Fish Oil or Snake Oil?

Author: Mark Holthouse, MD
The Center for Functional & Integrative Medicine

How to Choose a Quality Omega-3 Fish Oil

Because of the widely recognized health-promoting properties of Omega-3 oils, more and more practitioners are recommending supplements like EPA and DHA derived from cold water fish as a compliment to a daily multivitamin to help offset dietary shortages or balance out over-consumption of omega-6s. Clinical studies have demonstrated that EPA and DHA provide support for numerous aspects of health: Cardiovascular health, nervous system, fetal growth and development, immune health, brain health, gastrointestinal function, and much more. This is a healthy trend ,however, the same concerns that plague everyday fish consumption are shared by fish oil supplements.

Toxins and other impurities should be a major concern when choosing an omega-3 oil product . Don't supplement with oils having mixed or balanced omega products that contain omega-6 and omega-9. The only omega oils you should be supplementing are omega-3s (DHA and EPA). We get way to much of the other omega oils in our current culture and they are more harmful than helpful . Currently, Americans get a ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 of around 20 to 1. Healthy ratios should be closer to 4 to 1 of even 1 to 1. These higher ratios promote inflammation in our joints and can disturb cholesterol balances to name only a few negative effects.

Fish Oil or Snake Oil?

Patients have many confusing choices when it comes to fish oil and the different products vary widely with regard to purity, price, and quality. There are alot of claims about purity citing standards from organizations that may not be certifying organizations at all. The International Fish Oil Standards (IFOS), for example, is not a standards setting organization--merely one of many laboratories that conducts third party testing. These many certifications and standards of purity only serve to add to patiet confusion.

While the words ultra pure or ultra refined may look good on a label, they're just marketing words, not actual standards of purity. Reputable vendors guarantee the quality and purity of their concentrated oils. True GMP certification requires that the quality and purity of formulas be verified through independent, third-party organizations. Quality vendors will meet the standards set by the International Pharmacopoeia, as well as surpass the quality criteria for the Council for Responsible Nutrition's Omega-3 Monograph. In addition approval by the Global Organization for EPA and DHA (GOED) Omega-3--an international, non-profit trade association that is also committed to increasing consumer awareness that not all omega-3 products bring equal benefits.

Those items screened for in quality products include: Heavy metals, PCBs, Organochlorides, Organophosphides, Dioxins, Yeast, Mold, E. coli, Salmonella, Staphylococcus, and others.

What about "pharmaceutical grade" fish oil? There are only three pharmaceutical licensed omega-3 manufacturing facilities in the world--despite the many claims you may see for pharmaceutical grade. The facility where Metagenics formulas are produced is one of these three, and is licensed by the Norwegian Medicines Agency (equivalent to the US Food and Drug Administration).

Most companies claim their fish comes from Norway, (thought to be the purest souce), when in actuality most is shipped for South America instead. Reputable companies get the bovine gelatin for their capsules from contries like New Zealand, where no known cases of "mad cow disease" have been found. Many poor quality products smell and taste very "fishy" and the use of artificial flavors is common to cover up the stench of a poor quality product. The better products are not as fishy tasting or smelling.

A reputable source for accurate tech support on this topic can be found at Metagenics Technical Support 1-800-692-9400. Also ask your health care provider for recommendations on a quality vendor.