How Much Should Fish Oil You Take?

The amount of fish oil you need depends on your diet, body size, and health status.

Please consult with your healthcare professional about the amount that is best for you. If you are on blood-thinning medication, consult with your physician before taking it.

The diet of most people is insufficient in the omega-3 fatty acids. Fortunately, they are abundant in fish oil. But there are a couple of problems with fishy oils such as cod liver oil. First, it doesn't taste good. Second, they are very high in calories, even though they are mostly "good" calories.

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You can get around these problems by consuming highly concentrated fish oil in capsules. These capsules retain the two most important ingredients of this oil: EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) -- and relative to the EPA and DHA content, they only have a fraction of the calories you will find in cod liver oil. Another advantage of the oil concentrate capsules is that you don't have a fishy taste in your mouth.

Cod liver oil: In general, between 20-30 milliliters of cod liver oil may be used.

EPA/DHA capsules: In general, 3-12 grams of EPA/DHA capsules may be taken up to four times a day, depending on your condition and body size.

Fish Oil Contaminants - Purity Is Important

The bad news about fish oil is that it is extracted from fish. Fish accumulate toxic metals, pesticides and a multitude of other poisonous chemicals that are ubiquitous in our environment. Many of these substances are stored in the fatty tissue of the fish. Therefore, the oil extracted from the fish fat can have rather high amounts of environmental toxins.

Only a few oil manufacturers go to great lengths to remove these toxins from their oil. Most manufacturers don't bother, because it is expensive to do so. However, the brand of fish oil that we carry in this store is among the purest oils you can find anywhere. The manufacturer has provided us with independent laboratory verification that their product is free of heavy metals and free of toxic environmental chemicals such as dioxin and furans.

PossibleToxicity and Drug Interactions

Any unsaturated oil can become rancid if exposed to heat, light or oxygen. Rancid oils are very unhealthy because they contain free radical molecules that damage your cells. To prevent possible free radical damage, you should also take an antioxidant formula that includes vitamin E.

Excessive vitamin A and D is possible with too much cod liver oil. Pregnant women and women who are trying to become pregnant should be careful about excessive intake of vitamin A due to its potential effect on the fetus. Fish oils extracted from non-liver sources are usually not a problem. Check the label of your product for its vitamin A and D content.

Fish oil may increase homocysteine concentrations and nitric oxide metabolism in healthy humans. At excessive levels, these substances can tip you in the direction of inflammation and oxidant stress (free radical damage to your cells). You can control this potential problem with a high-quality B-complex vitamin that includes folate and vitamin B12.

Oil conentrate from fish, especially in large doses over a period of time, has a blood-thinning effect and thus can affect bleeding time. The thinner your blood, the longer it usually takes the bleeding to stop if you have a wound. If you're on a blood thinning medication (aspirin, coumadin, etc.), consult with your physician before taking fish oil or EPA/DHA capsules.

Fish have no refuge from environmental pollution and most have become contaminated to some extent with mercury, dioxins, and other petrochemicals. When oil is extracted from fish, the chemicals come along with the oil. In addition, if too much heat is used during processing, free radical peroxides will be present in the oil. Therefore you should be very selective when purchasing any oil product.

Buy fish oil only from reputable companies who have verified by independent laboratory analysis that their product is free from chemical contamination and peroxides.

You can obtain the highest quality fish concentrate oil from our Supplements Store.