Fish are dying. Why, and how does it affect you, (and your Omega three capsules)?

You may, or may not have noticed recently that there is a phenomena occurring off the eastern shore of the US. And it may be of concern to anyone who takes their Omega three capsules.

You see there are millions of fish dying all along the east coast of the US. If this comes as news to you spend a little time on Google and find out a little more.

Or watch this video:

What is killing these fish and what does this have to do with anyone who takes their Omega three capsules?

The answer to the first question is that nobody is 100% sure what is killing the fish. Like everything there are plenty of theories, but no one is exactly sure.

Is it natural? Is it man made? Who knows. But it is a little scary that the seagulls are refusing to eat the fish. Do they know something that we don’t?

However it does seem a little coincidental that over the last few weeks, since the Gulf oil spill began, there has been much publicity about the use of Corexit to disperse the oil. And there is serious doubt about whether or not we should be putting Corexit in the sea at all.

There is evidence that the use of Corexit may well be seriously harmful to sea creatures. That in itself is a little worrying however it is also clear that Corexit doesn’t make the oil go away. What it does is break it up into very small pieces so that it disperses in the ocean rather than washing onto the shore.

Is it Corexit killing the fish? Is it the oil itself doing so? No one seems to know, though it does seem coincidental that this fish kill comes right after the worst oil spill in history and use of a highly questionable chemical to disperse it.

But what does this have to do with people taking Omega three capsules? In fact it raises some serious issues for anyone taking fish oil capsules unless they know exactly where the fish is caught from which the oil is extracted.

You see a lot of fish used for extraction of the oil for the purposes of use in Omega three capsules are caught in the waters between Europe and America. Now have a look at an image that shows you how the Gulfstream shall transport both the oil and the Corexit over time right into the waters of the North Atlantic.

We have written extensively about the risks of contamination in fish and fish oil used in Omega three capsules. However this poses even more questions.

Do you think it’s likely that oil taken from fish caught between Europe and America will be tested for Corexit? No we don’t think so either. And if you’re taking Omega three supplements which source their oil from fish caught in this region you may well be eating Corexit, or oil residue.

Personally we prefer to take the highest quality Omega three supplements which use oil from fish caught way down in the Southern Ocean south of New Zealand. There is no oil spill, or Corexit there.

And on top of that they also some of the most cost-effective Omega three capsules available.

So if you don’t know where the fish comes from that is used for the extraction of oil that goes into your Omega three capsules maybe it’s time to change to high quality fish oil supplements that use oil from fish caught in the clean and pristine Southern Ocean. Read the rest of this entry

The issue of PCBs in fish oil supplements is in the news at the moment. So how do you know if your Omega 3 supplements are free of PCBs?

PCBs in fish oil supplements is a serious issue, particularly as so many of us are now beginning to understand the health benefits of increasing the amount of Omega 3 essential fatty acids in our diet. Whilst the American Heart Association tells us to do that it also warns us of PCB levels in fish. And therefore the possibility of PCBs in fish oil supplements.

And PCB contamination of fish, and fish oil supplements, has been in the forefront of the news lately.

So we thought we’d do a short video showing you how to find out a bit more about the possible contamination of Omega 3 supplements with PCBs.

It’s not easy to tell if there are industrial toxins in fish oil capsules. But there are ways for  you to be more confident in the quality and safety of the Omega 3 capsules that you may be buying. We show you one of these ways.

And click here if you’d like to find out more about the premium Omega 3 capsules from Xtend Life, where you can also view the Certificate of Analysis mentioned in our video.

(Tips for playing the video. For better quality click the small box on the bottom right for whole screen. Use ESC to escape full screen).

There are high quality and clean Omega 3 capsules on the market. Not all are, but that doesn’t mean they are impossible to find. In our view the Premium Omega 3 Fish Oil capsules from Xtend Life are by far the cleanest and best. You’ll see why we think that in the video. Read the rest of this entry

Fish Oil And Contamination With PCBs Is Now The Subject Of A Lawsuit.

Chemical contamination is everywhere. Even in our oceans, and the results are that those of us who recognize the health benefits of taking the essential fatty acids found in oil from fish known as DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (Eicosapentaenoic acid) may be getting an unexpected dose of PCBs with our morning Omega3 supplements. There is now an established link between taking capsules of fish oil and contamination with chemicals like PCBs, and more.

A Californian laboratory tested 10 well known brands of what are generally known as quality fish oil supplements, including some big names such as Nature Made odorless fish oil and Twinlab Norwegian cod liver oil, and found levels of PCB contamination at worrying levels.

PCBs are a particularly pernicious chemical banned in the US since 1979. There are hundreds of different variations, most of which are considered to cause cancer.

In California under proposition 65 it is a legal requirement that consumers be warned of any levels of chemical contamination in excess of certain levels. This is a health measure to warn the general community of worrying levels of contamination with various nasty chemicals, including PCBs.

Proposition 65 sets “safe harbor” limits for upper levels of contamination of PCBs, and the levels found in many of the supposedly high quality fish oil supplements exceeded these levels in some cases, and this was not disclosed to consumers of the products.

As a result a lawsuit has now been launched against various manufacturers of fish oil supplements alleging that their “highest quality fish oil” supplements don’t meet the standards required by Proposition 65, and that consumers are not warned of this.

Omega 3 supplements go by a range of descriptions, including “ultra-refined fish oil”, “pharmaceutical-grade fish oil” and more, but none of these is a guarantee of contamination free Omega 3 supplements. None have any legal definition. There is even a set of standards called the International Fish Oil Standards which set maximum levels of chemical contamination, but these are not binding and many people consider the levels for these toxins to be too lax.

Fish oil contamination with PCBs is a serious health concern. There is no doubt now that Omega 3 supplements offer a wide range of recognized health benefits such as a reduction in the risk of heart related health problems such as heart attack and stroke, a reduction in the risks of Alzheimers disease, and much more. But you don’t want to be getting a dose of PCBs with your Omega 3 essential fatty acids, or you may be doing more harm than good.

But don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. Taking ultra high quality Omega 3 supplements may be one of the single best things you can ever do for your health. Just make sure that you choose your essential fatty acids supplements wisely. Fish oil purity counts.

The best Omega 3 supplements don’t contain PCBs, are routinely tested and the results, in the form of a Certificate of Analysis, are always posted on the website for consumers to examine. This is not the case for many other brands.

Fish oil quality, or fish oil purity, is a serious matter. Fish oil and contamination do not go together, and need not go together. There is no need to take a dose of PCBs with your Omega 3 capsules. Read the rest of this entry