Omega 3 Fish Oil Buyers Guide

Omega 3 oils and particularly fish oil are often found to be beneficial for a number of mental disorders including ADHD and depression.

What to look for in a Fish Oil

1. Purity

The first consideration is purity. Unfortunately the world's oceans are heavily polluted and many fish are contaminated with toxic waste products particularly heavy metals such as mercury.

Good quality fish oils will be guaranteed free of all environmental pollutants and heavy metals.

There are many many very inexpensive fish oils available from discount stores and supermarkets. Unfortunately these are low quality fish oils and are not guaranteed free of these toxins. We would love for someone to sell 180 x 1000mg capsules of quality Omega 3 fish oil for £3 and if anyone can find any please email us or write a review for us!

2. Purity again!

Another factor in purity is how much of the fish oil is actually Omega 3 fish oil. A low proportion of Omega 3 Oils generally means a poor quality oil.

A good quality oil generally can be expected to contain at least 50-70% omega 3 oils. So for a 1000mg capsule of fish oil you should expect at least 500-700mg or omega 3 oils.

Another small factor is amount of saturated fat content. Saturated fat can be bad for the heart and circulation. Good quality fish oils will have zero or close to zero saturated fats.

3. Additives

Additives can be seen as bad or good depending on your point of view. In general it is probably better to take supplements with no additives such as artificial preservatives, colourings, flavourings and sweeteners.

Artificial additives could be counterproductive and have possible links to behavioral problems such as hyperactivity themselves.

However some people may find flavoured oils and capsules more pleasant to take and children particularly may favor them. Try to find one with natural additives such as flavourings if this is the case.

Some capsules may rarely contain wheat, dairy, starch or yeast so be aware if you are allergic to any of these things.

Additives are often a sign of poor quality fish oil though. Good quality oil has practically no fishy taste anyway.

4. Amount of DHA and EPA

The relative proportions of DHA and EPA omega 3 fatty acids.

Of the 50-70% of the fish oil that is omega 3 oil almost all of it should be either EPA or DHA.

The most common type of oil used to treat disorders such as ADHD and depression is omega 3 oil that contains more EPA than DHA. However the research is very inconclusive and many people claim that oil which is higher or almost completely DHA is very effective too.

It is probably best to start with an oil that has EPA and DHA in a proportion of between 3:2 and 3:1 EPA to DHA ratio. A ratio of 2:1 is also pretty common and a good choice.

An example breakdown of a 2:1 ratio capsule would be:

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