Monday, August 3, 2009

All About The Benefits Of Omega 3, And Finding The Best Omega 3 Supplements

You've decided it's time to start taking fish oil supplements, but how to find the best fish oil supplements?

It's confusing isn't it? There's a whole lot of different fish oil supplements on the market and they differ a lot in price don't they?

But surely fish oil is fish oil, just buy the cheapest. Actually no, that's not the best way to buy your Omega 3, there's more to think about than price.

Basically it boils down to 4 things. The amount of DHA in the supplements, the freshness of the oils used, the purity of the oil and it's effectiveness at combating inflammation. Lets look at these one by one.

1. The quantity of the DHA.

DHA is the most important of the Omega3 fatty acids. It's the primary fat in our brain, and the one you most want to get from your supplements, along with EPA. Most capsules are 18/12, meaning that 1000 mg per serve gives you 180 mg of DHA (18%) and 120 mg of EPA (12%).

But how do you find out how much DHA is in your capsules? Read the label. If it's not listed on the label don't buy them because it isn't there for a reason. There isn't a lot, if there was they'd tell you.

2. Freshness of the oils.

Fish oil can go rancid, or oxidize. When you take a capsule and it "repeats" on you, or burps up, it's probably because it's rancid. Oxidized fish oil is high in free radicals and isn't good for you, as any free radicals aren't good for you.

3. Purity of the fish oils used.

Our friends from the sea are contaminated with toxins that we, humans, have put in their ocean. It comes from the land via rivers, (and from oil rigs) and it contaminates the water they swim in. It ends up in their flesh, and the oil that comes from it.

There's a range of different standards internationally for the quality, or purity, of fish oil. None are binding. And there's different methods of decontaminating fish oil.

4. Effectiveness of the supplements.

Some supplements are more effective than others believe it or not. One of the major benefits of Omega 3 fish oils is their ability to reduce inflammation in our bodies. Aspirin is also used for this reason, but Omega 3s work much better.

So there you have the 4 major things to consider when looking for the best fish oil supplements. More confused than ever? Sorry.

But there is good news. There is one brand of Omega 3 supplements that fulfill all these criteria. They have 28% DHA, they use oil from fish caught in the cleanest ocean in the world, the southern ocean. They purify it using molecular distillation, the most effective purification method. Then they take each batch of fish oil to an independent lab to test it, and publish the results on their website to customers can check.

And tests show that they are up to 2 1/2 times more effective against inflammation than other supplements.

They aren't, of course, the cheapest Omega 3 fish oil supplements but I hope I've convinced you that price isn't all there is to fish oil capsules.

So if you've been looking to source the best fish oil supplements there's what you need to think about.

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