Omega 3 or Omega 3 6 & 9?

[Sean68]

ive been taking omega 3 fish oil(1000mg) for a while now and my supply is running out. i do think its made me feel a bit brighter and more
alert but im considering buying an omega 3 6 & 9 complex instead.
the thing is that i dont really know what the 6 & 9 actually do and the
concentration of omega 3 is much less (250mg) so i dont know whether
to just stick with what im currently taking.

im generally a 'if it aint broke' kind of a guy but if anyone has any thoughts theyd be welcome. cheers.

 

[CCS]

you get lots of the 6's and 9's just from eating peanuts or other seeds. Spend your money on what you don't have, the 3's.

 

[Strange Days]

ive been taking omega 3 fish oil(1000mg)

Two things you need to look for:

1.) The EPA/DHA content of the capsules you're taking. Those are the actual omega 3 acids. The '1000mg' aspect is meaningless if there's a miniscule amount of those two acids.

2.) Fish oil should be molecularly distilled in order to remove toxins.

I see you're in the UK, unfortunately there's not as much choice here unless you import from an online U.S. store.

According to this table, some of the Holland & Barrett ones are ok.

 

[Bryan]

I'm not sure how smart it is to take capsules of fish oil or any other oil rich in polyunsaturates, since it's probably difficult to protect them against oxidation. If the contents of the capsules aren't well-protected by antioxidants, I personally wouldn't use them. On the other hand, if you buy bottles of the pure oil itself, you can easily add your own antioxidants to it when you first open the bottle.

Bryan

 

[JohnnySeville]

If you can get it, pick up Carlson's Cod Liver Oil. It is the highest quality available, high in Omega 3. They have very strict quality control. They go as far as removing oxygen from the container and replacing it with nitrogen, so at to avoid oxidation. It also has Vit E as a preservative, but I add extra when I open it. If you keep it refrigerated, it will stay perfect for about 2 months.

PS...It is lemon flavored with no fishy taste, excellent stuff.

 

[Strange Days]

Thanks for the info, Bryan. I need to get a new supplement. :shock:

Oxidized fish oil

When these oils go rancid (or “go offâ€￾ as the Brits put it) they don’t go from being healthful to simply becoming neutral, they actually convert to harmful oxidized fats called lipid peroxides.

Lipid peroxides can (and do) start free radical cascades that can damage fatty cellular membranes. At the very least lipid peroxides consume the body’s stores of vitamin E and other antioxidants to neutralize them, leaving the body short of many of its natural defenses.

(....)

How do you insure that the fish oil you get is not rancid? It’s actually pretty easy. First, purchase the freshest fish oil capsules you can find. Take them home, and if they are in plastic bottles, put them in glass bottles. Plastic bottles, surprisingly enough, are not totally impervious to air. Glass bottles are impervious to air.

Most fish oil is encapsulated using gel caps, which are also not impervious to air. You can’t really reencapsulate the fish oil, so you’ve got to live with the gel caps, but putting them into a glass bottle keeps the air from getting to the gel caps in the first place. Second, put the glass bottle in the refrigerator. The cold will markedly slow down the oxidation process even if a little air gets in the bottle. Refrigerated fish last a lot longer than fish left out on the counter.

So the majority of fish oil you can buy at the grocery store/mall here in the UK is junk. It's never in glass jars and it's never stored in the refrigerator. To top it all various brands here have been recalled for containing high amounts of dioxins.

 

[Jm0311]

damnit this pisses me off i just bought some fish oil pills from walgreens. the walgreens brand. so again sorry if i missed it...where can you get the good stuff and what should u look for?

 

[Jm0311]

If you can get it, pick up Carlson's Cod Liver Oil. It is the highest quality available, high in Omega 3. They have very strict quality control. They go as far as removing oxygen from the container and replacing it with nitrogen, so at to avoid oxidation. It also has Vit E as a preservative, but I add extra when I open it. If you keep it refrigerated, it will stay perfect for about 2 months.

PS...It is lemon flavored with no fishy taste, excellent stuff.

can you get that at walgreens?

 

[JohnnySeville]

No clue, I buy mine locally at a place called the Vitamin Shoppe. This is their online site. They have 2 varieties, cod liver oil, which contains Vit D and fish liver oil, which does not. Both are very high in Omega 3.

http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/b ... id=CL-1938

http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/b ... id=CL-1776

 

[Bryan]

If you can get it, pick up Carlson's Cod Liver Oil. It is the highest quality available, high in Omega 3. They have very strict quality control. They go as far as removing oxygen from the container and replacing it with nitrogen, so at to avoid oxidation.

Ahh...it's nitrogen-flushed. That's excellent, at least for preserving it while it sits in a warehouse or on a store shelf.

It also has Vit E as a preservative, but I add extra when I open it.

Vitamin E isn't a particularly potent antioxidant, especially at what is probably the pretty low dosage that they add to the fish oil.

BTW, I'm curious to know exactly how you go about "adding extra" vitamin E to your product. How much do you add, and what FORM of the vitamin is it that you add?

Bryan

 

[Bryan]

I personally use TwinLab Norwegian Cod Liver Oil. It's a pure liquid, and comes in a 12-ounce bottle that's nitrogen-flushed at the factory. The moment I open the bottle the first time, I add about 500 mg of BHT and around 750 mg or so of ascorbyl palmitate and stir it gently into the oil (it usually takes a day or two to dissolve). I store it in the fridge, and try to use it up in a timely fashion. That combination provides pretty potent synergistic antioxidant protection for the length of time that I'm using it.

Bryan

 

[Jm0311]

No clue, I buy mine locally at a place called the Vitamin Shoppe. This is their online site. They have 2 varieties, cod liver oil, which contains Vit D and fish liver oil, which does not. Both are very high in Omega 3.

http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/b ... id=CL-1938

http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/b ... id=CL-1776

the cod liver oil is high in omega 3? and its very good product?

whats the point of having vit d in it?

 

[Jm0311]

Ill check that out

 

[JohnnySeville]

No clue, I buy mine locally at a place called the Vitamin Shoppe. This is their online site. They have 2 varieties, cod liver oil, which contains Vit D and fish liver oil, which does not. Both are very high in Omega 3.

http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/b ... id=CL-1938

http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/b ... id=CL-1776

the cod liver oil is high in omega 3? and its very good product?

whats the point of having vit d in it?

I do not get out much in the wintertime, so I use the Cod Liver oil to supplement Vit D. If you get out in the sun enough you do not need it. I plan to switch over to Fish Liver Oil in the summertime. Both are great and have no fish taste at all, just lemon flavor.

 

[JohnnySeville]

If you can get it, pick up Carlson's Cod Liver Oil. It is the highest quality available, high in Omega 3. They have very strict quality control. They go as far as removing oxygen from the container and replacing it with nitrogen, so at to avoid oxidation.

Ahh...it's nitrogen-flushed. That's excellent, at least for preserving it while it sits in a warehouse or on a store shelf.

It also has Vit E as a preservative, but I add extra when I open it.

Vitamin E isn't a particularly potent antioxidant, especially at what is probably the pretty low dosage that they add to the fish oil.

BTW, I'm curious to know exactly how you go about "adding extra" vitamin E to your product. How much do you add, and what FORM of the vitamin is it that you add?

Bryan

I add in some gamma tocopherol caps, works out to about another 25 IU per teaspoon over the 15 IU they include. BTW, the oil also has ascorbyl palmitate and rosemary extract, though they do not list exactly how much. Best thing about this is it actually taste good, if you can believe that.

 

[sublime]

No clue, I buy mine locally at a place called the Vitamin Shoppe. This is their online site. They have 2 varieties, cod liver oil, which contains Vit D and fish liver oil, which does not. Both are very high in Omega 3.

http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/b ... id=CL-1938

http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/b ... id=CL-1776

the cod liver oil is high in omega 3? and its very good product?

whats the point of having vit d in it?

I would be wary of fish oils unless the product speaks to the mercury content or hopefully the lack there of. Otherwise you might as well take your fish oils with a shot of mercury. If you are worried about price then it is a selectable product but you are getting what you pay for. I have heard Krill is a good source and several products are mercury free. You could also look into algae.

 

[Bryan]

I add in some gamma tocopherol caps

Is it gamma tocopherol, or gamma tocopherol acetate, or what, exactly?

Bryan

 

[Jm0311]

ok now im pretty lost....i thought i was just being healthy taking these Fish Oil walgreens brand pills.

ok was that link u sent me some good stuff? i would like a reasonably priced one.....bryan...what do u suggest?

 

[Jm0311]

johnny,

im definetely looking into yours too

 

[abcdefg]

omega anything is worthless. Get it from food and save your money. Omega 3's are waay over hyped.
Just today vitamin A, E dont do jack crap for anyone taking them as supplements.
I have my doubts supplements even do anything.