Friday, May 7, 2010

Pharmaceutical Grade Fish Oil – Don’t be Misguided that It’s Better for You

A lot of you may be considering making the switch to pharmaceutical grade fish oil instead of over the counter, due to the misguided belief that a prescription omega 3 formula is better for you. I have to tell you that not only is this overly-hyped product not better for you than a standard high quality omega 3 formula would be, but it will cost you up to ten times more than an over the counter supplement will.

You will end up spending about $160 per month on your prescription fish oil, and not receive any more positive benefits than you would get with a formula that cost you $16 to $19 per month. Although the prescription omega 3 formulas do offer you a higher dose of both DHA and EPA n-3 fatty acids, what they are giving you is overkill. Ingesting too much of these normally healthy nutrients can cause you to suffer some physical problems.

Pharmaceutical grade fish oil will provide you with 1500mg of DHA n-3 fatty acid and 1860mg of EPA daily, which is more than 400mg higher in DHA and nearly 1400mg higher in EPA than the highest rated over the counter omega 3 formulas. Providing you with an intake of n-3 fatty acids so high is probably why the makers of this formula have had to issue warnings and a list of potential side effects from using the product.

Omega 3 fatty acids are immensely beneficial to the cardiovascular system, and one of the many important things that these nutrients will do for you is prevent the formation of blood clots by inhibiting blood platelets from sticking together. This anticoagulant affect is good, but this is also a case where there can be too much of a good thing. Consuming large doses of omega 3 fatty acids can in some cases lead to internal bleeding.

This is most likely why the pharmaceutical grade fish oil is not recommended for women that are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or nursing. The results of internal bleeding to both the mother and the fetus could possibly be disastrous. DHA and EPA n-3 fatty acids in lower doses are typically recommended for the benefit of the mother, and for maximum cognitive development in the fetus.

High levels of DHA omega 3 fatty acids in the umbilical cord blood have proven to boost the immune system development of a newborn as well. The levels of n-3 fatty acids should not be so high however, that it could possibly have a negative affect on the baby. In my opinion, a natural product that is listed as having numerous side effects is no better really than a formula that features chemicals.

Pharmaceutical grade fish oil is not all that it has been cracked up to be, and I wouldn’t advise anyone paying such an exorbitant price for a formula that could put you in danger. Stick with a DHA omega-3 premium formula featuring Lycopene and Astaxanthin as added ingredients, and you can safely enjoy all of the benefits that fish oil has to offer and then some.

Pharmaceutical grade fish oil is just a ploy to make a corporation a lot of money.

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