I have watch fish oil grow from a back water industry into a giant machine in the supplement world.
Honestly, I am going to blow my own horn here and tell you I had a lot to do with it. Of course no one would dream of saying that out loud but I have seen my exact words copied, paraphrased and used to sell other people’s products for almost 18 years now.
I have seen people slowly but surely adopt my “arguments” against the nonsense that masquerades as research in Omega 3 fatty acids including most recently, a decent sized back lash at the supposed “reputable group of scientists” who published yet another BS meta analysis that did not include, address or otherwise mention dosage as an issue.
These same scientists would scream bloody murder and never allow something to be published that used 2.5 mg of one of their vaunted statin drugs and then said they were worthless.
If you are going to evaluate the effects of fish oil the dose must be correct, and if you’ve been reading me for a while you know it needs to be between 4 and 6 grams a day in spite of the ACA statement that anything over 3 grams is worthless. If they had ever done a study with anything over 3 grams I might listen but again BS is BS.
Now the supplement industry is not free of BS by a long shot.
I have seen two disturbing trends coming to the forefront by clever marketing.
The first is advertising a huge dose right on the front label panel. I am seeing doses of 3300 etc. glaring out at you from the label front. In tiny print on the back they put dose: 4 capsules daily. So, the amount you are getting per capsule is less than 1 gram, especially when you add up the EPA and DHA amounts.
Remember, a lot of fish oils are not that pure. They may contain only 500mg of so of the essential fats and another 500 of “fish oil or marine lipid concentrate”. That is not contributing to the Omega 3 amount you want and need. It may even contain a fair amount of Omega 6.
So, watch you for what I like to call label fraud and look at the total EPA and DHA numbers PER CAPSULE, not per the recommended dose in the fine print. It is very hard to get more than 1 gram of EPA and DHA in a capsule because it starts getting hard to swallow. Our capsules always always always require a special run by the encapsulator because they are larger than the standard size although no one complains about swallowing them!
Next trend to watch out for is clever but also falls short on the science. Someone has decided that “clear” fish oil is going to convince people its purer and better. Unfortunately, this flies in the face of reason.
Fish oil is naturally slightly rose colored if it is not distilled (purified) or naturally golden if highly distilled. It also has to do with the type of fish used, salmon oil having a more orange hue than white fish which are more straw colored in their oil.
Clear color has nothing to do with the purity or potency. As a matter of fact the actual amount of EPA and DHA in this oil appears to be at best mediocre-less than 500 mg per capsule. If it were so highly refined and distilled it would approach the 85% levels my oil does.
It falls far short of that which can only mean it is NOT more pure or more distilled or more free of contaminants. It would be hard to exceed the vanishingly low levels of oxidation and toxins in the Longevity Edge Fish Oil.
I applaud people’s attempts to create new things and distinguish their products.
I just wish it would be something meaningful because every new nonsensical thing that comes out is just more fuel for Big Pharma sponsored science and our dear friends at the alphabet agencies to attack the supplement industry.
I have been at this for 18 years from all angles including biochemistry, production and human biology. I consider it my job to keep you informed of the tricks and marketing hype out there so you can make an informed decision. Remember, I take the same oil you take!!!
Yours Truly!
Dr. Dave
*Since I make and take my own fish oil I freely admit a personal bias for it. That said I will go toe to toe with any oil out there any time. Any takers?!!!