Are You Safe With Fish Oil?

Is Your Fish Oil Safe To Take?

Fish oil is derived from the tissues of oily fish and is one of many highly beneficial health supplements to take. Fish oils contain the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), precursors to eicosanoids that are known to reduce inflammation throughout the body, and are thought to have many health benefits.

Scientists first took notice of these natural health products when Danish doctors noticed that Greenland Eskimos had low incidence of heart diseases despite their diets. Research soon uncovered that two of the fats from oils when consumed in high quantities are beneficial to the human body. More research have also shown that these fish oils play a role in the prevention of diseases like cancer, heart diseases, and even depression. There are also clinical trials which show that fish oil supplements is effective in treating disorders like diabetes, ulcer, and Raynaud's disease.

Therefore it is clear that consuming a rich diet of oily fish combined with fish oil is the most important thing that we can do to ensure good health. However, pollution of fresh water lakes and even the oceans is now so extensive that a growing number of species should not be consumed regularly as they contain large amounts of mercury and other industrial pollutants. One of the more popular brands of fish oil is Medicines from Nature, which can be bought at Vitality Plus . This brand of fish oil is comprehensively tested for a range of contaminants including microbial, pesticides and heavy metals.

Fresh, wild pacific salmon is still an excellent source of safe fish oil, but if that is not available then a high quality fish oil is the answer to ensuring that daily needs for EPA and DHA are met. Fish oils that are molecularly distilled and on a pharmaceutical grade, as well as stabilized with Vitamin E should be consumed. Recent British studies have also shwon that emulsified fish oils are absorbed faster than the rate of non emulsified oils. Low quality fish oils are unstable and should be avoided because of their mercury and pesticide content.

EU regulations are put in place n order to limit the percentage of toxins present in these oils in order for them to still be beneficial to the consumers. There are recent concerns in the UK and Ireland becayse of upholding the limits which resulted in some major manufacturers pulling out their products off the market. It should be noted that these health supplements were either cod liver or shark liver oils. Because the liver is the major filtering and detoxifying organ, PCB content will be much higher in such products than in the more common fish oil produced from the processing of whole fish.