subject: Pharmaceutical Grade Fish Oil - Buyer Beware [print this page] Author: Lauren Casey Author: Lauren Casey
In the United States, there is no such thing as pharmaceutical grade fish oil.In some parts of Europe, the supplement is prescribed and there are regulations concerning its potency and purity.But, in the US, we must rely on the manufacturers' ability to provide a safe supplement. Laws passed in the 1990s placed the responsibility of providing a safe supplement solely on the manufacturer's shoulders.If a supplement proves to be unsafe, the Food and Drug Administration will step in and remove the product from the market.But, that's it. There are regulations concerning the health claims that can be included on the label.Complaints can be made to either the FDA or the Federal Trade Commission, if a manufacturer makes misleading statements about what a supplement can and cannot do. Independent evaluations have shown that most brands are safe.Surveys conducted by the Environmental Defense Fund have shown that most manufacturers follow guidelines created by the supplement industry's watchdog group, "The Council for Responsible Nutrition".But, there are exceptions. If there were such a thing as pharmaceutical fish oil in the US, it would be free of mercury and cancer-causing chemicals like PCBs.PCBs were banned in the 1970s, but they are "persistent" in the environment, meaning they are still in our oceans and still in our fish. Several years ago, Green Peace paid for testing of "Omega Pure" supplements, manufactured by a Houston company called Omega Protein.The organization decided to conduct the tests after watching Omega Protein's poor fishing practices for several years.They basically vacuum menhaden, a filter fish, out of the delicate Chesapeake Bay, which disrupts the eco-system in many ways. The testing showed that "Omega Pure" would not qualify as pharmaceutical grade fish oil, because it contains high levels of cancer-causing PCBs and dioxins.That's not surprising, since the Chesapeake Bay, the rivers that empty into it and the Atlantic Ocean have been damaged by industrial pollution for decades. So, there are some bad supplements.There are many good ones, too.Consumers can easily identify the best by looking for a manufacturer that displays a copy of an independent laboratory analysis on their websites.They are usually referred to as COAs (Certificates of Analysis). A COA will list common contaminants like lead and mercury and cancer-causing chemicals like PCBs and dioxins.It will also list the omega-3 content. If there were such a thing as pharmaceutical fish oil in the US, there would probably be regulations concerning the minimum amount of omega-3s that could be present in order to "pass".Most capsules contain 1000mg of oils or fat, but only part of that is omega-3 fat.The rest is omega-6 or 9.We get more than enough omega-6s in our diet.That's why we need an omega-3 supplement in the first place.It helps to counteract the negative effects of omega-6s in the diet. If you look at the COA and buy a supplement that is certified to provide a minimum of 500mg of omega-3s per capsule, you will be getting the closest thing possible to pharmaceutical grade fish oil.That's a fact.About the Author:
Lauren Casey is a consumer advocate and a dedicated researcher who has been on a search to find the best nutritional supplements available. After extensive research, she has found an exceptional nutritional supplement that is now a part of the foundation of her own health program. Visit her website at http://www.omega-3-guides.com to discover what she personally recommends and why.
