The future of fish oil

A new Canadian study on fish oil measured manmade pollutants in fish oil capsules and found PCBs, insecticides and mercury in negligible amounts. The research concludes that fish oil supplements are a safer alternative to actual fish.

Published research recently found higher levels of pollutants in farmed salmon than wild. But the question remained--how do contaminants in fish oil capsules compare to those found in the fish themselves?

Two labs tested fish oil capsules from 12 manufacturers on behalf of CTV television network and The Globe and Mail. The media companies released the results February 18, 2004.

Even one relatively toxin-free wild fish has the same PCB content as about 20 capsules. And a single fish oil capsule contains about 30 times the amount of omega-3 fatty acids as a single fish portion. The purest oils undergo a process called molecular distillation.

In a related story, a study reported in the February 12, 2004 edition of the British Medical Journal directs attention back to the original source of omega-3s in fish: marine algae and phytoplankton. Ocean algae and phytoplankton--say researchers at the University of Edinburgh--can easily be cultured industrially to provide vegetable sources of omega-3s that would be free of the contaminants commonly found in fish.

While some firms have been attempting to genetically modify terrestrial plants to produce omega-3s, the new study says it's possible--and implies it may be better--to cultivate unaltered marine plants that are naturally rich in these heart-healthy fats.

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