Countless studies in recent times have underscored the significance of omega 3 fatty acids for wellness. Our bodies cannot synthesize omega-3s, so we must get them in our food. The most common way that people obtain omega-3 is by eating fish. However, this guide will break down the difficulty with obtaining omega 3 fatty acids from fish, and then will go into detail what to aim for in fish oil supplements.

Fish No Longer a Safe Source of Omega-3

Before fish oil supplements, ingesting fish was the exclusive way to get omega-3s in our diet. This was an effective method, but the actualities of an industrialized planet means more water pollution. The end result is that fish have become contaminated with all kinds of poisonous contaminants like mercury, PCBs, dioxins, arsenic and heavy metals. These toxins play a part in a broad range of diseases such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, blindness, birth defects and even death.

Fish Oil Supplements Are Also Contaminated

Due to these problems, many more consumers are choosing fish oil supplements as a an answer. However, fish oil capsulesare affected by the same risks, in spite of the fact that many fish oil producers claim that their products are purified. A fairly recent investigation by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in the UK instigated the withdrawal of numerous fish oil products because of extreme levels of pollutants!

Furthermore, consider this shocking report from Greenpeace about OmegaProtein, the biggest producer of fish oil supplements on the planet. Their investigative video attests that OmegaProtein’s fish oil products were discovered to be contaminated by poisonous quantities of flame retardants! However, probably we should take this news with a grain of salt taking into account Greenpeace’s ideological leanings, but if factual, it is particularly alarming!

Now that you are aware of many of the risks inherent in fish oil supplements, what can be done about it? Luckily, there are a handful of criterion that make it simple to assess a fish oil supplement for effectiveness and cleanliness.

The Cream of The Crop: The International Fish Oil Standards (IFOS) Certification Program

The preeminent way to ascertain if a fish oil product is a sound, quality supplement is by picking one that has been frequently tested by the International Fish Oil Standards program, or IFOS. The IFOS program is a voluntary third-party certification institution that measures fish oil supplements along 5 parameters:

* Passes All CRN and WHO Testing Categories * Equal to or More than 60% Concentration of Omega-3 * Amount of Oxidation Lower Than 75% of CRN Requirement * PCB Amount Less Than 50% of Council for Responsible Nutrition Requirement * Dioxin Levels Less Than 50% of World Health Organization Standard

These guidelines were chosen because the standards employed by the CRN (Council for Responsible Nutrition) and WHO (World Health Organization) were not stringent enough to allow larger doses of omega-3 fish oil. To get the advantages of omega-3, one must often consume more than just the 1,000 mg a day that has been usually advised. The rationale for why only 1 gram has been advocated, however, is due to pollution risks. This is clearly not a issue if you’re taking an IFOS-tested product.

If you’re not consuming an IFOS-certified brand, you are definitely more in jeopardy of consuming impurities. Chances are, despite the fact that your omega-3 supplement may profess to be decontaminated by “advanced molecular distillation” (a marketing ploy), it may not be secure to take. Since the IFOS organization publishes the outcomes of their studies on their website, you can look up the best brands of fish oil supplements obtainable.

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