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Why does your Doctor recommend Pharmaceutical Grade Omega-3 Fish Oil Concentrate?
One of the most neglected areas in our nutritional health involves the critical balance between the Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids. Our abundant intake of processed foods and the vegetable oils used to make them, combined with our typically low intake of fruits, vegetables and wild, cold water fish, creates an imbalance in these key fats that can produce a cascade of potential health problems.
Science has associated the imbalance of the Omega-3 and Omega-6 fats with many of our serious health conditions such as:
Why not just eat more fish?
Up until recently, the easiest way to increase your intake of Omega-3 fatty acids was through the consumption of cold-water fish. Unfortunately, with the ever-increasing pollution of our oceans, much of our fish supply contains significant levels of pollutants and heavy metals. To avoid this problem, a large portion of our fish supply is being met through fish farms, raising fish on feed that does not contain the important Omega-3 fats, resulting in fish with much lower Omega-3 fat content. Consequently, highly concentrated and refined Pharmaceutical Grade fish oil has become our safest and most effective source for these critically important fats.
How do you evaluate the Quality of Fish Oil?
It is important that you are not misled by the dramatic price differences among the various grades of fish oil products currently available. There are essentially three grades of fish oil and there are two key factors that differentiate their quality and ultimately their price:
Potency – the concentration of the key Omega-3 fats (both EPA and DHA) available in each gelcap or teaspoon of liquid.
Purity – the degree and quality of the purification process used to remove the environmental contaminants such as mercury, lead, arsenic, pesticides, PCB’s and dioxins.
Quality is critical to the long-term success of Omega-3 fat supplementation as sub-standard quality can result in gastric upset and fishy burp-back; two characteristics that typically result in discontinuation of use.
Cod-Liver Oil
This is the lowest quality fish oil because of its low concentration of Omega-3 fats while containing the highest concentration of contaminants. In addition, high-dose use of Cod Liver oil is not recommended due to the high levels of Vitamin A found in this form of fish oil. Although this is the most inexpensive form of fish oil most people are unable to tolerate its taste and side effect profile.
Health Food-grade Fish Oil (including Costco)
The level of contaminants in fish oil is largely a function of the size of the fish and their relative rank in the food chain. Small fish such as sardines and anchovies are relatively short-lived and therefore less likely to accumulate environmental pollutants. However, because it requires more of this type of fish to harvest oil, processing smaller fish contributes to increased costs. Larger fish such as salmon or mackerel are predatory, live longer and are more likely to contain higher levels of pollutants. Most health food-grade oils are fish body oils from these types of fish and many of the products will reference their oil source in their name such as Salmon Oil. Although they may be moderately refined and a 1-gram gel cap can contain up to 500 mg of Omega 3 fats, the price differential is largely reflective of using larger fish as raw material while providing only moderate refining to remove pollutants. The result is a product that may be lower in cost but limits long term, higher dose use as most consumers experience the gastric upset and burp-back that accompany the contaminants that have not been removed using less than “Pharmaceutical Grade” refinement standards.
Pharmaceutical Grade Fish Oil from The Institute for Optimum Aging
The Pharmaceutical Grade Fish oil that your physician has recommended from The Institute for Optimum Aging, meets all the standards of the highest quality fish oil. Raw material is limited to only small fish captured in the unpolluted waters off of Norway. The resulting fish oil is concentrated and highly refined in a pharmaceutical licensed production facility removing all contaminants and blended with anti-oxidants to prevent oxidation while adding a gentle natural lemon flavor for taste thus allowing for a satisfying, long-term use of a natural supplement that can have a profound impact on your health.
One of the most neglected areas in our nutritional health involves the critical balance between the Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids. Our abundant intake of processed foods and the vegetable oils used to make them, combined with our typically low intake of fruits, vegetables and wild, cold water fish, creates an imbalance in these key fats that can produce a cascade of potential health problems.
Science has associated the imbalance of the Omega-3 and Omega-6 fats with many of our serious health conditions such as:
- the promotion of the factors responsible for the silent inflammation that has now been strongly linked to damage to the artery walls contributing to the progression of artery disease and a significantly increased risk for heart attack and stroke even when other risk factors may not be present.
- increased degrees of constriction in our blood vessels as well as increased clotting, both factors linked to high blood pressure and heart disease.
- increased risk of Colon Cancer
- compromised brain function linked to Depression, Attention Deficit Order (ADD) and Alzheimer’s Disease.
Why not just eat more fish?
Up until recently, the easiest way to increase your intake of Omega-3 fatty acids was through the consumption of cold-water fish. Unfortunately, with the ever-increasing pollution of our oceans, much of our fish supply contains significant levels of pollutants and heavy metals. To avoid this problem, a large portion of our fish supply is being met through fish farms, raising fish on feed that does not contain the important Omega-3 fats, resulting in fish with much lower Omega-3 fat content. Consequently, highly concentrated and refined Pharmaceutical Grade fish oil has become our safest and most effective source for these critically important fats.
How do you evaluate the Quality of Fish Oil?
It is important that you are not misled by the dramatic price differences among the various grades of fish oil products currently available. There are essentially three grades of fish oil and there are two key factors that differentiate their quality and ultimately their price:
Potency – the concentration of the key Omega-3 fats (both EPA and DHA) available in each gelcap or teaspoon of liquid.
Purity – the degree and quality of the purification process used to remove the environmental contaminants such as mercury, lead, arsenic, pesticides, PCB’s and dioxins.
Quality is critical to the long-term success of Omega-3 fat supplementation as sub-standard quality can result in gastric upset and fishy burp-back; two characteristics that typically result in discontinuation of use.
Cod-Liver Oil
This is the lowest quality fish oil because of its low concentration of Omega-3 fats while containing the highest concentration of contaminants. In addition, high-dose use of Cod Liver oil is not recommended due to the high levels of Vitamin A found in this form of fish oil. Although this is the most inexpensive form of fish oil most people are unable to tolerate its taste and side effect profile.
Health Food-grade Fish Oil (including Costco)
The level of contaminants in fish oil is largely a function of the size of the fish and their relative rank in the food chain. Small fish such as sardines and anchovies are relatively short-lived and therefore less likely to accumulate environmental pollutants. However, because it requires more of this type of fish to harvest oil, processing smaller fish contributes to increased costs. Larger fish such as salmon or mackerel are predatory, live longer and are more likely to contain higher levels of pollutants. Most health food-grade oils are fish body oils from these types of fish and many of the products will reference their oil source in their name such as Salmon Oil. Although they may be moderately refined and a 1-gram gel cap can contain up to 500 mg of Omega 3 fats, the price differential is largely reflective of using larger fish as raw material while providing only moderate refining to remove pollutants. The result is a product that may be lower in cost but limits long term, higher dose use as most consumers experience the gastric upset and burp-back that accompany the contaminants that have not been removed using less than “Pharmaceutical Grade” refinement standards.
Pharmaceutical Grade Fish Oil from The Institute for Optimum Aging
The Pharmaceutical Grade Fish oil that your physician has recommended from The Institute for Optimum Aging, meets all the standards of the highest quality fish oil. Raw material is limited to only small fish captured in the unpolluted waters off of Norway. The resulting fish oil is concentrated and highly refined in a pharmaceutical licensed production facility removing all contaminants and blended with anti-oxidants to prevent oxidation while adding a gentle natural lemon flavor for taste thus allowing for a satisfying, long-term use of a natural supplement that can have a profound impact on your health.