Revealed: many common omega-3 fish oil supplements are 'rancid'

[turbinetree]

Richa Syal
Mon 17 Jan 2022 01.45 EST

More than one in 10 fish oil supplements tested from among 60 large retail brands are rancid, while nearly half are just under the recommended maximum limit, according to independent tests.

Conducted over several years by Labdoor, which analyses vitamins and supplements based on criteria such as purity, label accuracy and nutritional value, the tests measured common US-branded fish oils, available globally, against international voluntary standards of rancidity.

Some fish oils recorded levels 11 times higher than recommended limits.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jan/17/revealed-many-common-omega-3-fish-oil-supplements-are-rancid

Well now.... I am going to have to ask my heart doctor and my pharmacists ....now what..

[JanMichael]

1. Don't worry about it it's just improves your immune system if you don't die

One thing that people sometimes don't consider is flaxseed oil which you can tell very clearly when it goes bad. You can take ia teaspoon or tablespoon of that and get almost everything you need.

Or straight up cod liver oil same way. Keep it in the refrigerator.

Edit: I was joking about the racid stuff being deadly

[Wingus Dingus]

2. I used to have to pierce fish oil capsules with a needle

and squirt them down patients' feeding tubes back in my nursing days. They ALL smelled rancid to me, whether they were or not...

[acantharchus]

3. My family doc and cardiologist took me off this crap years ago. So this is not news.

It has to be expensive pharmacological grade and even that is associated with increased risk of prostate cancer.

[bucolic_frolic]

4. yes that is the issue with rancidity

Better off with nutrition from food. A small tin of salmon once a week.

[Maru Kitteh]

5. No! Dead fish juice goes rancid? Whocuddaguest?

Gross.

[IbogaProject]

6. Fish oil is an intermediate it comes from plants

The oil comes from algae. They now ferment the algie to make some of the most healthy byproducts of that complex. There are also decent plant source omega-3 sources.

[ProfessorGAC]

7. Not Good!

Fish oils, particularly the omega 3, are very susceptible to rancidity. There are 3, 5, & 6 double bonds on the chain, and given their proximity to one another are very easily oxidized.
The oxidation forms internal aldehydes & alcohols, and the chain might have multiples.
Alcohols & aldehydes can be toxic, particularly because the functional groups aren't terminal. That makes them slow to metabolize further so the level in the tissues can become cumulative.
Typically antioxidants like BHA, BHT, or vitamin E are used. I'm thinking they need more!
I'd also question their manufacturing process, because inerting the process stream before the capsules are filled would go a long way toward mitigating this.
They might do doing this to some degree, but its obviously not enough.

[harumph]

23. I eat canned sardines and they keep for awhile

[ProfessorGAC]

25. The Packing Oil

That greatly dilutes the highly oxidizable omega three acids. So, the less oxygen coming into contact with those double bonds, the less susceptible to rancidification. Exponentially so.
And, sardines contain EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate) which is a polycyclic loaded with attackable sites. Super antioxidant, even moreso than BHT. In fact, sardines are what they use as an extraction source for EGCG. People take it as a supplement because of its free radical scavenging properties.
Hence, I'm not surprised that your sardines last a long time. One watch out: canned sardines are loaded with salt. People with hypertension (like me) are supposed to limit how often we eat them. There's more salt in one can of sardines than in 2 big bags of tortilla chips.

[48656c6c6f20]

8. We need more fish that tastes like chicken I guess

[VGNonly]

9. Fish oils

also have mercury, dioxins and PCBs. There are algal based sources of Omega-3 that do not contain these toxins.

[Tracer]

10. Does this apply to dog Omega 3?

I am needing to buy some for one of my dogs.

[ProfessorGAC]

12. Yes

Omega 3 acids are a groups of highly unsaturated fatty acids with 3 to 6 double bonds in the chain, the first after the 3rd carbon from the acyl group. 3rd carbon, hence Omega THREE. These are 16-22 carbons total.
The end use changes nothing about the nature of these molecules so human, dog, Romulan, these fatty acids will rancidify in the same fashion. (Mostly oxidation of the double bonds.)

[RandiFan1290]

11. I take hemp oil instead. nt

[SheltieLover]

13. Was just looking at Carlson's bottle - can't find xdate but could be my eyes lol

Ordered some Barleans triple strength strawberry banana flax oil just now. (Cholesterol is literally off the charts.)

Tyvm for info!

[iemanja]

14. I hope the Target fish oil is okay

They didn't mention it in the article.

[Omaha Steve]

15. I use plant based omega 3-6-9

https://shop.purityproducts.com/molecularly-distilled-ultrapure-omega-3-fish-oils/omega-3-6-9-vegetarian-omega-formula

[mitch96]

18. Boink! this just jumped into my head and it will be a ear worm for the rest of the day

3,6,9 the goose drank wine.
The monkey chew tobacco on the street car line.
The line broke, the monkey got choked
And they all went to heaven in a little rowboat.
Clap clap clap pat
m

[ProfessorGAC]

20. Perfectly Fine Idea

But, the source is irrelevant to the tendency to rancidify. Fish or plant, a highly unsaturated fatty acid is the same.
All those double bonds in close proximity along the chain is oxygen food.
Intense care needs to be taken in the refining, filtration, and packaging to minimize oxygen exposure.
This article makes me question how robust those procedures are, in the whole industry.

[multigraincracker]

16. I eat fish 5 or 6 times a week.

Hope it's enough.

[ProfessorGAC]

21. Depends On The Fish

As I'm sure you know, some fish is oilier than others.
Real flaky fish like cod or haddock are far lower in oil contact. The liver of those fish are loaded in oils, but not the flesh.
Shark, salmon, tuna, perch, etc. are higher in flesh oils.
Fish oils are extracted from the offal of most fish because of the oil content. But, liver oil contains a decent amount of ricinoleic acid. It stinks, taste bitter, and isn't all that good for us. So, that component is refined out, along with all the amino compounds that make fish smell bad.
If you're eating a lot of firm flesh fish, you're probably getting enough.

[abqtommy]

17. I use flaxseed oil whenever I can get it. But now that you've introduced us to this very

versatile word "rancid" how about a meme suitable for bumper stickers, buttons,
flyers and protest signs. I'm referring to "Rancid Rand"!

[turbinetree]

19. Lol...

Good one...

[Doremus]

22. No oil is good oil

This is Dr. Esselstyn of the Cleveland Clinic discussing preventing and reversing heart disease.

[Kingofalldems]

24. Used to take those.

Made me feel like crap, now I know why.