The Road to Health & Happiness

Countless studies in recent years have called attention to the significance of omega 3 fatty acids for well-being. Our bodies cannot produce omega-3s, so we must acquire them in our diet. The most common way that people consume omega-3 is by consuming fish. However, this article will explain the trouble with obtaining omega 3 fatty acids from fish, and then will explain what to search for in fish oil supplements.

Fish No Longer a Secure Source of Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Prior to fish oil supplements, consuming fish was the sole way to obtain omega-3s in our diet. This was an acceptable method, but the realities of a post-industrial planet means more water pollution. The consequence is that fish have become contaminated with all types of toxins like mercury, PCBs, dioxins, arsenic and heavy metals. These pollutants have been implicated in a broad array of illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, blindness, birth defects and even death.

Omega-3 Supplements Are Also At Risk of Contamination As a result of these dilemmas, more and more consumers are looking to fish oil supplements as a remedy. But, fish oilsare handicapped by the same problems, in spite of the fact that most fish oil companies claim that their fish oils are safe. A recent investigation by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in the United Kingdom instigated the removal of several fish oil brands due to toxic levels of pollutants!

Also, turn your attention to this surprising report from Greenpeace about OmegaProtein, the largest producer of fish oil supplements in the world. Their investigative video reveals that OmegaProtein’s fish oil products were found to contain toxic quantities of flame retardants! Granted, probably we should take this information with a grain of salt bearing in mind Greenpeace’s ideological leanings, but supposing it is factual, it is very scary! Now that you are aware of many of the risks possible in fish oil supplements, what can you do about it? Fortunately, there are a few criterion that make it simple to judge a fish oil supplement for effectiveness and safety.

The Cream of The Crop: The International Fish Oil Standards (IFOS) Testing Program The best way to find out if a fish oil product is a pure, quality supplement is by choosing one that has been consistently certified by the International Fish Oil Standards program, or IFOS. The IFOS program is a voluntary 3rd-party certification group that measures fish oil supplements according to 5 guidelines:

* Meet and Exceeds All Testing Categories by the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) and World Health Organization (WHO)

* Equal to or More than 60% Concentration of Omega-3 Fatty Acids

* Oxidation Levels Lower Than 75% of CRN Requirement

* PCB Amount Lower Than 50% of CRN Requirement

* Dioxin Amount Less Than 50% of World Health Organization Standard

These standards were selected because the standards used by the CRN (Council for Responsible Nutrition) and WHO (World Health Organization) were not stringent enough to let larger doses of fish oil omega-3. To obtain the rewards of fish oil, one must frequently consume more than simply the 1 gram a day that has been normally recommended. The basis for why only 1 gram has been advocated, however, is due to contamination risks. This is plainly not a dilemma if you’re consuming an IFOS-tested product.

If you’re not taking an IFOS-tested supplement, you are certainly more at risk of consuming contaminants. Chances are, despite the fact that your omega-3 brand may profess to be sterilized by “superior molecular distillation” (a marketing phrase), it may not be secure to take. Since the IFOS organization publishes the outcomes of their studies on their website, you can look up the best brands of fish oil supplements on the market.

Read more about fish oil supplements by visiting Brittany A.M. Wallace’s website. Brittany is a health and nutrition expert that studied fish oil omega 3 benefits for nearly a decade.

Tags: fish oil, fish oil supplements, health, omega 3