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.

You're Looking For The Best Omega 3 Supplements. But how Do You Choose?

You start researching Omega 3 supplements and you start finding out all about DHA and EPA and lots more. You're confused. How do you choose the best Omega 3 capsules?

You know what it's like. The more you read the worse it gets. You start learning about EPA and DHA, and long chain and short chain omega 3 fats. About ALA and converting ALA to DHA.

For example a reader recently asked me about how to choose his omega 3 fish oil capsules. He was confused about the difference between long chain and short chain Omega 3 fats, and confused about which were the best Omega 3 supplements.

I can understand his confusion. Here's a short explanation, and then well have a look at how to choose the best Omega 3 fish oil supplements.

The three Omega 3 fats we've mentioned (DHA, EPA and ALA) are polyunsaturated fats. They are all good for your body but by far the best and most important is DHA. Remember DHA is the fat that makes up a large part of your brain, though of course that isnt the only reason.

ALA is primarily found in plant foods like flax, whilst EPA and DHA are found in sea foods like fish. ALA is the less important Omega3 nutrient. And ALA is a short chain fat. No need to go into complete detail on what a short chain fat is as its really complicated.

But DHA, the most important Omega 3 fatty acid along with EPA, is what you need from your Omega 3 supplements. And all Omega 3 fish oil capsules contain DHA.

Every fish oils capsule has DHA regardless of the brand.

So it seems that fish oil supplements are better than flax seed Omega 3 supplements, but how do you choose between the different fish oil supplements?

Theres 2 things you need to look for to find the best rated Omega 3 fish oil capsules. You need to look for the quantity of DHA in the capsules, and the purity of the oil.

You can't decide which are the best value fish oil tablets without knowing how much DHA you get from them.

Supplements with a third of the amount of DHA than other supplements are not good value even if they are half the price, because on a price/DHA quantity comparison they are actually more expensive.

And thats not all, you need to consider the purity of the oils too, because, sad to say, many of our fish are contaminated with toxins. You wouldn't want to take Omega 3 capsules with traces of mercury and PCBs would you?

That's the 2 things you need to consider when choosing your Omega3 capsules.

It isn't easy to do that comparison though. I have spent some time doing it and the good news is that there is a brand of Omega3 capsules that do offer good value on DHA quantity as well as the highest purity in the industry.

But actually doing that comparison isn't as easy as you'd think and you may struggle. I have run the sums and one brand comes up as the best fish oil supplement on both DHA quantity and also on oil purity. The very best Omega 3 supplements are made by the small New Zealand company Xtend Life.

That's not really a surprise as they also make some of the worlds best nutritional supplements generally.So you may not find it easy to do the comparison yourself. But it's all done for you. Here is where you find the worlds best Omega 3 capsules.

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What Do Omega 3 Fats Have To Do With Infant And Fetal Development?

DHA is a fat, or more strictly speaking and essential fatty acid. It is found right through our bodies and more importantly it is the major fat found in our brains. And DHA is essential for proper fetal and infant brain development.

And, as importantly it is found in breast milk.

A developing fetus or baby cannot produce enough DHA in it's own body, so it gets it's supply from it's mother. Before birth they get it from the placenta, and after birth they get it from her breast milk. And for this reason a pregnant or nursing woman is losing some of her supply of DHA every day.

To aid in infant and fetal brain development it is now recommended that moms and moms to be should be taking DHA supplements, or more specifically Omega 3 supplements, because DHA is an essential omega 3 fatty acid. And of course there are other supplements that they should be taking as well, like folic acid.

DHA supplementation is essential for fetal brain and eye development, and other aspects of fetal development.

There are several recommendations for the amount of DHA to be taken each day, recommendations vary around 200 to 300 mg per day. And we are unlikely to get enough DHA, or omega 3 acids, through our diet.

Fish oil is the major, though not the only, source of DHA. Omega 3 fats found in fish are high in DHA. However there are some experts that are suggesting that moms do not take fish oil supplements high in DHA.

The fish at the high end of the food chain contain the most Omega 3 fats and so would be the obvious choice for a supply of DHA, but some experts believe that these fish are contaminated with some pollutants found in the sea like PCBs and mercury, and that mothers shouldn't be exposed to these.

And there are some fish oil supplements that contain some of these heavy metals.

There is in fact a number of different international standards relating to acceptable levels of contamination. But it's better to have no contamination, and luckily there is one company that seeks to achieve this. This company manufactures their omega 3 supplements a standard way higher than any of the international standards. This is good news for moms and soon to be moms, and for any of us, as we should all be taking Omega 3 fish oils supplements for our health.

So there now seems to be little doubt that mothers and pregnant women ought to be taking the best Omega 3 supplements high in DHA, for both their own health and the health and development of their babies.

So it's great news that there are now contamination free Omega 3 supplements available so we can take our Omega 3 fish oil and our DHA worry free.

Why You Ought To Have More Omega 3 In Your Diet

I've been taking omega 3 fish oil supplements for a long time, to me it seems pretty obvious, and the evidence is overwhelming, that our diet is too low in omega 3 fatty acids and we need to introduce more of them in our diet. And that our intake of omega 3 fats is directly linked to our health in so many ways.

However speaking to a friend recently he told me that he wouldn't take supplements. I asked him why, and he told me that supplements are untested, unproven and unscientific. Not mainstream. I thought I'd address that.

Because for many people there is a perception that taking supplements is akin to voodoo. No one really knows what's going to happen if you do.

And there are many people who see dietary supplementation as non medical, something ordinary people ought not do, and somehow "alternative".

So lets see if there is any acceptance of Omega 3 dietary supplementation by mainstream medicine.

Well lets start with the American Heart Association. They say that, I quote here:

"Omega-3 fatty acids benefit the heart of healthy people, and those at high risk of " or who have " cardiovascular disease."

They make recommendations for the intake of Omega 3 fats and suggest that we eat at least a 2 servings of fish a week, and other foods high in Omega oils like soybeans and tofu.

And they are quite specific about people with CHD (coronary heart disease). They should eat at least 1 gram of EPA and DHA per day, and for those who need to lower their triglycerides its suggested that they take from 2 to 4 grams of EPA and DHA as capsules, doctor supervised.

That's quite clear isn't it. The AHA recognizes the benefits of Omega 3 fats for heart health and suggest lower limits on how much you ought to eat. And they recognize capsules as a form of supply.

Diet is of course a great way to take your Omega 3. But it isn't always quite as easy to take in enough good fats by diet alone, and I'll give you an example of why.

You can get Omega 3 oils in meat. Good old beef and lamb. But not if you buy beef and lamb that is grain fed, because although grass reared beef and lamb has omega 3 fats, grain fed beef and lamb doesn't have much. And ours is grain fed.

So getting enough good fats like omega 3 fats through diet alone isn't as easy as you might expect.

Find the best omega 3 supplements here.

And if you're only prepared to accept dietary supplementation if it's mainstream, then you can't get any more mainstream than the American Heart Association. They don't consider Omega 3 capsules as "alternative" or untested, or they wouldn't recommend them.