Up to 96000 of us die each year from Omega 3 deficiency. Are you taking your Omega 3 capsules?

That sounds a little melodramatic doesn’t it? That omega 3 deficiency could be killing you? Melodramatic or not the results of a recent study has concluded that omega 3 deficiency was responsible for between 72000 and 96000 preventable deaths in the US every year.

This study was not just intended to study the negative effects of Omega 3 deficiency but was in fact intended to study the general mortality effects of a range of identifiable dietary, lifestyle and metabolic risk factors in the US.

It was intended to study these factors so that the data could be used for health policy and priorities setting.

The 12 dietary, lifestyle and metabolic risk factors that were studied included high blood glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure, obesity, high dietary trans fatty acids and salt,  dietary polyunsaturated fatty acid levels, Omega 3 fatty acids, fruits and vegetable intake and  low physical activity, use of alcohol and smoking.

Not surprisingly the results concluded that the 2 biggest preventable lifestyle factors causing the highest number of preventable deaths in the US were smoking and high blood pressure. It was estimated that in 2005 smoking and high blood pressure were responsible for almost 800,000 preventable deaths in the US, accounting for around one in every 5 or 6 deaths of adults in America. Next came obesity and physical inactivity accounting for around one in 10 deaths.

The first thing that surprised us about this study is that omega 3 deficiency was studied at all. There is ample evidence that omega 3 deficiency can contribute to various poor health outcomes including heart attack and stroke, however we had still not considered the possibility that deficiency of omega 3 in the population of the US could possibly contribute to so many deaths.

Estimates are that over 90 percent of adults in the US have too little intake of Omega 3 essential fatty acids and their diet and are therefore omega 3 deficient. It seems clear from the study that this now contributes significantly to the risk of death from an omega 3 deficiency related condition such as heart attack or stroke.

And it’s not just an increase in the likelihood of health problems that are directly related to omega 3 deficiency. For example studies now show that low levels of Omega 3 essential fatty acids in the body can contribute to becoming overweight and that increasing your intake of both DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), the 2 most important Omega 3 essential fatty acids, can help you lose weight as part of an overall weight loss program.

And of course obesity itself contributes to a range of lifestyle diseases which themselves can result in disability or death. Therefore omega 3 deficiency also contributes to these diseases indirectly by contributing to the sufferer carrying excess weight.

If you browse our categories at the right you will see a wide range of health conditions which have all been found to benefit from higher levels of Omega 3 essential fatty acids in the diet. The evidence is now so overwhelming that omega 3 supplements are now the first nutritional supplements recommended by the American Heart Association.

With 90 percent or more of American adults being deficient in Omega 3 this has major implications for individuals and also for our health system.

There is an easy way to improve your levels of omega 3 essential fatty acids. One way is to eat more fish however fish is expensive and contaminated with toxins including mercury and for this reason the FDA recommend against eating too much fish. However the best omega 3 capsules are entirely clean and are a very cost effective and safe way to add omega 3 essential fatty acids to your daily diet.

Melodramatic or not the studies are now clearly showing the benefits of an increased intake of Omega 3 essential fatty acids found in fish oil and it is now quite clear that virtually all of this should be supplementing our diet with daily Omega 3 capsules.

The best Omega 3 capsules are way better than the worst and we have written articles helping you compare Omega 3 supplements, both for value and for quality. We hope you enjoy those articles.

There’s so many reasons to add fish oil capsules to your daily diet. Read the rest of this entry

There is now a clear fish oil weight loss link. Why would Omega 3 fats help with losing weight?

Have you heard about the benefits of fish oil? Weight loss may be one of those benefits that you hadn’t thought about. There are now scientific studies linking fish oil and weight loss and today we wanted to look at the link between fish oil supplements and weight loss.

The science seems to suggest that one of the best ways to improve any weight loss program, along with a balanced diet and exercise, is to have an adequate supply of Omega 3 essential fatty acids. The 2 most important of these essential fatty acids are called DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and apart from eating lots of fish the best way to get these is using omega 3 supplements.

There’s several reasons why an adequate supply of DHA and EPA helps in losing weight. There is one reason you may never have thought of. If you’ve read the rest of our website you’ll see that fish oil supplements help improve the outcomes for people suffering from depression.

It is thought that this effect helps people who may be struggling psychologically with the difficulties of following a low-calorie diet and help them maintain a positive attitude and avoid some of the more negative psychological effects that some experience that cause them to struggle to maintain the diet.

It is now well understood that more DHA helps reduce the effects of depression. If you’re interested in finding more browse our depression category at the right.

But this isn’t the only fish oil weight loss link. The link between fish oil and weight loss has been studied extensively and a new study from Australia has recently been released about the benefits of fish oil for weight loss.

In this study researchers studied 124 adults classed as normal, overweight or obese. 63 were obese and 40 were overweight. Each of these subjects fasted for 10 hours and then blood samples were taken to measure their omega 3 levels. (None of these people took fish oil supplements.)

There was a clear link between the levels of omega 3 in their bodies and their weight. Those who were the heaviest had the least omega 3 and those who had normal weight had the most omega 3 in their bodies. The conclusion was that those who have higher levels of omega 3 essential fatty acids tend to have lower weight and a smaller waistline and hips.

This demonstrates a clear omega 3 weight loss link. It is not entirely clear how omega 3 for weight loss works. There are some theories suggesting that an increase in omega 3 essential fatty acids increases the feeling of fullness in people thereby helping reduce their intake of calories, and other studies suggest that omega 3 fats help the body burn calories better.

And there is the reason previously mentioned, that an adequate supply of Omega 3 fats helps maintain a positive attitude.

But it is generally estimated that around 90% of people in the US are deficient in Omega 3 essential fatty acids.

There is now a significant number of studies confirming a fish oil weight loss link and that using fish oil supplements for weight loss is a worthwhile strategy.

There is also a range of other health benefits associated with increasing your intake of omega 3 fatty acids and it is highly likely that these benefits also contribute to a successful weight loss campaign.

No one is suggesting that if you just start taking fish oil weight loss will happen automatically. Even the best fish oil supplements on their own are unlikely to produce significant weight loss unless combined with a controlled diet and exercise however it seems clear that using fish oil supplements for weight loss in this way is likely to improve your result.

Bear in mind that not all fish oil supplements are the same. We have attempted to write articles that help you determine which are the best fish oil supplements both in effectiveness and value. Feel free to read those articles which you’ll see listed on the right.

In our view the fish oil capsules from Xtend Life are the best fish oil capsules money can buy and it now seems that there is another significant reason to take your fish oil. Weight loss.

We wish you luck in your quest to lose weight. Don’t forget that there is a wide range of benefits to taking Omega 3 supplements other than weight loss, for example improved heart health and reduced risk of stroke. Read the rest of this entry

Compare fish oil capsules by price and quality to determine which are the best fish oil supplements

So you’ve read enough and researched enough about the benefits of fish oil and the omega 3 essential fatty acids that are found in it and it’s time to choose some fish oil supplements to buy. But there’s so many omega 3 supplements on the market. How do you choose between them to decide which are the best fish oil supplements?

It’s not an easy question to answer unless you spend quite some time learning about the benefits of fish oil, the different types of essential fatty acids and the way in which omega 3 fats work to benefit your health. And even once you’ve decided which are the best fish oil supplements you need to decide whether they offer good value for money.

You see it’s a little more complex than just adding fish oil to your diet. The actual essential fatty acids which are the important omega 3 fatty acids found in fish oil are DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (Eicosapentaenoic acid). Of these 2 it is now considered that DHA is the most important.

Not all fish oil is DHA or EPA, these are just the important ingredients. In fact you will find that your average fish oil capsule has 18 percent EPA and 12 percent DHA. That means that in a 1000 milligram capsule you are getting 180 milligrams of EPA and 120 milligrams of DHA. You should be able to read these details from the label which should specify the percentages of DHA and EPA in the fish oil capsule together with the weight of each capsule, which is commonly 1000 milligrams.

Some fish oil supplements do not specify the amount of DHA or EPA contain you should avoid these because you have no idea how much of these essential fatty acids that you are buying.

In effect you are just buying the DHA and EPA contained in the capsule. The rest is just filler or carrier. It is the DHA and EPA that is of benefit to your health.

Whilst this 18/12 ratio is very common amongst omega 3 supplements the best fish oil supplements contain way more active ingredients. The very best fish oil supplements contain 280 milligrams of DHA which is roughly 2 1/2 times as much DHA as your average capsules. This means that if you are taking four capsules a day of your average capsules you can take two of the best fish oil capsules and still be getting more DHA than you were before.

The next thing to consider is the cleanliness of the fish oil in the capsules. It is now commonly recognized that fish are contaminated with a range of toxins including mercury, PCBs, pesticides and heavy metals. Although the amounts of these are small the FDA still recommends that we limit our intake of fish due to the presence of these toxins.

If you are to improve your health outcomes with omega-3 supplementation it is important to take your supplements daily. Even at very low levels of contamination taking daily doses of contaminated fish oil can add up over time and be dangerous to your health. You have to be confident that the fish oil capsules that you are taking are entirely free of contamination and safe to take daily.

The first thing to find out about your fish oil capsules is the fish that they are sourced from. There are companies that catch fish and there are companies that make fish oil capsules but the 2 rarely come together. What usually happens is that the fish oil capsule manufacturer buys their fish oil from a fish oil wholesaler and the source of the fish is pretty much unknown. Many of the fish used for fish oil come from the north Atlantic which is one of the most polluted oceans in the world.

The cleanest fish are found in the oceans furthest away from where people live. This is the southern ocean between Australia and New Zealand and Antarctica. Fish caught there have extremely low levels of contamination, and mostly undetectable levels of contamination.

The company that makes the best fish oil supplements sources its fish from this ocean. It contracts individual fishermen to catch fish for them and requires them to put the fish on ice immediately that they are caught. They are brought to shore straight away and processed immediately for their fish oil. This is the single most effective way of ensuring that they have a clean, fresh and uncontaminated supply of fish from which to extract the oil.

The freshness of the fish is very important. Because many companies that manufacture omega 3 supplements buy fish oil from fish wholesalers the oil may be a little too old by the time it reaches them. Like anything else fish oil can go off and does so because of oxidization. Fish oil that has gone off is rancid fish oil. You will know if fish oil is rancid because you’ll often get that fishy burp after taking your supplements. This is an indication that the fish oil in the supplements is rancid.

Some manufacturers use a masking fragrance to overcome the smell of rancid fish oil. As you can see the freshness of the fish used is crucial.

Even though they use the freshest cleanest fish the company that makes the best fish oil supplements still puts their fish oil through a double process of decontamination. In this way they can be absolutely certain that there are no contaminants at all and to confirm this they have every single batch of fish oil used in their supplements tested by 2 independent laboratories and they publish the results of these tests on their website. You can go to their website and view the Certificate Of Analysis produced by the testing laboratory and see the figures for yourself.

See if you can find a copy of a Certificate Of Analysis for your average fish oil capsules.

In our view the fish oil supplements made by Xtend Life are the best fish oil supplements that money can buy. They contain 28 percent DHA, have no contaminants at all and are made from the freshest fish sourced from the southern ocean between Antarctica and New Zealand. You can view their Certificate Of Analysis on their website.

But even though they may be the best fish oil supplements this doesn’t mean they represent the best value. Any comparison of Omega 3 capsules must also make a comparison on price and value and accordingly we publish for you below a table comparing fish oil capsules by price in the best way possible, by comparing the price per gram of DHA. And ultimately that is what you’re buying when you buy fish oil capsules.

You can see that the table compares 11 well-known brands of omega 3 supplements by price on a cost per gram of DHA basis. The capsules produced by Xtend Life are the cheapest doing a direct price comparison. You cannot compare the price of capsules directly because some capsules have less DHA than the best ones.

Here’s the table.

(Please note that the data for the basis of the comparison comes from the respective websites as shown in August 2009.) Read the rest of this entry