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Posted 12/14/2011 2:24 PM (GMT 0)
Good morning all.

After reading Sherrine's thread about krill oil I have a question.

I was going to go out and buy some krill oil to use after I finish my present bottle of fish oil until my b/f told me this morning he read in Consumer Reports that they tested 30 fish oil supplements and Spring Valley Fish Oil was considered to be the best as far as the omega 3's and pesticides and chemicals and such. Spring Valley can be purchased at Walmart for $6 and that's for 2 bottles! 

I may try the krill oil first just to see if there's a difference or try the Spring Valley and see if I feel any worse since that's the brand my b/f has in the house for himself.

Since I only take Advil and Alieve and no prescribed meds so the supplements I take are very important to me.

I would very much appreciate hearing your opinions.

Thanks!

 

Posted 12/18/2011 6:05 AM (GMT 0)
Hi medfree,

It has good reviews on the net, but you'll want to take a look at the amount of Omega's it has ... the product has very low EPA and DHA because the fish components include cod, which doesn't have as much good Omega EFAs as something in an oiler fish like sardines. So basically, to get the benefits of high EFAs (essential fatty acids), that is 1g a day, you'll need to take a lot of pills per day. This product also failed www,consumerlabs.com lab testing (they test supplements) as it's coating dissolved too quickly. A lot of our supplements are absorbed after the stomach through the intestinal lining, so I think this would make a difference in how much of the product makes it to your cells.

Here's a site that lists the amount of EFAs in various products....

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/women/nutritioncorner_omega.aspx

It's tricky when shopping for fish oil and krill oil. Sherrine has an excellent point about researching products. Even some krill oil products contain fish oil and they don't have to list it on the label! Here's a site on how to read Krill oil labels..
http://krill-oil.wellwise.org/krill-oil-reviews/best-krill-oil

Personally, I'm sticking with fish oil as it's been around for many years and has many studies on it. Krill oil does look promising, though. I may give that a try in the future.

One of the best one I've found for content is Minami. I pay $31.47 for 60 gel capsules at www.iherb.com. It provides 900g of EFAs, 635 EPA, 194mg DHA. Comparing it solely on price, $6 for 300 capsules in 2 bottles provides 64,800 total EPA and Minami $31 for 60 caps of 38,100 EPA ... umm, about 10x the cost.

I believe the reason is that fish oil supplements can contain pollutants like mercury, I didn't see Spring Valley's processing claims of removing pollutants or where they harvest their fish (some waters, fish farms are more polluted). I also noticed it contains cod on the label, whereas mine doesn't. It may be even less to just buy liquid cod liver oil like the last generations did! So I guess the bottom line, is the price point is all about content and quality. There's lots to research and I found it's tough as there are conflicting articles on the net! (that's what I found about Krill, a lot of articles are funded by the manufacturers of the product).

Good luck picking one out!

Post Edited (Sue123) : 1/13/2012 3:38:59 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 12/18/2011 1:03 PM (GMT 0)
Researching is important.  I was seeing that claims made on labels were not always accurate...according to Consumer Labs.  They check out products, see if what is on the label is accurate, and then report it.  Supplements aren't regulated by the FDA so you do have to check things out. 

 

Sherrine 

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