Omega 3 Supplements: Healthy or a Hoax

Having foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids is great for a person’s overall health. These nutrients are found mainly in fish. Salmon fish is one of the rich sources for omega-3 fatty acids. Those who relish consuming fish can draw its benefit easily, but the problem comes when fish is not favorable to your taste bud. However, there is no need to get disheartened because we have a solution for you. You can buy omega 3 supplements online that are available in a pill form that is easy to consume.

Let us take a look at the health benefits of Omega 3 fatty acids to know why it is important to take its supplements for people who are deficient in it.

Omega -3 fatty acids prove beneficial in the prevention and treatment of the following diseases:

• Diabetes 
• Bipolar disorder 
• Lupus
• Eczema 
• Depression 
• Cancer
• Obesity 
• Osteoporosis
• Cardiovascular disease
• Asthma 
• Alzheimer’s disease 
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder 
• Migraine headaches, and a lot more

Omega-3 fatty acids work miraculously for skin

Browsing online for beauty products for the crucial organ of your body, i.e., skin can confuse you no end. This is the reason why majority of people have turned to omega-3 supplements for its impact of making skin look youthful. Oily fish is rich in these fatty acids and protein, nutrients that are much needed to repair damaged skin cells.

A nutritionist at Mount Sinai Medical Center situated in New York claims, “These fatty acids not only work wonders for membrane of all the cells present in the body ; in fact,  it also provides a shield against numerous health threats.” Omega-3s include anti-inflammatory properties that diminish redness and also control swelling. It curbs irritation and offers clear skin.

Other benefits that you will enjoy by having foods rich in Omega-3 fatty acids include cast off of dry skin and scalp issue which cause dandruff. These nutrients also prevent premenstrual symptoms such as menstrual cramps. It has been observed that women who take fish in high doses (around 2,400 mg’s every day) suffer less from bloating and it also eases the issues they face during their periods.

Is taking Omega-3 supplement appropriate for everyone?

Well, the answer to this question is "Yes". People who are suffering from any kind of inflammation, such as arthritis, heart disease, ulcers and auto immune disorders can get immense health benefits from taking this supplement. Omega 3 fatty acids act as an effective remedy from prescription medicine that could show side effects.

Researches have proved that the average person's diet lacks omega-3 fatty acids. The reason is that either they don't take appropriate amount of fish or other Omega-3 rich foods in their diet. Consuming omega-3 supplements will help you enrich your overall health. 

Add Omega-3 to Your Diet for Great Health

You might have heard of Omega-3 fats. This essential nutrient is not made by the body so it’s important to get it through food. Omega-3 is a healthy fat that in the nutrient realm that offers many health benefits. So let’s educate ourselves on it.

Health Benefits Offered by Omega-3

From the long list of omega-3 benefits, a few important ones are:

• Reduces the risk of heart disease.
• Helps control blood clotting
• Lowers the risk of cancer and inflammatory bowel disease.
• Protects against Alzheimer’s disease
• In infants it helps in brain, nerve and eye development.

What is Omega-3?

Omega-3 stands for omega 3 fatty acid. It is a combination of three fats, namely

• ALA (alpha-linolenic acid)
• EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid)
• DHA (docosahexaenoic acid)

All of these three are important in one or another way. Let’s learn how to include them in the diet.

Getting EPA and DHA

The main sources of these two fats are fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, herring, sardines, trout, anchovies, and mackerel. Try the following tips to add variety to your diet:

• Grill salmon and use low sodium, low fat seasoning such as lemon juice or orange-ginger.
• Bake rainbow trout and make a wrap with mayonnaise, lettuce and grated cheese.
• Use sardines and anchovies as pizza toppings.
• Prepare tuna salad with diced apples, sliced grapes and walnuts for an extra crunchy treat.

Getting ALA

It’s found in flax seeds, walnuts, soybean, milk, egg, and margarine. Using vegetable oils such as flax seed, soybean and rapeseed (canola) is also a good source of getting ALA in the diet. Consuming Brussel sprouts and spinach is also a good way to increase your ALA intake. One can try the following ways to promote the intake of ALA:

• Use flax seeds and walnuts for garnishing food.
• Add walnuts to salads, yogurt or baked food.
• Try vegetable soup with soybean crunches.
• Add ground flax seeds and walnuts to oatmeal or cereals and use for cooking/baking.

Should I take Omega-3 Supplements?

If you are a vegetarian, you are missing EPA and DHA in the diet. Also, people who are always on the go find it difficult to get the necessary amounts of omega-3 fat into their diet. To overcome this loss, supplements are the safest bet. You can easily buy omega 3 supplements online. Search for an online retailer with a sound history and positive customer feedback. Learn about the supplement description and supplement facts before placing an order.

Omega-3 Supplements – A Hope for Alzheimer Sufferers

In January of 2014, the Journal of the American Academy of Neurology published the results of a study suggesting that higher omega-3 fatty acid levels improve brain health. The study was carried out on over 1,111 women. In these women, the levels of omega-3 fatty acids in red blood cells were examined. This study was called the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study. The analysis was done after eight years, when these women were an average age of 78. Their brain volume was measured. It was observed that women with higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids had larger brain volumes.

Another study with grants from the Dementia Association, the Swedish Alzheimer’s Association, the Capio Research Foundation among others, was carried out on 18 patients with mild Alzheimer's disease. As per Freund-Levi's group, the patients who were given omega-3 supplements showed higher levels of two major forms of omega-3 fatty acids – DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid) and EHA (Eicosapentaenoic acid). The researchers consider this as a means of treating Alzheimer's disease.Apart from brain related problems, Omega-3 supplements are found useful in many ways. Its daily intake can do the following:

• Improve bone health. Omega-3 supplements along with calcium, vitamin-D and magnesium are vital constituents in maintaining bone mineral density.

• Reduce symptoms of osteoarthritis. Its regular intake cuts the inflammatory process and sends relief to people suffering from joint pain.

• Preserve lean muscle. Studies show that supplementing the diet with omega-3 helps in preventing muscle loss in cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy. Omega-3 supplements help in maintaining muscle mass.

• Trim down the signs of aging. Intake of Omega-3 is found effective in reducing wrinkle formation and prevent thinning of skin. It diminishes the UV induced damage and retains youthful appearance.

Consult a doctor to add the right amount of omega-3 in your diet. Fish like salmon, tuna and herring are considered to be the best source of this nutrient. For vegetarians and people on the move, omega-3 supplements are the best bet. One can buy omega 3 fish oil supplements online and avail huge discounts.

Is Your Fish Oil Supplement Safe?

A recent study of fish oil supplements found that 21 of the 30 products had omega-3 levels that varied by over 10% off their label claims, and 15 were 25% off the actual versus claimed content.

It was a bitter cold January in Chicago when I attended an invitation-only conference on biological therapies at Loyola University. As I listened to one brilliant presentation after the next, one got my attention more than the others. 

A distinguished professor—who held both MD and PhD degrees as well as being a Jesuit priest—held up a white foam cup, the kind you get for hot drinks at a takeout place, squeezed the amber liquid from several fish oil gel capsules into the cup, set in on a napkin on the table in front of him, and carried on his presentation. 

In three minutes, he held the cup up and turned it sideways so we could see through it. It was like a tunnel. The bottom had dissolved and fallen off! 

I know no one takes a handful of fish oil capsules. But because omega-3s are so important, especially for those who don’t eat fish or shellfish, it’s good to know what’s in your fish oil supplements!

What Happened?

As fish oil spoils, it generates acidic compounds. Weak acidic compounds, but acidic, nonetheless. The over-the-counter fish oil used by the professor was likely rancid, and therefore strong enough to melt through the cup. 

What would that do to your stomach? Fortunately, the stomach lining is built for strong acids that help breakdown proteins and prepare minerals for digestion and absorption. 

The professor’s point was well made: do you know what’s in your fish oil? 

Health Benefits of Omega-3 Fatty Acids 

The main omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil are eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). EPA and DHA are precursors for eicosanoids, a molecule necessary for life, and are known to modulate inflammation in the body, as well to deliver other health benefits. 

The US National Institute of Health’s MedlinePlus provides an impressive list of medical conditions for which EPA is considered useful. Most of these are associated with the ability of omega-3s to dampen inflammation.

EPA also has an inhibitory effect on CYP2C9 and CYP2C19 liver enzymes. At high doses, it may also inhibit the activity of CYP2D6 and CYP3A4, important enzymes involved in drug metabolism. Research suggests it improves the response of patients to chemotherapy.

Some Conditions Helped by Omega-3s

• Alzheimer’s disease
• Arrhythmia
• As prenatal supplementation to improve fetal health
• Asthma
• Autism spectrum disorder
• Brain fog
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Depression
• Fatty liver disease
• Hyperactivity syndromes
• Lowers triglycerides
• Reduces incidence of heart attacks
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Schizophrenia
• Stimulates circulation

Tainted Omega-3 Products

No doubt fish oil has health-giving benefits. If you don’t like taking pills, you can eat more fatty fish like sardines, tuna, and salmon. Fish tend to concentrate toxic end products like mercury, however, and so do fish oil supplements. 

A recent New York Times article calls attention to why it’s important to know what’s in your supplements. Not only do supplement consumers have to be aware of mercury-tainted products, but need assurance that they’re getting biologically available—non-rancid—fish oil, and that what’s on the label matches the content in the capsule. 

LabDoor, an internet-based independent supplement testing company, analyzed 30 best-selling fish oil supplements, measuring total omega-3 content, EPA and DHA quantities, vitamin D and CLA amounts, as well as methylmercury concentration and total oxidation value. 

Total oxidation value (TOTOX) measurement is used as an indicator of marine oil freshness. Besides the TOTOX value, a high quality fish oil product should involve more than one set of parameters in determining the quality or rancidity of marine oil. Natural antioxidants, like vitamin E, are often added to maintain stability over the product’s shelf life. 

The results of the LabDoor’s survey was shocking: 21 of the 30 products of the tested had omega-3 levels that varied by over 10% off their label claims, and 15 were 25% off the actual versus claimed content. Total omega-3 (EPA + DHA) content showed significant ingredient variance, ranging from less than 50% to more than 90% versus stated label claims.

Here’s the really bad news—every product contained mercury, with 3 products recording 50% or greater of the allowable mercury content per serving. 

The good news was that a majority of products passed oxidation (freshness) assays, with only 1 product recording a TOTOX score above the upper limit and 6 more measuring within 5% of the upper limit.

Pharmaceutical Grade “Next Generation” Versus Typical Consumer Products

I try to steer my patients away from the unregulated supplement marketplace. I know consumer clubs and direct sales companies offer lower prices, but are they better or worse for you? 

For my patients, I recommend pharmaceutical grade fish oil using the supercritical extraction process. I want no mercury in the products I recommend. Supercritical extraction boosts biological value and reduces health metals like mercury and arsenic, while guarding against oxidation. Expiration date, and when possible manufacture date, should be labeled on the bottle. 

Environmental Impact of Fish Oil Manufacturing Practices

Sustainable harvesting of non-endangered species like sardines, anchovies, and mackerel are better choices for fish oil supplements. Not only are they high in EPA and DHA, but harvesting these fish creates a lower environmental impact on sea life and ocean health. Other sustainable options include using fish and shellfish by-products from the processing of wild salmon and green mussels.

Next generation fish oil production involves 75% less carbon emissions than other methods of fatty acid extraction and purification. I don’t know about you, but I’ll always purchase a product that has lower negative environmental impact. 

Criteria For Fish Oil Supplements

• Next-generation fish oils produced using advanced green technology
• Solvent-free, supercritical extraction
• High EPA concentrate for advanced biological support
• Low temperature, oxygen-free processing to prevent oxidation
• Stringent purity guidelines
• Full disclosure labeling
• Low acidity
• Low TOTOX value
• No heavy metals

Does Your Omega-3 Supplement Work?

Because omega-3s are important for heart, brain, and joint health, and help modulate inflammation, it’s important to know if your supplement is working. Besides safety and environmental impact, your omega-3 supplement has to be biologically efficient enough to get into your bloodstream. The best way is to test your omega-3 level in the red blood cells. 

In my practice, I evaluate the omega-3 index measured as a percent, as well as the omega 6:omega-3 ratio. For my patients, I want nothing less than optimal. A desirable omega-3 index is greater than 8%, but my patients taking supercritical extracted fish oils are optimal at 10% or higher. 

Are Fish Oil Supplements Dangerous?

High quality fish oil products in dosages less than 3,000 mg daily are considered safe. The higher dosages used to treat a medical problem should be supervised by your doctor. 

There are a few studies suggesting that fish oil supplementation increases the risk for prostate cancer. High dosages over long periods of time, without balancing fish oil with antioxidants like vitamin E and selenium, may have a reverse effect on the immune system. Since omega-3s have an anticoagulant effect, combining fish oil supplements with aspirin or anticoagulant drugs is a concern. Other possible drug interactions include high blood pressure drugs and birth control pills. 

Action Steps

• Always take fish oil supplements with food.
• Add vitamin E to balance the oxidative effect of fish oil.
• If you have GERD or other hyperacidity condition, take less fish oil.
• Use pharmaceutical grade fish oil to assure purity and low acidity.
• Take super critical extracted fish oil for best absorption.
• Take 1,000 mg of mixed EPA and DHA once daily.
• To treat conditions like depression, diabetes, or manage inflammation take 3,000 to 6,000 mg in divided dosages daily.
• Be careful with fish oil supplements if you take blood-thinning drugs. Reduce dosage if you notice easy bruising or reduced clotting time.
• Get your Omega-3 Index tested.

Resource : http://renegadehealth.com/blog/2014/01/31/is-your-fish-oil-supplement-safe