Most people are familiar with the terms DHA, Omega-3 and etc. Likewise, most of us realize just how important these are as far as our overall health is concerned. Unfortunately however, not many foods actually contain much Omega-3, and those that do, only have very small concentrations, with the exception of certain types of fish. Generally speaking, the only way to be sure you're getting enough Omega-3 fatty acids, is if you take advantage of a high quality dietary supplement. The big question is however, how do you go about finding the best fish oil supplement brand?
The very first step is to look for the presence of additives. Many manufacturers will include a number of different ingredients, but these are generally not a problem. It's the presence of preservatives that one needs to be on the lookout for, since that would imply the fish oil being used is not 100% fresh. Fish oil is often processed in vast quantities, and used to manufacture hundreds of thousands of fish oil capsules at a time. Long before all these capsules are sold, the oil will inevitably become rancid, so manufacturers counter this by adding in preservatives.
If you buy a good quality supplement which has been manufactured by a reputable company, there should be no preservatives added, since the company will only manufacture enough to meet demand. They will also have used the very latest processing techniques, and this alone can prolong the shelf life of fish oil considerably.
Of even greater importance, is the origin of the fish which are being used for the procurement of the fish oil. Virtually all seafood these days contains traces of heavy metals such as mercury, lead, arsenic, and so on. However, fish which are harvested from certain areas have a higher level of contamination than fish harvested elsewhere. At present, fish taken from the Arctic region and the Southern Ocean off the coast of New Zealand tend to have the least amount of heavy metal contamination, so it's definitely a good idea to look for a brand which uses fish oil coming from one of these regions.
Most countries have laws in place to guard against highly contaminated supplements being sold, but even the various legal limits don't always offer much peace of mind. For example, traces of mercury are generally not allowed to exceed 100 ppm (parts per million). This may seem reassuring, but if you take fish oil supplements every day, the amount of mercury in your body will at some point reach a critical stage since the human body struggles to clear the body of heavy metals.
A health conscious shopper would look at the legal limits, and then go in search of a product that is well within the limits. Ideally, if you're looking for the best fish oil supplement brand, look for supplements which are no less than 5 to 10 times more pure than what the law requires.
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