Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/07/26/bottle-of-90-fish-oil-capsules.html
…
1 Like
Frankly I’m concerned about the toxicity levels in fish oil. As a baby boomer I feel I have been exposed to enough [toxic shit] to hold me for several lifetimes…
7 Likes
@frauenfelder - is money so tight you have to shill for a ‘sports supplement’ company?
4 Likes
What about the damage to the environment? When are you going to convert over to fish solar?
7 Likes
Why not just have fish for dinner and go straight to the source?
4 Likes
Will this reveal my inhuman superpowers or is there a different fish oil producer with a monopoly on the catalyst-tainted oil?
5 Likes
Sourced from Alaskan Pollock, which means that if you were eating a full portion of the fish (which you’re not even close to doing), you would not have to worry about the really nasty stuff like PCB’s or Chlordane. Just mercury–which pollock is naturally low in.
If you are an adult male, or adult female not planning on having more children, the threshold for mercury is pretty high. So, I think you’ll be OK.
3 Likes
When you say “having”, do you mean “eating”? If so, the answer is no.
5 Likes
If you want omega-3 without the toxicity, stick to fish oil extracted from small, saltwater oily fish like sardines, herring and anchovies. Small fish like these don’t live long enough to accumulate anything more than a few picograms of heavy metals.
Or better yet, just eat 'em and skip the supplements entirely.
9 Likes
3 Likes
They are hawking “Mormon guacamole” on BB today, aswell. Looks deliciouso!
5 Likes
Quite frankly… for $1, I wouldn’t trust the quality of that fish oil.
11 Likes
Excellent article. The writer does a nice job of presenting all the confounds plaguing this body of literature. One confound not mentioned, however, is absorption. Omega-3 supplements derived from fish oil, by themselves, are poorly absorbed. The few studies that have explored how to improve absorption rate found that emulsified fish oil was the best absorbed, followed by co-administration of an emulsifier (lecithin, phospholipids like phosphatidylcholine), followed by co-administration of olive oil.
Since the jury’s still out on whether soy lecithin causes or aggravates atherosclerosis, the most practical advice is to take these supplements either with a small portion of oily fish (salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel) or a salad drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil.
The reason for these foods in particular is that their fat content is almost entirely monounsaturated. Taking these supplements with foods high in polyunsaturated fat (walnuts, flax seed oil) is counterproductive as they will compete for absorption.
2 Likes
In other words:
FTFY.
(Yes, I know that the research isn’t that negative on them, but I couldn’t resist)
2 Likes
Children are naturally low in mercury as well. Just FYI.
3 Likes
My, what a modest proposal
4 Likes
Maybe it is. 
Should we turn off our ad-blockers?
My fish have been squeaking lately, so this should be just the thing to restore their Performance.
12 Likes
Why would you need to oil a fish? Aren’t they already pretty slippery?
6 Likes
I’d definitely lean towards the only positive “research” on them having been coming from the supplement providers themselves.
