Omega-3 fish oil - benefits and dangers

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Chris ,
I am talking about Sears new book - inflammation .... not the old one

marta · Joined: 03 Feb 2006 Posts: 10

my understanding from a good book called "Fats that can save your life" say that the best thing to do is to balance your omegas 3-6 in rougly a 2:1
ratio. I get mine from flaxseed & borage oil. they include omeg 9
as well as gamma linolenic.

cjdavis · Joined: 24 Jan 2005 Posts: 191 Location: Atlanta

Cookiepls · Joined: 09 Jan 2006 Posts: 13

I've been buying an inexpensive brand of fish oil capsules and storing them in my freezer. I also take a vitamin E (DL-Alpha Tocopheryl) capsule with it. Is taking vitamin E and freezing the fish oil enough to prevent oxydation (free radical formation) of the fish oil?

jamesherried · Joined: 07 May 2005 Posts: 784

With all the confusion about fish oils and how safe they are, maybe we should just opt for the advice of Dr. Udo Erasmus(author of "Fats That Heal, And Fat's That Kill"). He says that there are no fish oils that have acceptable levels of contaminants, and he says that his studies show that plant sources of the omega-3s(such as flax oil, walnuts, etc.) are good enough to increase EPA and DHA in the body to sufficient levels. Of course, I'm aware of the fact that he sells his own brand of plant-source omega-3s, but that doesn't necessarily invalidate his advice. Dr. Sears also sells his own brand of fish oil...so who are we to believe? And I would think that Dr. Erasmus could choose to market his own brand of fish oil if he really believed that it would be a better choice. In any case, I recently decided to give fish oil a try(for the first time), and I purchased the one by LEF(Life Extension Foundation). I chose that brand because I think LEF is a reputable organization, and ifosprogram.com gave that brand the highest rating(5 stars), where they gave Dr. Sears brand only 3 stars. Also, as a bonus, the LEF brand contains sesame lignans and olive oil polyphenols, both of which Dr. Sears recommends (in his Anti-Inflammation Zone) as effective supplements to combat inflammation. Dr. Perricone also recommneds those supplements also to combat inflammation. And the LEF claims that sesame lignans enhance the effectiveness of fish oil omega-3s. Also the LEF brand comes from small fish like sardines and anchovies that are at the lower end of the food chain, thus making them lower in pollutants to begin with. And the LEF brand also has mixed tocopherols added, which is good since fish oil is prone to oxidation. So if you choose any fish oil, I would suggest that you go for the LEF brand. Whether it's totally safe or not(or whether any fish oil is totally safe), we can't be sure. I guess all we can go by for now is the Canadian group on ifosprogram.com.

Lucy · Joined: 22 Apr 2006 Posts: 25

I eat plenty of our ' homegrown' tasmanian salmon and blueberries, it keeps my skin in great condition.

violinist1225 · Joined: 24 Apr 2006 Posts: 15

Olive oil delivers a great amount of omega 3's for anyone who is concerned with the mercury levels in fish.

drtodorov · Site Admin Joined: 10 Dec 2004 Posts: 3177

Actually, olive oil is not a rich source of omega 3. It is a rich source of monounsaturated fat (omega 9, mostly), which has its own benefits.

gunnaknow · Joined: 17 Aug 2006 Posts: 16

I have done much research on fish oils in the past. It is important that you use a fish oil that has been flushed with nitrogen, or some other inert gas. This rids the oil of oxygen before and during packaging, which stops the formation of peroxides and stops the oil from becoming rancid.

The two that I highly recommend are Nordic Naturals and Nutrasea. They are both nitogen flushed, are highly concentrated and refined and are very competively priced. They have both won the Alive Award for essential fatty acids category. Two years in a row for Nutrasea. I have used both and their liquid fish oils taste excellent. No fishy taste, just light and fruity. Nutrasea also has the addition of thyme oil and rosemary extract, which are powerful lipid antioxidants that keep fats free from peroxides and other free radicals. It also has ascorbyl palmitate, which is a fat soluble form of ascorbic acid, which also protects lipids from oxidation.

Carlson's is pretty good too. Excellent processing techniques and pricing. If I had to choose one fish oil, it would be Nutrasea, closely followed by Nordic Naturals Arctic cod liver oil and Carlson's. There are a couple of other very high quality fish oils out there but they are are lacking in one key field. Competitive pricing.

gunnaknow · Joined: 17 Aug 2006 Posts: 16

God, I've only just noticed how old this thread is. Anyway, I suggest that you read these links with regards to contaminants in fish oil. Ofcourse it isn't just contaminant levels that are important when choosing a fish oil.

http://www.environmentaldefense.org/article.cfm?contentid=4362

http://www.oceansalive.org/eat.cfm?subnav=fishoil&sort=Rating

drtodorov · Site Admin Joined: 10 Dec 2004 Posts: 3177

This thread is getting too long. I'm locking it. Please start a new one if inerested in further discussion.