Fish Oil Potency

It's no secret that fish oil should be a staple in EVERYONE's diet (read: this means YOU). Normally I am not a big fan of advocating supplements to the public, but there are a handful of "supplements" that I don't necessarily consider supplements. [Did that make sense?]. Rather, I consider them to be crucial components of a healthy diet: multi-vitamin, protein powder, and fish oil. I also consider Lindsay Lohan to be a talentless ho-bag with the brain capacity of a three year old. Seriously, if aliens were to ever come down to Earth and happen to abduct her to perform human experiments, they would probably find a teddy bear where her brain should be. But that's beside the point.

Back to fish oil.....

If you're not taking your fish oil for the health benefits alone (and believe me there are literally hundreds), please kindly click the power button on your computer right now and buy some for crying out loud. However be careful of which brand you buy. As my friend Mike Roussell has pointed out in his new manual Your Naked Nutrition Guide, when purchasing fish oil, it's important that you buy a PURE and POTENT product.

I agree with him 100% and often recommend that people don't buy a fish oil supplement that isn't atleast 50% pure. To determine the purity of your fish oil simply divide the amount of combined EPA and DHA by the total amount of fat in the product. Most fish oil products you will find in your local grocery store contain 0.18 g of EPA and 0.12 g of DHA per 1 gram capsule.

0.18+0.12=0.3 grams of total omega-3's (EPA/DHA combined)

0.3/1g (of fat per capsule)=.3 or 30%

Essentially most fish oil supplements found in local drug stores or grocery stores are 30% pure. They're cheap, but they are potentially loaded with mercury, toxins, and other contaminants. You will have to pay a little more for 50% pure fish oil products, but it's soooo worth it. As an added bonus, the purer the product is, the less likely you are to experience any fishy after taste or burps.