti inflammatory.
And of course price comes into it too, though isn’t the most important factor. But you still need to do a price and value comparison which isn’t easy.
So there’s a relatively simple summary of the things to look for in quality fish oil supplements. Fish oil quality does matter.
On my website I write extensively on how to find a quality fish oil supplement and also present a price/value comparison.
Want to know more about how to Compare Omega 3 Supplements by price? Or about more about finding high Quality Fish Oil supplements? Visit Peter’s Website Healthy Omega 3 Fish Oil.
