When you go to the shops and buy a tub of fish oil capsules on sale you think “Woohoo, I got a bargain, AND I’m doing something good for my health”.
But the problem with some of those brands that have big savings is that their purity may not be of a standard that results in you getting the full health benefits of a quality fish oil.
The extraction process and even the bottling of the product can result in sub-par quality of the end product.
Have you ever noticed you get reflux or burp a lot after having your fish oil? This is often due to poor quality oils that have gone a bit rancid.
When one of the main functions we use fish oil for is to reduce inflammation, as you can imagine, having rancid fish oil will have the opposite effect.
Another thing to check with your fish oil besides the purity is the ratio of EPA and DHA that are actually in each dose. EPA is the inflammation lowering portion that’s good for heart health and joint health, and DHA is important for brain health.
Most store-bought varieties will have a ratio of 180 EPA and 120 DHA per 1000mg capsule. This is low. What’s in the other 70%?
The liquid fish oil I stock in the clinic is a once daily serve of 4.2mL (just a bit less than a teaspoon) and contains 2000mg EPA and 800mg DHA. It would take you 6-11 capsules of the lower quality capsules to reach that same therapeutic level. Not such a bargain after all. I even investigated a patient’s fish oil capsules the other day and discovered she was taking a brand with a measly 49mg of fish oil! No wonder she wasn’t feeling the benefits!
If you’re unable to make it to the clinic or the shops but you still want high quality fish oils (and you’re an existing patient) I can set you up an account with either Bioceuticals or Metagenics and you can order your family’s fish oil as needed and have it delivered.
Now that you’ve just read up on the importance of fish oil quality, go and grab the brand you have at home and check it’s dosages to make sure it’s of a high enough standard to actually be giving you health benefits. Let me know what you discover!
Photo credit: Annie Spratt
