Fish Oil Research!

KEY POINTS:

– There is a massive amount of research surrounding the potential therapeutic benefits of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs).

– Reasons for supplementing with fish oil include increasing cognition, decreasing risk for cardiovascular disease, and decreasing levels of inflammation.

– Fish oil products that likely lack the listed n-3 PUFA amounts are in part because of oxidative damage, rather than simple underdosing or being adulterated

– Previous surveys in Poland, Norway, France, and Brazil have all shown a large percentage of commercial fish oil that was oxidized above international standards.

– Oxidized fish oil has been suggested as a reason why some fish oil trials have failed to improve cardiovascular health, although there hasn’t been much direct evidence for this

– Unless you cook up a fish right when you catch it (or it gets flash frozen and stored in darkness), there will be some amount of oxidized PUFAs.

– A seven-week human trial of oxidized fish oil showed that short-term harm from fish oil oxidation products is unlikely

– More expensive products on average had a higher correlation between actual and claimed EPA and DHA, there was substantial variation among products. 

– Cost doesn’t indicate lack of degradation, as expensive fish oil had in fact had MORE absolute degradation because it had higher PUFA content

– Keeping your fish oil supplement in the dark and in the refrigerator will slow oxidation rates. 

– Buying huge bottles of fish oil may not be the best option for keeping it low in oxidation products

– When in doubt, taste test it. If it tastes bad, it’s probably pretty oxidized

Study:
http://www.nature.com/srep/2015/150121/srep07928/full/srep07928.html

– Examine RD Issue 5