Are Your Omega 3 Fish Oils Safer Than Eating Fish?

Are Your Omega 3 Fish Oils Safer Than Eating Fish?

News about the superb health benefits of omega 3fish oils are everywhere these days. Medical scienceproves they make you think faster, improve memory,protect your heart, stave off dementia, eliminatemany symptoms of ADHD and even lower your blood pressure.

But-- are the fish oil supplements you take safer thaneating fish?

There's growing concern in the medical community aboutthe dangerous chemicals found in fish (both wild and farmed),like mercury, PCB's, dioxins and other toxins.

So, after a thorough review of the medical literature,here's the skinny on the "smart fats", whether thefish oil supplements you take are safe, and, if you eatfish, which type is safest for your family .

1. Is your tuna safe?

On August 1, 2005, a Wall Street Journal article,talking about the failure of the FDA to warn aboutthe high levels of pollutants in fish, told abouta 10 year old boy suffering from mercury poisoningbecause his parents thought eating tuna fish was safe.

Sadly, the boy had recently acquired severe learningdifficulties and the cause wasn't determined until neurological tests showed that the child had mercury levels in his blood that were nearly double what the EPA deems safe.

Finally in March 2004, the FDA issued mercuryadvisory recommending limits on tuna and other fish consumption for pregnant and nursing women and children, but it was years too late for the 10 year old boy.

2. Mercury levels in some common fish

Note: Albacore, which is the most expensive type of tuna,has nearly three times more mercury than other tuna.(Source FDA: Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management.)

Average Mercury (parts per million)

Salmon .01
American Lobster .31
Catfish .05
Cod .11
Pollock .06
Swordfish .97
Chunk light tuna .12
Albacore .35

Note: There are no safe levels of mercury, PCB's, dioxinsfor your body and brain.

3. What are these pollutants, and what are the dangers of Mercury, PCB's and Dioxins?

Mercury

Mercury is released into the air from coal burningpower plants and solid-waste incinerators. When itgets into the water, it converts into a dangerousneurotoxin which destroys nerve tissue.

Predatory fish and the largest fish, have the highest levels of mercury. But, watch out, when you eat the fish,methylmercury accumulates into your bloodstream. Although it can be removed over time,it takes more than a year to drop to safelevels.

If you are in your child bearing years, are pregnant, nursing or have young children, your risk of mercury toxicity is even higher. Further, it can be passed from the mother to the unborn baby. According to the June, 1998 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers at Dartmouth College found that children exposed to even low levels of methlymercury (evidenced in hair samples) perform more poorly in cognitive tests.

Since 8% of US women of childbearing age have unsafe mercury levels, more than 300,000 babies are bornat risk for memory, language, physical and attention spanimpairments. A scary thought isn't it? Every time I goto the supermarket, I want to stop at the tuna fish aisleand warn the parents buying all that tuna for their kids.

PCB's

Although PCB's, which were once used as insulating tools inelectrical transformers, were banned in 1977, they still remain in the fatty tissue of fish. PCB's are linked to impaired memory, certain cancers,and learning problems.

The New England Journal of Medicine reported on Sept. 12, 1996,that a study of 212 children born to women who had eaten PCB contaminated fish from Lake Michigan, were three times more likely to lag two years behind in reading comprehension and adversely affected intellectual function.

Dioxins

Dioxins are by products of industrial chemicals and alsoaccumulate in the fatty tissue of fish. In various animalstudies, dioxins have benn found to cause birth defects,nerve damage, changes in immune function, and higher levelsof miscarriages.

4. Can you get the health benefits of omega 3 fish oilswithout the risk?

If you're a conscientious consumer and pay attention tothird party quality assurance programs, you can be absolutely assured that the fish oil supplements you take are safe.

But beware - not all fish oils are created equal, or have the high quality you'd want for your family . Recent studies show that most "off the shelf" fish oils were rancid, even before their expiration date, and had high levels of mercury, PCB's and dioxins. So beforeyou run to your local store or warehouse shopping center for the least expensive fish oils, read on...

5. Who are the third party fish oil quality assurers and which fish oil supplements have the highest rating?

There are several organizations that independently insure the quality of fish oils and attest to the fact that there is no mercury, PCB's, dioxins, or other toxins in the fish oil.

These labs are highly regulated and rigorously test the fish to make sure that any contaminents are molecularly distilled out through many steps.

a. The IFOS - International Fish Oil Standards program.

IFOS measures quality of omega 3 products through more stringent global standards than that of the World Health Organization and the Council for Responsible Nutrition . Interestingly, the FDA standards for contaminants in fish oil are the least stringent of all the organizations.

IFOS program uses a lengthy series of dissolution rates, gas chromatography, and cold water vapor atomic absorption spectroscopy, etc., to determine contaminants and omega 3 content as a percentage of weight. Further their program tests product levels at higher parts per trillion than any of the others to insure greater safety.

Fish Oil Product Which Received The Highest Rating:

Although I am not recommending that you stop eating fish,you would have to consume many pounds of possibly contaminated fish to obtain what you could get in evenone capsule of the purest omega 3 supplement.

Here is the omega three supplement which has received the highest IFOS rating:

http://www.howtolearn.com/omega3.html

Remember, fish oil, omega 3 supplements have hundreds ofhealth benefits. If you want to improve your memory,think faster, remember longer, lower your blood pressure,eliminate many of the symptoms of depression and ADHD , check out these supplement products.