Pharmaceutical Grade
-versus-
Health Food Grade Fish Oils
By Jo Wyckmans
- Why do some fish oils repeat and burn, yet others don't?
- How pure are fish oils and how do we know we're not ingesting harmful toxins?
- How can you get the full benefit of taking fish oil without any of the side effects?
 Jo Wykmans explains how to choose a fish oil for optimum benefit and why it is important to understand the differences between the available options. This article explains the difference between Health Food & Pharmaceutical Grade Fish Oils and why so many of us are turning towards high quality oils such as MorEPA
Health Food-grade Fish Oils
The levels of contaminants in fish oils is often determined by the size of the fish and their relative rank in the food chain. Small fish (such as sardines and anchovies) are short-lived and therefore are less prone to accumulate environmental pollutants. On the other hand, larger fish such as salmon and mackerel are predatory species that are long-lived and therefore contain higher levels of pollutants. Most health-food grade fish oils are fish body oils extracted from the fish.
If the label says it comes from a particular species of fish (i.e. salmon oil) then you know it is a health-food grade fish oil. These oils are only sold in soft gelatin capsules because they still have an extremely poor taste profile (to see why, simply bite into a capsule to release the oil).
A slightly more purified type of health food grade fish oil includes thos that have been subjected to a very limited amount of molecular distillation to remove some of the cholesterol in order to be labeled "cholesterol-free". A typical one-gram capsule of health-food grade fish oil contains approximately 300 mg. of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids.
Another type of higher-grade health-food fish oil is known as "fish oil concentrate". This type of fish oil consists of ethyl esters of the fish oil that has been subjected to fractional cooling. The more saturated fats will solidify, leaving behind a more concentrated solution of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. However, this fractional cooling does not remove the PCB's or the long-chain monoene fatty acids that give rise to significant gastric distress. A one-gram capsule of this thermally fractionated health-food grade fish oil will contain up to 500 mg. of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids.
Health-food grade fish oils are acceptable in small amounts (no more than 3-4 capsules per day) without inducing significant gastric problems. However, higher doses require a much more purified type of oil; pharmaceutical-grade fish oil.
Pharmaceutical-grade Fish Oil
 Pharmaceutical-grade fish oil starts with thermally fractionated health-food fish oil that is then distilled by highly complex refining technology into fractions rich in long-chain omega-3 fatty acids that are exceptionally low in the long-chain monoenes (that cause gastric distress) and pollutants such as PCB's and oxidized and polymerized lipids.
The individual fractions are then combined to provide the most appropriate balance of EPA and DHA for the finished oil. The typical one-gram capsule of pharmaceutical-grade fish oil will have at least 600 mg. of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. This may not seem a major concentration improvement compared to the health-food grade fish oils, however, the increase in the purity of the oil is why it costs nearly twice as much.
This purity is also reflected in a dramatically improved taste profile.
Only pharmaceutical-grade fish oils enable you to consume the required daily intake of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids needed to alter eicosanoid synthesis without gastric distress or fear of accumulation of environmental pollutants.
Note
Minami Nutrition "MorEPA and MorDHA pharmaceutical-grade fish oil contains a minimum of 70% of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (although it routinely reaches 80 %) with 10 I.U. of Vitamin E mixed tocopherols per gram of fish oil."
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