[Newt]

FYI - GNC now has a Triple Strength Fish Oil that has a higher EPA/DHA total (90%) than my prescription Lovaza - at a pretty good price, too: http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2965535

[evilf22]

found this, pretty interesting. i was researching puritan's pride quality and came across this site

http://www.consumerlab.com/reviews/O...e_Oils/omega3/


apparently the puritans is ok

Testing Method:
Omega-3 marine oil products were tested for the amounts of their EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids, peroxide value, anisidine value, TOTOX and potential contamination with mercury and PCB. All products were assessed for their EPA and DHA components by gas chromatography utilizing a modified AOAC method (Association of Official Analytical Chemists, International; Official Method 991.39); for peroxide value using AOCS method (American Oil Chemists Society; Method CD 8-53 or similar); for anisidine value using AOCS method (Method CD 18-90 or similar); for mercury using a Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption method; and for PCBs using High Resolution Gas Chromatography coupled with High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (EPA Method 1668A) in independent laboratories. Products not passing the initial assay for EPA and DHA, peroxide value, anistidine value, TOTOX and/or mercury were tested in another independent laboratory utilizing a similar method.


also gives epa/dha content per cap, which is really useful.


*edit - added another comparison*

also found this comparison, which focuses more on quality. it only compares 4 brands, but gives really good tips on what to look for when selecting fish oil.

http://www.omega-3.us/Omega_3_Comparisons.html

[Loomy]

That first link doesn't do any math for you, unfortunately. It just repeats what is on the bottle and verifies what we already know -- they don't have toxic chemicals :p The second link is an advertisement.

Originally Posted by MikeMartial

But for those trying to get large amounts of healthy fats, EPA/DHA aside, it's damn helpful.

I guess, if you want really large amounts of the other fats. If you don't IMO you're better off just getting more dha+epa from big doses of the cheaper more concentrated product.

Originally Posted by Newt

FYI - GNC now has a Triple Strength Fish Oil that has a higher EPA/DHA total (90%) than my prescription Lovaza - at a pretty good price, too: http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2965535

Those are actually 60% epa+dha ([647+253]/1500). If it was in a 1000mg dose it would be slightly more epa per pill than the now ultra even though it breaks the 2:1 ratio. But the extra cost and lower concentration makes the now ultra a better deal.

[Newt]

Originally Posted by Loomy

Those are actually 60% epa+dha ([647+253]/1500). If it was in a 1000mg dose it would be slightly more epa per pill than the now ultra even though it breaks the 2:1 ratio. But the extra cost and lower concentration makes the now ultra a better deal.

You're right - I'm glad you caught that - I bet they are counting on people to do exactly as I did and assume it was the "standard" 1g capsule. Good call!

[TopCat]

Originally Posted by evilf22

apparently the puritans is ok

This is good news since I bought 1000 caps from Puritan's Pride before this thread came about talking about filtration and processes and QA. Even apart from that, I still had 2.5 bottles of Nature's Bounty I also got on discount from the local grocery. I think I'm good on fish oil for the next 3-5 months.

[evilf22]

uhhh.... i personally think seeing the epa/dha content per capsule of a couple dozen different brands is pretty damn useful, considering you could spend a lot of time looking up the potency of brands. seeing a chart listing it is a great tool. i realize the second link is obviously pushing a particular brand, but it still makes good points on quality indicators.

[likkuid]

Originally Posted by MikeMartial

Heard back from Ascenta today:


Hello Mike,

Here is the explanation I received from our Quality Controller in response to your question. I hope this is thorough enough for you. If you have any other questions do not hesitate to contact us again.

"One serving is 4.65g and 1.5g (1500mg) of that serving are Total Omega-3 Fatty Acids, not total contents per serving. Total fat content per serving
is: 4.5g (4500mg). The difference between 4.65g (total) and 4.5g (fat
component) is made up of antioxidants and flavor.

In 4.5g of fat there is 1.5g of Total Omega-3 FA (of which there is 750mg of EPA, 500mg of DHA and 250mg of other Omega-3 FA - some of these other Omega-3 FA are: alpha-linolenic acid or ALA (18:3), docosapentaenoic acid or DPA (22:5) and stearidonic acid or SDA (18:4).

In the 3g of difference between the total fat and Toatl Omega-3 FA there are some saturated fats (commonly fish oils comprise of about 5% of the saturate fats and some of them are: Lauric acid, Palmitic acid), some polyunsaturated fats, some monounsaturated fat such as Oleic acid and a very small amount
(5%) of the Cholesterol. Please note that all of the above mentioned fatty acids are naturally occurring in the fish. We do not alter the fish oil in any way. We only add antioxidants and flavour."

Solid explanation to me. I'll have zero reservations about using this fish oil again.

hmm, great! i'll pick up a 500ml bottle of ascenta today, then.

[Ziltoid]

Originally Posted by Newt

You're right - I'm glad you caught that - I bet they are counting on people to do exactly as I did and assume it was the "standard" 1g capsule. Good call!

How many do you take a day? I am thinking about buying these as well. Sorry if this has been brought up but are fish oils fat soluble?

[filthy_frank]

I take Nordic Naturals Omega 3. I also freeze them b/c it helps them from becoming rancid.

[MikeMartial]

Originally Posted by Ziltoid

Sorry if this has been brought up but are fish oils fat soluble?

Something that is fat-soluble literally means it will dissolve in fat; in regards to vitamins, they are dissolved and stored in fatty tissues of the body.

Fish oil IS fat; "fat-soluble" is used to describe substances that AREN'T fat, but are soluble IN fat.

Clear as mud?