With the development of the times, people's health awareness is becoming stronger, and health products have become a daily necessity for families. Among many health products, if you can only choose one, deep-sea fish oil becomes people's first choice!
In the face of the huge market for deep-sea fish oil, where there is a mix of good and bad, how should we choose? What is the use of fish oil? Is it an IQ tax? How to distinguish the quality of fish oil? How should I eat fish oil? What are the precautions
First, make a table of contents. You can start from scratch or jump directly to your favorite topic to watch.
1、 What is deep-sea fish oil? Why eat fish oil? What are the benefits of eating fish oil?
2、 How to choose deep-sea fish oil? What brands are there? What are the recommendations for high-purity fish oil?
3、 How to eat fish oil? What should I pay attention to? Are fish oil and cod liver oil the same?
Let me address these questions one by one.
1、 What is fish oil? Why eat fish oil?
1. What is fish oil?
Fish oil is a type of oil extracted from fatty fish, rich in EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), and various n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3PUFA); be commonly called:
Omega3；
Ordinary fish contain very little EPA and DHA. Only fish in the deep sea in cold regions, such as salmon and sardine, contain very high EPA and DHA. In addition, other land animals almost do not contain EPA and DHA. Therefore, deep-sea fish is selected to extract EPA and DHA. Therefore, fish oil is also called deep-sea fish oil, and there is not much difference between the two.
Fatty fish rich in Omega3 polyunsaturated fatty acids include mackerel, tuna, salmon, sturgeon, anchovy, sardine, herring, trout, etc. At present, Peru is the largest fishing ground in the world;
The raw materials of good fish oil mainly come from small migratory fish in the pure deep sea cold water region of South America, such as sardine and anchovies. As long as there is a little pollution in the water area, they will die. They are among the lowest fish in the biological chain.
2. What are the benefits and functions of fish oil?
Simply put, eating fish oil is a supplement to Omega-3. Omega-3 cannot be synthesized by the human body itself and can only be consumed through external foods. Omega-3 is a type of polyunsaturated fatty acid, with the most important being EPA and DHA;
EPA, known as the "vascular cleaner", guides and cleans blood vessels, improves blood viscosity, regulates blood lipids, promotes fat metabolism, improves arrhythmia, and reduces the occurrence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases such as thrombosis, arteriosclerosis, and infarction.
DHA, commonly known as "brain gold", is an important component of the brain and retina. It is an essential material basis for the formation, development, and operation of brain cells, and can promote and coordinate the conduction of neural circuits to maintain the normal operation of brain cells.
To summarize, the benefits and functions of deep-sea fish oil are:
1) Regulate blood lipids, prevent blood clotting, and prevent cerebral thrombosis, cerebral hemorrhage, and stroke.
2) Prevent arthritis, relieve gout and asthma, and temporarily alleviate swelling and pain caused by arthritis.
3) Prevent Alzheimer's disease, nourish the brain, and improve memory.
4) Improve vision and prevent presbyopia.
5) Reduce blood lipids, clear blood clots, and improve memory.
6) Maintain the retina and prevent senile dementia.
Special attention should be paid to the content (purity) of EPA and DHA in fish oil, that is, high-purity deep-sea fish oil with Omega-3 greater than 85% has the effect of lowering blood lipids;
3. Why should we eat fish oil?
In our country, at least 3 million people die from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases every year, and almost one person dies from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases every 30 seconds.
Facing the health status of Chinese people, it is worrying.
Supplementing with high-purity deep-sea fish oil is not an optional topic, but a mandatory one. People with health awareness must protect their cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems!
To take care of one's cardiovascular system, in addition to paying attention to diet, it is important to supplement with high-purity fish oil to regularly eliminate the "garbage and toxins" in the blood vessels. This is a must-have answer for knowledgeable people! Not only for oneself, but also to take care of one's family and contribute value to the country! Do you think so?!
2、 How to choose fish oil? What are the recommendations?
After understanding what deep-sea fish oil is and the benefits of supplementing it, how do we choose deep-sea fish oil?
Firstly, let me explain to you that the "Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Abnormal Blood Lipids in Chinese Adults" states:
Only fish oil with Omega-3 fatty acids greater than 85% has a truly significant lipid-lowering effect.
This is a legitimate official document, you can search for it yourself. Based on the treatment standards for deep-sea fish oil, let's first take a look at the current situation of the fish oil market in China and even globally?
1. Analysis of the market situation of deep-sea fish oil:
According to data from professional institutions, most of the fish oil on the market now is relatively low purity deep-sea fish oil. The market situation is as follows:
Low purity fish oil (with a fish oil content of 30%), accounting for 80+% of the product, usually ordinary fish oil;
Medium purity fish oil (with a fish oil content of 60%), accounting for about 10% of the product, usually concentrated fish oil;
High purity fish oil (with a fish oil content of over 90%), accounting for about 1% of the product, belongs to top-level fish oil;
2. How to choose deep-sea fish oil?
We believe that eating fish oil is to supplement Omega-3, which is to supplement EPA and DHA;
Choosing good fish oil mainly depends on three indicators: purity, process, and certification;
(1) Check purity
Buying fish oil refers to the purity of the fish oil purchased, and not every fish oil is beneficial to the human body. The difference in fish oil quality mainly comes from the difference in purity.
According to a large number of clinical trials, it has been confirmed that the purity of Omega3 in fish oil can only meet medical standards when it reaches 85% or above. Our suggestion is:
For daily health care, at least 60% purity should be selected. Other impurities include saturated fatty acids, cholesterol, and omega6 (which are harmful to the human body. Long term consumption not only fails to provide protection, but also increases the burden on the body); Most of the fish oil products on the market have such a high content; Fish oil with a purity below 30% is not recommended for purchase, let alone consumption;
Medical grade, it is necessary to choose high-purity fish oil with a purity of over 85%. However, high-purity fish oil is relatively expensive and there are relatively few branded products. If used for lipid-lowering and anti-inflammatory purposes, the higher the purity of fish oil, the better.
(2) Look at the craftsmanship
The different processing techniques of fish oil can also lead to significant differences in its quality.
Fish oil is divided into TG type, EE type, and rTG type.
TG type, also known as natural type, is a type of early fish oil that is difficult to purify and has a low purity, ranging from 30% to 40%. Because the human body can directly absorb triglycerides, the advantage is high absorption rate, but the disadvantage is low purity.
EE type is an ethyl ester type that has been repeatedly purified and concentrated, with a purity of over 70%, and some can reach over 90%. The advantage is high purity, but the disadvantage is low absorption rate, usually only about 40%, because it requires a process of conversion in the body. The fish oil with this structure is prone to organic solvent residues, unstable, and easy to oxidize to produce carcinogens such as malondialdehyde. Most of the fish oil that can dissolve foam plastics is produced by this process.
RTG type is a triglyceride type, which combines the advantages of TG type and EE type. It has high purity and high absorption rate, and is basically the best structure of fish oil currently available. Relatively speaking, its price is also relatively high. Its structure is in the natural form of fish oil, with high purity, no residual organic solvents, and is stable and not easily decomposed. Under general conditions, its absorption rate is three times that of EE type fish oil. Try to choose this form of fish oil when purchasing.
(3) Check authentication
Deep sea fish oil, due to the pollution of raw materials in the production area, requires special attention to the content of harmful components such as heavy metals and pesticide residues in some fish oils. At present, the Peruvian fishing grounds in South America are the world's largest fishing grounds, also due to the lack of pollution. It is recommended that everyone choose fish oil with IFOS five-star certification.
IFOS has become the globally recognized third-party fish oil certification with the highest gold content.
IFOS certification is not simply a fish oil purity test, it covers three major aspects: efficacy evaluation (fish oil purity and label consistency), safety (environmental toxins, radiation values, and heavy metals), and freshness or stability (oxidation and rancidity levels).
IFOS certification not only has multiple testing indicators, but the testing standards are also much higher than those of similar products by WHO and the US FDA.
Meanwhile, IFOS is a "batch based" certification, which means that each batch of products sold by manufacturers needs to be tested to ensure that every bottle of fish oil certified by IFOS meets the certification standards.
Fish oil that can obtain IFOS five-star certification is safe and reliable, and can be purchased with confidence.
3. Testing method for quality of ordinary fish oil
In addition to the three core indicators for distinguishing the quality of deep-sea fish oil mentioned above, the fish oil that is generally purchased should also undergo the following identification:
(1) First, let's take a look at the packaging
Pay attention to whether the markings on the packaging are clear. Many fish oil packaging labels are blurry and difficult to see, and the quality of these fish oils is generally not very good, which is not convincing.
(2) Check the production date
Pay attention to the production date of fish oil. Fish oil with clear production dates is generally more trustworthy. And it should be noted that high-quality fish oil is basically packaged in opaque bottles, while the top ones are individually packaged.
(3) The content of fish oil products
The content of fish oil products is generally 1000MG, and the total content of DHA+EPA should be greater than 28%. If the content of fish oil does not meet this standard, it is considered substandard fish oil, and generally should be higher than this standard.
(4) Look at the appearance of fish oil capsules
Good fish oil capsules are evenly sized and free of impurities. However, inferior fish oil varies in size or contains impurities, all of which are considered inferior fish oil.
(5) Look at the color of fish oil capsules
Good fish oil is light yellow and has a bright color. If the color is dark yellow, it indicates that the purity is relatively low. If the glossiness of the appearance is poor and the color is golden and transparent, it indicates that the quality of fish oil is not good.
(6) Taste it
Good fish oil should have a faint fish aroma (or fishy smell). If the fish oil has a sour, fishy, or rancid smell, it indicates that it has been oxidized or rancid and cannot be consumed.
4. What are the fish oil brands?
There are numerous brands in the fish oil market, from domestic to international, which also shows how hot this market is and how strong people's demand is.
Here are some fish oil brands listed, including Swisse, Tonson Health, JingLeLing, Double Heart, Tianwei Mei/Nature Made, Kangbei, Kangmai, Lovaza, Cochrane, Jiananxi/GNC, Aojiabao/Blankores, Kangshengsheng/Carlson, Pangao/PANGO, Newbao/Nature, Nutrilite, etc;
When you go to the market to purchase these fish oil products, you can combine the above purchasing principles to look at the core indicators such as purity, process, and certification of deep-sea fish oil.
Domestic fish oil brands generally have low purity and mostly belong to the health grade;
High purity fish oil is usually produced by foreign brands or OEM factories, and most of them are of medical grade;
5. Recommended high-purity fish oil
For a user who has been using domestic and foreign fish oil products for more than ten years, I recommend consuming high-purity fish oil because its effects are more obvious and its cost-effectiveness is higher.
Brand: JingLeLing
Omega 3 content: 94.3%
Each capsule contains 500mg Omega 3
(DHA ≥ 160mg, EPA ≥ 240mg, other Omega 3 content 38.5mg, DHA+EPA content 86.6%, DPA and other Omega 3 content 7.7%)
Omega 3 form: rTG (triglyceride type)
Certification: IFOS 5-star certification
Fish oil that can simultaneously meet the requirements of omega3 purity ≥ 85%, using black technology rTG process, and having IFOS five-star certification is very rare and expensive on the market. The JingLeLing brand meets three conditions.
At present, the highest selling high-purity fish oil abroad is the Lovaza brand from GlaxoSmithKline, with a price of $322 for 60 capsules, approximately RMB 2000; On Tmall, the price of high-purity imported fish oil is generally between 500-1500 yuan;
3、 How to eat fish oil? What should I pay attention to?
1. The correct way to take fish oil is:
1) It is best to take fish oil directly with warm water, without biting it, otherwise it may cause nausea, vomiting and other discomfort.
2) Do not consume too much, as it may cause discomfort such as nausea and vomiting, and may increase the risk of bleeding.
3) Fish oil can affect coagulation function, so it should be avoided for two weeks before and after surgery.
4) Fish oil is best taken at night for better absorption of its nutrients.
5) Fish oil should not be taken on an empty stomach as it can reduce its nutritional benefits.
2. How much fish oil do you eat every day?
Taking no more than 3000mg of deep-sea fish oil per day is safe for most people. Taking excessive doses of deep-sea fish oil can make blood difficult to clot and increase the risk of bleeding.
3. What are the precautions?
1) People with poor liver function should not eat fish oil, as using fish oil can worsen the condition.
2) People with depression are not suitable to eat fish oil, as the fatty acids contained in fish oil often lead to severe depression.
3) For patients with diabetes, eating fish oil at ordinary times often leads to increased metabolic pressure in the liver, which leads to excessive accumulation of carbohydrates in the body and increases blood lipids.
4) Fish oil can help lower blood pressure, so it is important to pay attention in daily life to avoid the risk of low blood pressure caused by consuming fish oil.
4. The difference between fish oil and cod liver oil
Different sources
Fish oil and cod liver oil are both extracted from fish, but fish oil is mainly extracted from the fat layer of deep-sea fish, while cod liver oil is extracted from fish liver.
Different components
Fish oil is extracted to supplement the body's unsaturated fatty acids, containing EPA and DHA. Fish liver oil is a fatty oil extracted from fish liver, mainly consisting of vitamin A and vitamin D.
Different effects
EPA in fish oil can reduce cholesterol and triglycerides in the human blood, while DHA has an effect on nerve conduction and is an important substance needed by the brain. Vitamin A in cod liver oil can help maintain vision, while vitamin D is beneficial for bone growth.
