There is a recent uproar in the supplement industry. Everyone knows that fish oils or omega’s are an important supplement that should be taken on a daily basis. There are many benefits to taking omega 3’s fish oils. Omega 3’s help with pain managment and inlammatory joint issues. It also helps in brain functions and prevents cardiovascular disease. I have always been a huge advocate of omega as a standard supplenment in everyone’s regimen.
Recently as many as 10 omega 3 manufactures including GNC & Twinlabs have been named in lawsuits in California. The lawsuit claims there are high levels of Polychlorinated Bihenyl Compounds or PCB in these manufacture’s fish oils and they have failed to properly communicate such levels on their labels. High or unsafe levels PCB have been linked to cancer and birth defects.
Omega 3 usually comes from cod liver or salmon liver. It does not matter where the fish is caught or the enviroment, all cod and salmon have some trace of PCB. What the manufacture’s are failing to do is properly purify and get rid of most of the PCB. Also, they are failing to test their batches for adequate state levels. Each test costs about $1,000 and it seems in an ill attempt to save money these manufacture’s are putting us at risk.
As this news continues to develop I urge all of you to read…read..and reread your labels. Also, search who you’re buying your omega’s from and do a simple search on Google to learn how they purify the omega 3’s. I also urge all of you to look for a blended omega. Blended omega’s contain omega 3-6-9 which gives you more benefits than just an omega 3. Usually when you take a blended omega the purifications and filtering processes are more stringent. I will blog soon about the benefits of blended omega 3-6-9.
Source: Mercury News & Fish Oil Safety
Supplement X 