The Truth About Fish Oil Supplements

The Truth About Fish Oil Supplements

Fish oil supplements are marketed and pushed by almost every supplement company on the market. There is a lot of hype surrounding their efficacy in preventing or treating disease. Today we are going to see if those claims are warranted, if you should be taking them, and what companies you should opt for when looking for a fish oil supplement. Basically, we can call this post a “Primer on Fish Oil”

Today’s post is going to be more colloquial than scientific. I want you to understand the reasons you need the main components of fish oil (EPA and DHA), why you should take a modest amount of them, and why supplements might actually be a viable choice.

First off, Omega-3 fatty acids are critically important to you diet; they can help inflammation, reduce risk of heart disease, make up your brain, and help your nervous system run smoothly. Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids are a polyunsaturated fat that are converted into biologically active molecules known as eicosanoids. Put simply, Omega-3’s are “fragile” fats that turn into signaling molecules that tend to be anti-inflammatory and are critical in the development of neural development and cardiac function. Conversely, Omega-6 fatty acids are also “fragile” fats that tend to be more inflammatory but are also necessary for proper homeostatic function. Too much Omega-6 fatty acids have been implicated in playing a major role in chronic diseases including heart disease. Unfortunately, excessive Omega-3 might also be problematic. There is essentially a bottleneck to how much Omega-3 we can incorporate into our cell membranes and the excess Omega-3 can become oxidized in vivo and contribute to oxidative stress and metabolism. Now, the likelihood of consuming too much Omega-3 is extremely low, the only way I foresee this occuring is if someone were to take high dose (>10g/ day) for an extended period of time.  This presents two issues: 1) an imbalance in the Omega-3 and Omega-6 ratio can skew the body’s milieu, and 2) throwing a large amount of “fragile” fat into an inflamed system is likely to result in further damage. This leads us to understand that as with all things, the amount of Omega-3 you should intake adheres to the U-curve or the “Goldilocks” phenomenon.  To sum this up, you need to balance the Omega-3 and Omega-6 ratio and to avoid excess Omega-3 in an inflammatory environment.

While there is significant debate on what the optimal Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio is for health and longevity, it is fairly safe to say that the standard American diet does not get us even close to it. The recommendations for an optimal Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio range from 1:1 to 1:4. This is in stark contrast to what we see normally in our diet, ratios ranging from 15:1 to 30:1 in extreme cases.  Why are these ratios so high? Omega-6 fatty acids are found in high quantity in industrial oils (soy, corn, rapeseed, etc), grain-fed meat, and nuts and seeds. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in high quantities in fish, grass-fed meat, natural eggs, and some seeds (i.e. flaxseeds). When we examine that list and what we consume on a daily basis it is easy to understand why our ratio is so off. What is quite startling about this even individuals who consume a “paleo” diet may have a ratio skewed toward the Omega-6 fatty because they may consume large amounts of nuts and grain fed meat. Thus, many individuals, including devout “paleoers” may benefit from tipping the ratio back in favor of Omega-3’s or at least getting it closer to a 1:1 ratio.

Not all Omega-3 are equal. Realistically what we need the most are the long chain ones, namely EPA and DHA. We can obtain the shorter chain ones, specifically ALA, from things such as nuts and flax seed and convert them to EPA and DHA, but we do so extremely inefficiently. In fact, only .5% of ALA is converted to DHA. That means even if you consume adequate or even large amounts of plant based Omega-3’s (i.e. flaxseed or almonds), you are effectively getting no DHA (1,000 mg of ALA results in 5mg DHA).  In order to get enough DHA in your diet you must consume a decent amount of fish and grass-fed beef, or through a high quality fish-oil supplement. In fact, there is some recent research that ALA, EPA, or other precursors of DHA do not improve DHA status in the blood of humans. If you are on a tight budget and can’t afford fresh fish or grass-fed beef, a high quality fish-oil supplement is probably the way to go. You get more EPA/DHA bang for your buck with a good supplement than spending 20 dollars a pound for fresh wild-caught salmon.

The purpose of this post is to make a solid case for using a high-quality fish oil supplement to augment a healthy diet. As a scientist I am first and foremost a quantitative person, therefore we are going to start with some numbers.
The average total Omega 3 content of one serving of wild King Salmon is roughly 1,500 milligrams. Compare that to 3,705 milligrams per serving in SO3 Fish Oil from StrongerFasterHealthier (SFH). Now that you know that not all Omega-3’s are the same, what is the EPA and DHA content of wild caught salmon vs. a high quality fish oil supplement like the one from SFH? Per serving, wild caught salmon contains 313 mg EPA and about 850 mg of DHA. Compare that to 2,204 mg EPA and 990 mg DHA per serving in SFH’s SO3 fish oil and you can see that the fish oil supplement might just be a better source of fish oil in terms of quantity.

Now let’s compare cost. SFH’s SO3 fish oil contains 60 servings for 60 dollars, when we convert that to price per gram of DHA we notice it is roughly 99 cents per gram. Compared to wild caught salmon, that is about a fourth of the price. I also thought about giving you the numbers from Kirkland’s Fish Oil (Costco brand) but they were abysmal and depressing so I decided to forgo including it.

From a pure numbers standpoint, SFH’s SO3  gives you more “DHA bang for your buck”. Yes, I realize wild-caught fish has a lot of other health benefits to it, but fresh local fish is not always available and sometimes a supplement can be a smart addition to your nutrition protocol.

One of my main motto’s in life is “Quality over Quantity”. I apply this to virtually everything: 5 great squats are better than 15 horrible ones, 2 great friends are better than 10 shady ones, 1 good cup of artisan coffee is better than 3 cups of Folgers ( I drank twice and I will never do it again). The same applies to the ingredients in your supplements. I usually refrain from opining on heated issues, but I believe it is my duty to let you know that the supplement industry is not well-regulated. People will tell you that it is, they will argue the point to death and present the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 stating the industry is in fact well regulated. As someone with skin in the game, and having been in the trenches let me tell you, it is not all sunshine and rainbows. Very few companies make good, honest products. That being said, let us take a look at SFH’s SO3 fish oil and the company as a whole.

As mentioned earlier, fish oil is a poly-unsaturated fat, meaning it is molecularly “fragile”. Heat, sunlight, and exposure to oxygen can damage the product; making it more harmful than helpful. SFH manufactures their fish oil using processing techniques regulate light, heat, and oxygen to prevent damage. Their product remains in liquid form and is stored in metal containers to keep sunlight from oxidizing the product. It is entirely free of soy, sugar, gluten, mercury, heavy metals, or other known toxins. I should probably also mention that it comes in a variety of flavors that use the essential oils to impart flavor (go with tangerine, it almost tastes like a dessert).

What about SFH the company? I have been in contact with SFH on several occasions and their people are top-notch. They are intelligent people dedicated to their mission of providing top-notch products aimed at improving the lives of others. They are transparent, honest, and ethical. There is no cut corners, no marketing scheme, and they use sustainable fish sources. They not only have your health in mind, but the environments as well.  They are also keen on education and promoting health knowledge. Their websitewww.SFH.com is a great resource of knowledge as well as product.

Bottom line. Do yourself a favor and try out SFH’s SO3 Fish Oil. Order yourself some for Christmas…. And shoot, maybe get a bottle for someone else in your life who you care about.

article from http://www.evolutionary-health.com/articles/the-truth-about-fish-oil-supplements