Busting the Most Common Fish Oil Myths

By Fred Sancilio, Ph.D.

If you take a fish oil supplement to help lower your LDL cholesterol, you’re wasting your money. The same may hold true if you think there’s not much difference between the various types of fish oil and omega-3 supplements on store shelves except perhaps the capsule sizes (and the size of the smelly, fishy belches some cause).

What most people do not know about fish oil, krill oil and omega-3s may be preventing them from getting health benefits from these supplements... and could be hurting their wallets. After more than 40 years of experience in the health research field, I am determined to dispel some of the most stubborn misconceptions about fish oils and omega-3 supplements.

Myth: Omega-3 supplements help to lower cholesterol. 

Not true. Too many people say their doctors recommended that they start taking fish oil because their lipid profile was high. They mistakenly think this supplement will help their HDL and LDL cholesterol. But the omega-3s found in fish, in particular the EPA and DHA fatty acids, work on a different blood lipid called triglycerides. Triglycerides are basically blood fat. Imagine having blood the consistency of chocolate pudding.

High triglyceride levels make your blood extremely thick and hard for your heart to pump. When your heart works harder, it needs more blood to supply needed oxygen. Our bodies are very efficient at removing fish fat from our blood. Not so much fats from other animals. Omega-3s help prevent the production of triglycerides in the liver, replace one type of blood fat with another, effectively lowering your triglycerides level.

Here is the relationship of triglycerides and LDL (bad) cholesterol: Cholesterol builds up around triglycerides. If you cut open a diseased artery, you’d see something that looks like a pimple. The triglycerides would be the pus, and the LDL cholesterol would be built up around it. A triglyceride level above 300 mg/dL puts you at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Anything above 500 mg/dL increases your risk of getting heart attack or stroke.

Myth: All fish oil/omega-3/krill oil supplements provide about the same benefits.

Omega-3 products derived from krill oil typically have less than 25 percent EPA and DHA concentrations. Compare that to super concentrated omega-3 products that have 80-88 percent EPA and DHA concentrations. The best-selling krill oil product currently on the market contains 74 mgs of EPA and DHA in each 300 mg capsule, or less than 25 percent. Many fish and krill oils also have a strong fishy smell even though they claim otherwise.

Myth: The only way to avoid the fishy aftertaste of omega-3 supplements is to take krill oil.

Not anymore. Most omega-3 and fish oil supplements are simply mixtures of unrefined fish fat, which can turn rancid and create an unpleasant odor. To eliminate the odor, the manufacturing process requires repeated distillation of fresh fish oil, which removes the unpleasant odor. In refined pharmaceutical grade oils, such as those used in Ocean Blue products, the oil is molecularly distilled 26 times, resulting in a product that has virtually no smell or taste. Fishy smells and burps have been eliminated.

Myth: The giant bottles of low-cost fish oil are just as good as the higher-priced brands.

Most fish oil is made typically from the by-products of fish processed for food and other uses. This oil is unrefined and not concentrated, resulting in very low levels of omega-3 fatty acids and high levels of saturated fats, which are actually detrimental to your health. This is the oil used in most omega-3s and fish oil supplements.

Ocean Blue products are made from a highly-refined, ultra-pure pharmaceutical grade omega-3 that is produced ex-clusively for use in our products. The result is that these products contain the highest amount of EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids available per capsule, with or without a prescription, and without saturated fats.

Myth: You can get plenty of DHA and EPA from eggs that contain omega-3s.

Not true. The Omega-3 found in these eggs is plant-based alpha linolenic acid. It does not contain EPA or DHA.

Myth: Only the people with heart disease should be taking omega-3s.

The World Health Organization recommends that people without a history of heart disease consume 200-500 mg per day of EPA and DHA. The American Heart Association recommends 500 mg daily. Those who have a history of heart disease or related concerns should use at least 1,000 mg per day of EPA and DHA. And those who have high triglycerides should be getting 2,000 to 4,000 mg per day of EPA and DHA. So match the product you choose with the amount of omega-3s you should be consuming.

Myth: Omega-3s can’t do anything to relieve pain.

Omega-3s help reduce the body’s inflammatory response. Each cell membrane is made of omega-6, omega-3, phospholipids and cholesterol. If you damage a cell membrane, the omega-6 starts the process and switches on the pain. At the same time, the omega-3 starts the anti-inflammatory process that turns off the pain. So we need a balance of omega-3s and omega-6s.

However most people consume excess amounts of omega-6s, which are commonly found in soy, vegetable and corn oil. Also, fried foods are soaking in omega-6s. The majority of people consume well below the recommended daily amount of omega-3s. Even with adequate omega-3 supplementation, it may take two or three months to get your system into the correct balance.

Ocean Blue omega-3 supplements can be found at CVS and Walgreens.