How to Choose the Best
Fish Oil Supplement

If you're looking for the best fish oil supplement, you cannot go by price alone.

There are many high quality products available, however, there are also many inferior products; all competing for your hard-earned dollars.

So how do you go about choosing the best fish oil that will meet your needs?

The two most important factors you should look at when determining the quality of your fish oil is:

1. The omega 3 concentration
2. The purity and quality of your fish oil

1. How to Calculate the Omega 3 Concentration of your Fish Oil

Omega 3 concentrations can vary in fish oil products

Many consumers will simply look at the label of a 1000 mg. soft gel and assume they're getting 1000 mg. of omega 3 fatty acids. Nothing could be further from the truth....

When it comes to the standard 1000 mg. soft gel; the omega 3 concentration is a very important factor to consider if you want the best fish oil supplement.

How do you figure out the omega 3 concentration? Divide the amount of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) into the total amount per soft gel.

For example, a 1000 mg. fish oil soft gel containing 300 mg. of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and 200 mg. of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) would contain an omega 3 concentration of 30% EPA and 20% DHA.

Most off-the-shelf fish oil supplements from your big box retailer or drug store provide a 30% concentration of EPA and DHA; and these should meet your needs as a general omega 3 supplement.

However, if you require a more highly-concentrated fish oil supplement you can either take more soft gels of a lower concentration or look for a fish oil that provides higher concentrations of omega 3 fatty acids per dose, such as a high-potency fish oil supplement.

2. Determine the Purity of your Fish Oil

How pure is your fish oil?

In most countries, the fish oil industry (and nutritional supplement industry, for that matter) are not completely regulated by Government or Health Agencies.

Therefore, you need some method of reliable testing to ensure the product meets certain criteria for freshness and purity.

Fish oils that come with documented laboratory testing or a Certification of Analysis can help you determine the quality the product.

Some of the best fish oil supplements will follow minimum standards set forth by International organizations, including the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CNR), European Pharmacopoeia and International Fish Oils Standards (IFOS).

Example of standards set forth for some purified fish oils:

• Mercury - less than 100 ppb (parts per billion)

• Arsenic - less than 100 ppb

• PCB's - less than 90 ppb

• Lead - less than 100 ppb

• Dioxins and Furans - less than 2 parts per trillion

• Omega 3 fatty acids - at least 60% concentration

While the above standards will provide you with a fish oil that's quite pure, you can get highly-purified fish oil supplements that surpass these levels.

If you want the best fish oil supplement that contains the lowest levels of detectable contaminants and the highest concentrations of omega 3 fatty acids, you'll need to find a fish oil manufacturer that performs high-quality testing and provides these test results for every single batch of fish oils produced.

Information on IFOS Fish Oils

IFOS Certification Label

One popular method for testing fish oils is the International Fish Oil Standards (IFOS). This is a third-party laboratory that charges fish oil manufacturers a fee to analyze their fish oil and provide the test results.

Like many third-party laboratories, the IFOS tests for omega 3 concentrations and contaminant levels in fish oils and makes there results available to the general public.

Here's more detailed information on IFOS fish oils.

You can also get some fish oil supplements where the laboratory test results are available to the public on their company website; and other companies may provide a batch number printed on each bottle that will allow you to enter the number on the company website to see the actual test results for that particular batch of fish oils.

Summary Check List for choosing the Best Fish Oil Supplement

Compare how much omega 3 fatty acids you get:

- Look at how many milligrams of EPA and DHA you get per dose.

- For example - a 1000 mg. soft gel containing 300 mg. of EPA is a 30% concentration. A 1500 mg. tablespoon of liquid fish oil containing 750 mg. of EPA is a 50% concentration.

Calculate your Cost per Dose:

- You'll find that most liquid fish oils will provide more omega 3's per dose than soft gels, however, you can find high-concentration fish oil soft gels that match or surpass liquid fish oils.

Does your fish oil come with a Certificate of Analysis?

The best fish oil supplements will provide a Certificate of Analysis so you can determine if there are any detectable levels of mercury, PCB's, dioxins, furan and other contaminants. You can also see what the analyzed level of omega 3 fatty acids is for each particular brand of fish oil.

The above guidelines should help you choose a high quality fish oil that will provide a respectable amount of omega 3 fatty acids in a highly-purified state.

My Personal List of the Best Fish Oil Supplement Brands

While there are dozens of different fish oil brands available, here are some high-quality marine oils that meet the minimum requirements for purity and potency. These fish oils are made exclusively by companies that specialize in manufacturing omega 3 fish oil supplements:

• Carlson Labs

• Nordic Naturals

• Minami Fish Oils

• Ascenta Health Ltd.

• Omega Brite Omega-3 Capsules

• PharmaOmega Ultra Pure Omega 3 Fish Oil

• Dr. Sears' OmegaRX Fish Oil

All of the above products meet standards set forth by the Council for Responsible Nutrition and the IFOS for omega 3 fatty acids concentrations and contaminant levels.

"Guaranteed to be the Freshest
Omega 3 Supplement!"


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