How to Choose an Omega-3 Supplement

If you’ve read some of our other articles on fatty acids, you now know about the extraordinary benefits they offer, and just how critical they are to your health. But you may be wondering just HOW MUCH fatty acids you need to take each day and how to find the best supplements on the market.

How Much Omega-3 Do You Need Every Day?

The difficulty in selecting a good omega-3 supplement is that many companies don’t include enough omega-3s to achieve the health benefits documented in the majority of research studies. This is clearly not in your best interest but in the best interest of the company’s pocket book.

For example, many of the fish oil products on the market contain just 300-500 mg of actual omega-3s per dose. Yet, the American Heart Association notes that significant therapeutic benefits of omega-3s don’t come until 2 grams of omega-3 have been taken in the form of EPA and DHA on a daily basis.

Furthermore, other studies suggest that the optimum benefit occurs at 2.2 grams daily of omega-3s. And to be clear, that’s not 2.2 grams of fish oil, that’s 2.2 grams of actual omega-3s per day. So when searching for omega-3 supplements you want to get as close to 2 grams per day of total omega-3s.

There are certain requirements every good omega-3 supplement should have:

Potency

This refers to the number of gel caps needed per day to meet your daily requirements. Now, most people want to have to swallow as few pills as possible each day, so you’ll want to look for high potency gel caps. To know exactly the potency of your omega-3 supplement, you want to look on the back of the label, and look for the total omega-3 per gel cap.

The Amount of EPA and DHA in Each of the Gel Caps

For example, some gel caps may contain 750 mg of DHA and EPA. So, in order to get 2.2 grams of omega-3s per day, you would take three of these gel caps per day. Then again, another gel cap might only have 250 mg of DHA and EPA, so you would need to take 10 of the gel caps to ingest 2.2 grams of omega-3s. That’s quite a difference!

Purity

Almost all of the fish we eat contain heavy metals like mercury and other toxins. It’s incredibly important you select a fish oil that has been decontaminated using a method called molecular distillation.

Freshness

Omega-3 oils are unfortunately susceptible to oxidation, which makes them rancid. Rancid oils actually promote inflammation and contribute to the very chronic illnesses and diseases you’re trying to relieve or prevent by taking fish oil in the first place.

Nutrients

Since you are already thinking of taking a fish oil supplement that contains EPA and DHA, why not look for specific oils that are made from the fish liver? These oils also contain naturally occurring fat-soluble vitamins that are often hard to obtain from food sources. You might say two birds – one stone.

Bio-availability

The ability of our bodies to absorb the beneficial components of fish oil is based on the molecular shape of the fatty acids themselves. The less these components are chemically altered, the better. Each step in the manufacturing process of an extract or isolate has the potential to damage the nutrients and change their structure.

Sustainability

Along with the fish-oil itself, it’s important to know that the fish used to create fish oil supplements should be harvested in a sustainable and ethical manner and the species should not be under any ecological threat.

Taste

You obviously want your fish oil supplements to taste good. Many inferior fish oil supplements can have a fish smell to them (go figure!). And, to be frank, some inferior products will cause you to belch up a smelly fish odor (also known as the ‘fish oil burps’). Some manufacturers refine their fish oil to get rid of the fishy smell and taste with the same molecular distillation.

Enteric Coating

A high quality supplement will put a special coating around the fish oil that slowly breaks down in your stomach. You will be able to read right on the label whether or not the supplement you are considering has an enteric coating.

Third Party Certifications

Third-party certifications are there to help you be absolutely certain you’re purchasing a premium fish oil supplement. The International Fish Oil Standards (IFOS) Program is actually the sole party that tests and certifies fish oil supplements. This organization sets the bar very high when it comes to purity, potency and freshness.

Looking for the seal of approval from IFOS is also very important to make sure you are not ingesting supplements made from contaminated fish. Many environmental contaminants such as heavy metals, PCBs, dioxins and furans can be found in the fatty tissues of fish like cod and salmon. Ingesting these contaminants can have very negative ramifications on your health. IFOS is the only program that tests fish oil products by batch and lot number to ensure they do not contain these harmful chemicals.

Sesame Lignans

Quality omega-3 fish oil supplements will also have the addition of sesame lignans or lignan extracts. What are these exactly? Well, they are compounds that basically help interfere with the production of arachodonic acid and its pro inflammatory effects. This allows the EPA and DHA in fatty acids to do their job.

Omega-3 fish oil has immense benefits for the human body, and if you want to receive those benefits, you’ll have to make sure your brand of Omega-3 fish oil ticks ALL the requirements above. Finding the highest quality of Omega-3 fish oil supplements means you will have to spend a large amount of time doing research and trying to find the best product.

Luckily, I’ve already done all that work for you: THIS is my recommended brand.

With all the low-quality mediocre stuff currently on the market – this brand is a breath of fresh air. It complies with ALL of the requirements above and is the most concentrated form of Omega-3 available.

And it get’s better: we’ve recently updated out formula to contain the essential fatty acid ‘Omega-7‘ which has been linked to healthy insulin function, a critical part of keeping your blood sugar healthy. The results will speak for themselves – improved health and vitality, strong heart function and a whole host of other scientifically proven health benefits.

>> Click here to see the results for yourself <<

Fish oil are absolutely ESSENTIAL for your body, and once you start taking them on a regular basis – your health will thank you for it!