A new prescription drug has hit the U.S. market. It is now named Omacor. The drug company claims that is a pure, highly concentrated omega 3 fish oil supplement. Both of these claims appear to be true.
What they do not mention is the cost. Their fish oil price level is about that of a car payment. If this seems too expensive then a one months supply can be purchased at any of several large chain stores for around $10. Wait, it gets better. All of them say they have the same health benefits! In reality, I think they both cost too much.
When it comes to fish oil price, it is important to compare apples to apples. The omega 3 essential fatty acids found in cold water fish are called DHA and EPA - they are called essential because our body can not make them. We get them from diet or by supplement. Let's make one thing clear. Natural DHA/EPA are the same omega 3s found in the cheap or prescription variety. Your body will not be able to tell the difference. However, this is where the similarities end.
There are several categories that need to be looked at no matter what the fish oil price is:
1] Dosage and concentration. Most products come in 1000mg [1 gram] capsules. The concentration is important. The total amount of DHA/EPA per capsule is what you should be looking for - 400mg in a 1000mg per capsule is a good number [40%]. Some products may not even tell you. They do not want you to know.
2] Ratio - Most of the current research suggests that more DHA than EPA is preferred. This is both because of nutritional needs and molecular chemistry. If needed, DHA converts very easily into EPA. The reverse is much more difficult.
3] Purity - Smart consumers are becoming aware that no matter what the fish oil price, they do not want mercury, arsenic or other heavy metals with their supplement. Many manufacturers are using a process called molecular distillation to remove the toxins. Cheaper products that use this process have to make the costs up somewhere and that somewhere is often in the -
4] Processing - A company can always save money by buying the catch from fleets that no one else wants. The catch will still have high omega 3s but will be more likely to turn rancid. Then, they molecularly distill the stuff to remove the mercury.
Next, then all sorts of chemical processing is used to extract the oil from the fish. There may not be much mercury but there could be all sorts of other goodies like hexane [petrochemical solvent], talc [crushed rock] and titanium dioxide (paint additive).
As a final step, some of them put what is called an enteric coating on it to disguise the taste and smell. No matter what they say, there is no nutritional reason for this. Omega 3s are not bothered by stomach acid and are absorbed easily there.
The final product will be promoted as contaminant free but neither the lack of freshness nor the additives may be disclosed. A quality product has nothing to hide. Look on the website for a Certificate of Analysis [COA]. It will tell you anything that is in that soft gel capsule.
My fish oil price is about $16-$18 per month. According to the COA, it is just as pure as anything out there. Even if I doubled the dose to get to prescription levels, it would still cost about 75% less.
Summing up. Cheap supplements want to profit by targeting consumers who have not done enough homework. This prescription product seems to be of good quality but has a huge price markup on what is basically food.
Author Resource:
Get my free five-part mini course on the benefits of omega 3 for the whole family, including critical information on why you should take omega3 fish oil .
To sign up for the course and get more tips on the importance of omega 3, visit my website: http://www.omega-3-guide.com/
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