If you're not taking a pharmaceutical-grade fish oil, there's a possibility you could be poisoning your body without even knowing it!
Fish oils contain omega 3 fatty acids. There are many health benefits of fish oils, including reducing blood pressure and fighting inflammation. These healthy fats support how the cells function in your brain, nervous system and hormones. They may also play an important role in regulating your mood.
While fish oils are an excellent source of omega 3 fatty acids, there is a possible risk that they may also contain certain contaminants, such as mercury, dioxins, furans and PCB's.
These contaminants can be found in the sea water where the fish inhabit. They can also be found within the food chain of marine creatures. The larger species usually feeds on smaller species. The higher up the food chain, the higher the risk of exposure to certain contaminants.
One way to avoid possible exposure to these contaminants is by using a pharmaceutical-grade fish oil.
You can get a prescription fish oil that's been approved by the FDA. This type of fish oil is a pharmaceutical- quality fish oil that's regulated by the FDA. You need a doctor's prescription to buy them and they can be high in cost.
However, you can get purified fish oils that may exceed the purity and omega 3 levels found in these prescription-type fish oils.
What are Pharmaceutical-grade Fish Oils?
Many of these high quality fish oils go through a unique manufacturing process to ensure they contain minimal amounts of PCB's, mercury and other contaminants.
The term 'pharmaceutical-grade' isn't regulated so anyone can use this term to describe a fish oil product. Unfortunately, this can allow some unscrupulous companies to mislead the general public about the quality and purity of their fish oils.
Most of the 'true' pharmaceutical fish oil supplements will meet quality and purity standards set by some type of Internationally Accepted Standards through an Internationally Governing Body or with a Certificate of Analysis by a third party laboratory.
For example, the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) has a Fish Oil Monograph that sets an internationally accepted standard on specific limits for product quality and purity.
The CRN believes that any fish oil that meets or exceeds these standards is qualified to use the term "pharmaceutical grade". But this doesn't mean the CRN has the authority or power to stop a manufacturer from using this term because it isn't trademarked.
Another method to determine the purity of your fish oil is by using IFOS fish oils. IFOS is an acronym for International Fish Oil Standards. The IFOS is a Canadian company that uses third-party laboratories to analyze fish oil supplements from all over the world.
The IFOS analyzes for mercury, dioxons, furans and other contaminants. They also measure the percentage of omega 3 fatty acids in each fish oil and the results are made available on the IFOS website.
The IFOS only tests fish oils that are submitted by fish oil or nutritional supplement companies. There is a fee to have this service performed and the results are released to the company for their own use. It's important to know that not all companies choose to use the IFOS to analyze their fish oils, and the IFOS only tests particular batches of fish oils submitted by a particular company.
You can also find other high quality fish oils that meet pharmaceutical grade that are not analyzed by the IFOS. Many of these fish oil supplements provide test results with a Certificate of Analysis. Some of these companies may adhere to more stringent testing procedures than the IFOS, thus ensuring you're getting a high quality product.
The important thing to remember is to always check for a Certificate of Analysis or some other method that shows the fish oil you want to use has been tested for omega 3 concentrations and the amount of contaminants.
Using pharmaceutical grade fish oils will ensure you get the optimal effects from an omega 3 supplement without exposing you to mercury and other unnecessary contaminants that may be found in lower quality fish oils. For more information please visit The Truth about Pharmaceutical grade fish oil.
Healthy Oil Guy is an avid health and fitness enthusiast, health reporter and author. He is also the owner and editor of Healthy-Oil-Planet.com, your guide to the health benefits of natural oils, including fish oils, tea tree oil, virgin coconut oil, krill oil and many more.