Pure Fish Oil – What does it actually mean?

Let’s say that you are shopping around for fish oil supplements. What you might encounter in terms of labels and claims from manufacturers mind be mind boggling. One of the most misunderstood of the various claims flying around, is the label “pure fish oil”.

Trying to look beyond facy labels, you should ask yourself: What does “pure fish oil” mean in terms of quality?

What I will try to do in this article, is to give you a little bit of insight as to what criteria you should definitely consider when you want to buy the best quality fish oil.

Firstly, speaking about the omega 3 essential fatty acis that are contained inside the fish oil, what is important to know is that there are several types of these acids.

The most important, however, are two: DHA and EPA. Of these, DHA is very important, since it is one of the most fundamental constituents of our brain. In fact, 60% of our brain consists of fats. Half of these are DHA! So, it is understood, that high percent concentration of DHA (minimum 25%) is a reliable indication that the supplement has high quality.

Another important criterion, which is interrelated with the one I mentioned above, is the type of fish that the pure fish oil was extracted from.

Not all fish are the same in terms of DHA and EPA content. The best are the fatty fish, which live in cold, deep waters. Salmon and herring are the most common examples.

The last criterion in my list, but by no means the least in terms of importance, has a direct association with the term “pure” in the “pure fish oil” label.

Purity refers to the amount of contaminants that the product has. When I say contaminants, I mean heavy metals like cadmium, mercury, arsenic etc., PCBs and dioxins.

You see, in this day and age pollution is everywhere, including oceans and seas that the fish used for oil extraction live and swim in.

Therefore, in order to get rid of these unwanted chemicals, a purification process has to take place.

According to nutrition experts, as of now the most efficient method that utilizes advanced technology to separate pure fish oil from contaminants based on weight, is molecular distillation.

Now, pay attention to this: Because of the fact that deployment of this process is costly, most of the manufacturers avoid using it.

Therefore, it is a crucial factor that you should make sure that the particular product you intend to buy has indeed been molecularly distilled.

Now, let me recommend to you a top quality pure fish oil that comes from a fish called hoki. This swims in the cold, deep waters in southwest Pacific Ocean near New Zealand. This is a part of the world that is one of the least polluted on the planet.

Its oil is very rich in omega 3 acids, especially DHA, and it is purified through molecular distillation.