Health – The good oil

I’ve always known fish oils were good for you because apart from all the science behind it, I have seen the results with my own eyes.

But our industry was left reeling when a study showed more than half of commercially available fish oils in NZ were oxidised and did not meet label contents. The truth is if you want to be an expert about anything, you need to get your research right. And sometimes, just sometimes, the sensationalism of a story seems to get in the way.

So I did my research and found that several further studies completed by scientists in accredited laboratories, completely refute those findings. Dr Peter Nichols, senior principal research scientist at CSIRO, Australia commented, “The wider scientific community was surprised and highly disappointed by the original 2015 Scientific Reports paper from University of Auckland researchers. The Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration performed follow-up analyses and all tested oils were not oxidized and Omega-3 content met label claims”.

In short, our NZ fish oils are good!

So what should you be looking for in a fish oil? It really all comes down to which of the several health benefits you are taking it for, how many capsules you are willing to swallow each day and whether or not environmental concerns rate highly for you. Environmental concerns could be about sourcing a product from companies that support sustainable fishing practices or whose higher quality standards ensure the product is free from harmful environmental toxins.

So it is still buyer beware, because you really do need to look on the label. The fine print really does count. It doesn’t matter how much fish oil is in the capsule – what matters is the amount of Omega-3 that is eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) plus docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Some fish oil products have as much as three times the strength of these active ingredients despite the same amount of fish oil. That means you get to take three times less capsules, for the same effect.

How much should you take? Fish Oil containing Omega-3 has benefits for the heart and brain, and for conditions such as asthma, eczema and many more. Depending on which health benefit you are hoping to achieve, the dose of EPA and DHA you need will vary. For example, studies have shown that fish oil can significantly reduce the risk of death after a heart attack. Approximately 1g of EPA plus DHA per day is recommended for cardio protection. So yes, watch what you buy. But you can feel confident that fish oil products sold in New Zealand are genuinely beneficial.