Sunday, March 13, 2011

The Secret To Choosing The Best Fish Oil From The Sea Of Available Products

By Brittany W. Wallace


Wide-ranging studies can help to discover the vast health benefits we could gainfrom fish oil but picking the best fish oil is never an easy task. Heart disease prevention, anti-inflammatory properties, and even hair loss prevention are just a few of such health benefits that have been associated with fish oil. For this reason, the fish oil supplement industry has prospered, which has its positive and negative effects.

One positive effect is that these fish oil supplement products are easily available to those who are considering to take advantage of their health benefits. The negative effect is that many companies jump on the bandwagon for fast profit by producing low-quality products. Selecting a suitable brand is much more difficult with all those brands out in the market.

However, to select the best fish oil becomes trouble-free by trying to tell apart the better fish oil supplements from the inferior products. Keeping in mind a few basics will help.

Fish oil supplements are beneficial to us because they have omega-3 fatty acids; specifically DHA and EPA. It is only logical that the best fish oil brands contain more of these omega-3s compared to the lesser-quality products. Be sure to check the label in your fish oils; the more DHA and EPA, the better. 600mg of Omega-3, which means a 60% concentration, is the ideal amount each capsule should contain for every 1,000mg of fish oil. Fish oil supplements, like all fish products, are subject to toxin hazard, but the best fish oil should be pure and toxin-free. For this reason, doctors do not prescribe fish oil supplements to pregnant mothers, even though it can offer positive effects to the baby's brain development as studies show. Determining which fish oil supplements are pure was very difficult since there was no dependable regulation board for people to refer to. However, this problem was solved when Nutrasource Diagnostics Inc. of Canada came up with the International Fish Oil Safety (IFOS) program.

Unlike before the IFOS program, where standards for toxin-free fish oil supplements were too lenient, a strict set of world standards for purity of fish oils has been implemented based on five parameters:

* Passes all Council for Responsible Nutrition and World Health Organization testing categories

* 60% or higher Omega-3 concentration

* Oxidation Levels less than 75% of CRN standard

* PCB Levels Less than 50% of CRN standard

* Dioxin Levels Less Than 50% of WHO standard

The best fish oil supplement should earn a 5-star certification from the IFOS at the minimum. This stepwill definitelynarrow the selection process for the best fish oil. Nordic Naturals and See Yourself Well are two brands available in the United States that are 5-star certified. To summarize, the best fish oil should offer not only quality, but also wellbeing. The label should indicate whether or not your fish oil supplement meets your Omega-3 fatty acids requirement, and don't forget to verifythe 5-star certification from the IFOS!




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