Best Fish Oil Supplements

Finding the best fish oil supplements can be a daunting task, especially for a consumer just venturing into the world of fish oil concentrate. There are simply so many choices. Should you buy fish oil pills or should you purchase fish oil softgels? Will fish oil capsules work better than liquid fish oil? Should I buy Carlson fish oil or choose Xtend Life fish oil? Or does it even matter? Do you need to be concerned with buying only purified fish oil or should you only worry about making sure that you purchase a quality fish oil product? And the questions go on and on.

The answer to these questions depends, in large part, upon what you expect to get out of the best fish oil supplements that you intend to use. Of course, your attempt to find the best fish oil supplements was likely the result of a suggestion by your doctor, or even a loved one, that you should explore the fish oil benefits associated with its consumption.

Accordingly, you should take the extra time in your research efforts to make sure that when you purchase fish oil products, they are working for you (the health benefits of fish oil), as opposed to against you (i.e., the fish oil side effects). The following suggestions will generally help you buy fish oil does the former and not the later.

First, you should purchase fish oil pills that have been purified such as pharmaceutical fish oil. These purified fish oil supplements have been molecularly filtered to ensure that contaminants, heavy metals, and other chemical and environmental chemicals are not included. The best fish oil supplement will be one that contains virtually no impurities or other toxic chemicals as measure by parts per million or even parts per billion.

Second, you should consider buying enteric coated fish oil softgels. These fish oil softgels are specifically designed with a special coating the resists being broken down in the stomach and, instead, does not dissolve until it reaches the intestines. Because research has shown that having the fish oil absorbed in the small intestine results in a tripling of the fish oil benefits, this is a huge advantage over standard fish oil pills. Additionally, because the harsh stomach acids are not breaking down the fish oil, gastrointestinal issues such as the fish burps and that extremely unpleasant fishy after taste is all but eliminated. Talk about kicking one of the most common fish oil side effects to the curb!

Third, when you buy fish oil products, you need to make sure that you are taking the proper fish oil dose. The best fish oil supplements will have very minimal filler content and consist largely of the essential omega-3 fatty acids known as “EPA” (or eicosapentaenoic acid) and “DHA” (or docosahexaenoic acid). Because most doctors recommend that you buy fish oil 1000 mg capsules, if the label states that it has 650 mg of omega-3 fatty acids, you know that the fish oil supplement has approximately sixty-five percent good stuff and thirty-five percent filler. Obviously, then, higher omega-3 content means that it is a high potency fish oil product.

Finally, be sure to check the ratios between the EPA and DHA levels. Because EPA can be easily converted by the body into DHA as it is needed, the best fish oil supplements will contain more EPA than DHA, with the best ratios being two to one (2:1) or even three to one (3:1).

Although the best fish oil supplements are designed in such a way as to attempt to avoid their occurrence, it is important that the consumer be aware of the fish oil side effects associated with their consumption. The following are some of the top side effects of fish oil:

1. There is a slight risk that your bleeding will increase. Omega 3 fatty acids are blood thinners (i.e., their consumption results in the thinning of the blood). What that really means is that DHA and EPA causes blood platelets to be less likely to stick together. When this is helpful in preventing blood clots that cause heart attacks and strokes, it also means that they make it harder for blood to clot at the situs of an open wound. However, the anti-clotting effects of fish oil concentrate, taken alone, is not something that will threaten the consumer's health. It is, however, something that the consumer should be concerned about if he or she is already taking anti-coagulant medications such as aspirin, Heparin, Warfarin, and Coumadin. If so, the consumer needs to speak to their medical provider prior to taking fish oil supplements of any kind.

2. There is also a slight risk that consumption of fish oil will result in toxicity due to contamination of the fish from which fish oil products are made. Contaminants such as heavy metals (i.e., mercury, arsenic, cadmium, nickel, and lead), fat-soluble substances such as PCB's and dioxins, and other industrial and environmental pollutants can accumulate in the tissues of fish inhabiting the contaminated waters. Because research has recently confirmed that the risk of coronary disease is increased when exposed to these toxins, there is a perception that fish oil products can cause health problems such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, high blood pressure, hearing loss, damage to kidneys, and heart failure. While it is true that the United States Food and Drug Administration does not regulate fish oil supplements because they are characterized as a nutritional supplement rather than a drug, the best fish oil supplements are filtered, often times at the molecular level, to remove these impurities during the manufacturing process. Fish oil companies that make products such as Carlson Fish Oil, Xtend Life Fish Oil, PFO Pure Fish Oil, Norwegian Fish Oil, and Kirkland Fish Oil, all guarantee their fish oil products to be virtually contaminant free.

3. Finally, one of the most common complaints about fish oil is the fact that they cause the "fish burps" or a fishy burping or aftertaste. One way to overcome that issue is to purchase only quality fish oil pills or to purchase enteric coated fish oil.

Legal Disclaimer: The statements and information upon this website have not necessarily been evaluated by the United States Food and Drug Administration. The products featured are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Consumers should always consult their own medical practitioner(s) with any medical or health concerns before starting any new diet, product or supplement.