Fish Oil And Contamination - Or Do You Need To Take Pcbs With Your Omega 3 Fats?

If you take Omega 3 capsules then fish oil contamination with dangerous chemicals is a worrying issue

. There is growing evidence that even the highest quality Omega 3 supplements may be contaminated with such chemicals as PCBs, and a lawsuit has now been launched alleging that manufacturers of some Omega 3 supplements are failing to warn their consumers of the dangers.

There is no doubt that the essential fatty acids known as Omega 3 fatty acids, called DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (Eicosapentaenoic acid) are good for our health, and this has been established to the satisfaction of most health professionals. There is a wide range of health benefits including reducing your risk of death from heart attack, a reduction in the risk of Alzheimer's disease and a reduction in the risk of stroke and much more.

As a result sales of Omega 3 supplements have grown faster than any other supplement in history. However there may be a dark underbelly to the omega 3 industry. Contamination of fish oil with dangerous chemicals. And gradually this is becoming more and more well known, and is now the subject of a lawsuit.

Recent tests by a Californian laboratory found worrying levels of PCBs in a wide range of what are generally known as the highest quality fish oil supplements, including some big names such as Nature's Made and Twinlab Omega supplements. PCBs are a pernicious chemical banned in the US since 1979 and which are known to cause cancer.

The results of the tests found worrying levels of PCBs in some of the omega 3 supplements tested. Some of these levels exceeded the "safe harbor" levels set for PCBs in proposition 65 in California.

As a result a lawsuit has now been launched in California alleging that various manufacturers of Omega 3 supplements have failed to warn consumers of the dangers of taking their product.

If you research Omega 3 capsules you'll find that the oils used in the capsules can often be described as "pharmaceutical grade fish oil" or "ultra-refined fish oil" or more, these suggesting that the oils used in the capsules are of the highest quality. However none of these tags has any legal definition and the oil purity is not guaranteed when buying any Omega 3 capsules described in this way.

In fact the quality of the essential fatty acids found in the supplements cannot be determined by the name given to the supplements.

There is even a set of standards called the International Fish Oil Standards. These are not binding and in some cases the levels of contamination which are allowed are considered to be way too high.

Undoubtedly omega 3 supplements are one of the best ways for us to improve our health in a simple cost-effective manner and it would be a shame for consumers to stop taking their supplements because of concerns about fish oil contamination.

The question is how to ensure that you're taking quality fish oil supplements with no contamination with PCBs or, for that matter, any one of a range of other chemicals which can also contaminate fish, for example Mercury.

It's quite possible to buy quality Omega-3 supplements that do not exhibit any fish oil contamination. The best Omega 3 capsules are routinely tested by independent laboratories and the resulting Certificate of Analysis is displayed on the website of the manufacturer for consumers to examine. The results of the testing are there for everyone to see, and the results show no detectable levels of PCBs in the supplements.

Undoubtedly essential fatty acid supplementation is one of the best things you can do to your general health. Whilst there are worrying signs that some brands of Omega3 supplements may be contaminated with chemicals such as PCBs it is quite possible to get clean high quality Omega3 supplements, where you can independently verify from the Certificate of Analysis that this is the case.

by: Peter Leigh

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