Should You Buy “Premium” Omega 3 Capsules, Or “Super” Omega 3 Supplements?
March 11th, 2010
If you’ve been taking omega 3 fish oil capsules for a while you may have come across “super” omega 3. Of course it’s a little difficult to say exactly what “super” omega 3 really is and how it differs from ordinary omega 3, or why it’s better than “regular” fish oil supplements. So it’s not 100 percent clear what you should be getting when you buy the “super” capsules.
One of the reasons is that the quantity and quality of the important omega 3 essential fatty acids found in fish oil capsules varies enormously, and it’s hard to know exactly what you should be getting. What you need to do is to understand a little more about Omega 3 capsules before you buy.
There are big variations in the amount of DHA and EPA, the 2 most important essential fatty acids known as omega 3 fats, found in different capsules available today. Many capsules are called 18/12 capsules, meaning that in a 1000 milligrams capsule you get 18 percent, or 180 milligrams, of EPA and 12 percent, or 120 milligrams of DHA. But many other capsules contained widely varying amounts.
The most important of the essential fatty acids known as omega 3 fats is DHA, (docosahexaenoic acid). There is a wide variation in the amount of DHA present in some capsules compared to others, and this makes it extremely difficult to compare capsules by price. For example the Omega 3 supplements that I consider to be the best offer around 2 1/2 times as much DHA as “regular” capsules.
It’s fair to assume that super Omega 3 capsules would contain much more of the essential ingredients but it’s very hard to know.
However it is not just the amount of active ingredients that should be considered when making any comparison between the different fish oil supplements available on the market. There is also a range of other factors which you should be considering. This is borne out by the current generation of fish oil supplements which are now beginning to include a range of other ingredients which offer extra benefits to your health on top of the benefits simply offered by omega 3 fatty acids.
An example is a new “premium” Omega 3 capsule released just this week. As would be expected these contain a very high percentage of DHA, at 28 percent, but as well as a high percentage of DHA there are now other active ingredients included in the capsules offering new benefits for your health, and in this case to your skin.
One of these new active ingredients is called lycopene. You may have heard of lycopene before as it’s been in the news lately. It comes from tomatoes and there is much research showing the benefits of lycopene to our health. There is now evidence that increasing the amount of lycopene in our diet decreases the risk of prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women, for example.
There is also clear evidence that increasing our intake of lycopene in effect provides us with a natural sunscreen. Lycopene in the skin helps reduce the damaging effects of ultra violet radiation from the sun on our skin, and the effects of UV on our skin is one of the primary causes of skin ageing. As well as this there is now mounting evidence that increasing the amount of lycopene in the skin can also start to reduce and reverse the effects of photo-aging. Photo-aging is the technical term for skin damage from sunlight.
Modern science is getting better and better and our scientists are now starting to uncover some of the hitherto unknown health benefits of natural substances such as lycopene. And top quality health companies are now able to incorporate these types of ingredients into new products such as the new generation of omega 3 supplements now becoming available.
If you’re already taking Omega 3 supplements, or considering taking fish oil into your diet, you need to understand exactly what you get when you buy. It’s not sufficient simply to buy the cheapest capsules because they all look the same. You need to understand exactly how much DHA and EPA that is found in each capsule and you also need to think about whether you should be considering some of the new generation of omega 3 supplements now on the market that incorporate extra natural ingredients that are now also offering some benefits to your health.
If you’d like to find out more about these “premium” omega 3 supplements then visit my website.
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