What's your favorite fish oil?

[tnumrych]

I'm looking for a potent (high EPA/DHA) fish oil/Omega 3 supplement that doesn't cost an arm and/or leg and lasts some time. This supplement could get expensive given the amounts being recommended. I heard good things about T-Nation's Flamout some time ago, but when I did my own price/serving analysis comparing it some other high content fish oil supplements I found (after a rather cursory search for such products), it came in way last in that category. I still have this list (not at the home PC right now so I can't remember the brand) with one clear winner, but I was curious to hear what the consensus is around here.

[gman]

Someone on the crossfit website actually came up with a spreadsheet comparing most brands of fish oil recently. I personally like the Sears fish oil. A little pricey, but I bought 4 bottles on sale last month, and that should last me most of the year.

[tnumrych]

You wouldn't happen to have a link to that would you? I don't frequent the Crossfit boards much.

Edit:

Thanks, found it!

[Greg C]

This is what I take. Good concentrations of EPA/DHA and less pricey than the Sears stuff. http://www.vitacost.com/Carlson-The-Very-Finest-Fish-Oil (WFS).

Oh yeah, and doesn't taste too bad either...

[IWillLiveFreeOrDie]

I use Animal Omega. It has 8 different fish oils in separate gel caps. No fish burps, and less than $20 per month.

[George Noble]

I get the capsules from www.bulksupplementsdirect.co.uk and I heartily recommend my fellow UK folks do the same.

[gman]

For those of you interested in the link to the fish oil comparison chart, here it is.

http://www.board.crossfit.com/showthread.php?t=50967

[BigJavs]

FWIW, my girlfriend had to work a conference on fish oil research at UCLA and the professor giving the lecture said that surprisingly, the Costco brand fish oil was the purest.


Although since then, they've added soy to the capsules.

[Notorious]

At Walmart you can get 400 grams for ~$12. Pretty damn cheap. I take 10 caps a day.

[lylemcd]

Costco for pills
Carlson's liquid from Vitacost

They did a consumer report analysis of a bunch of different brands. With 2 exceptions, all met label claims and none had contaminants. There is NO reason to buy anything but generic except to fill the pockets of the people selling them.

Lyle

[TomC]

Damn, Lyle, that Vitacost site has a serious discount on the Carlson's. I had been buying it locally and paying a lot more. Thanks for the link.

[petey]

I have used vitacost a lot, best online prices.
Vitamin Shoppe has good prices and local stores that will match their online price on items. For example the carlson lemon flavored fish oil is around 22 bucks online, but at the store is like $48, but if you tell them, they will match the price.

[petey]

Also, I buy the fish oil caps from sams club. It is the same price and content as costco, but you only get 350 caps instead of 400, however the sams club members mark brand is enteric coated and smell of vanilla which is nice.

[tnumrych]

Costco for pills
Carlson's liquid from Vitacost

They did a consumer report analysis of a bunch of different brands. With 2 exceptions, all met label claims and none had contaminants. There is NO reason to buy anything but generic except to fill the pockets of the people selling them.

Lyle

Lyle, I was wondering what you thought of the NSI brand liquid (http://www.vitacost.com/NSI-Liquid-Omega-3-Purified-Fish-Oil-EPA-DHA-NEW-IMPROVED-TASTE-FLAVOR), it has almost the same potency as Carlson's, 1.57g EPA and 1g DHA vs. 1.6g and 1g per 2 teaspoons, but it's a bit less expensive.

[strengthstarter]

Has anyone tried to go with Robb Wolf's recommendation of 1g fish oil per 10# body weight? For me that comes out to 260#/ 10# * 1g = 26g fish oil. Which using carlson is 26g / (1.6g/tsp) = 16.25 tsp or 16.25 tsp * (1 bottle / 100 tsp) * $22.35/bottle = $3.63 per day in fish oil!

Let me restate that: $3.63 per day in fish oil! Putting aside the moment the general displeasure of downing 16.25 teaspoons ( 5.4 tablespoons) of fish oil per day.

I think Robb's guidance aims to achieve a 1:1 omega-6:omega-3 ratio. Has anyone actually tried this? Have they noticed a difference over, say obtaining a 4:1 ratio instead?

[TomC]

Has anyone tried to go with Robb Wolf's recommendation of 1g fish oil per 10# body weight? For me that comes out to 260#/ 10# * 1g = 26g fish oil. Which using carlson is 26g / (1.6g/tsp) = 16.25 tsp or 16.25 tsp * (1 bottle / 100 tsp) * $22.35/bottle = $3.63 per day in fish oil!

Let me restate that: $3.63 per day in fish oil! Putting aside the moment the general displeasure of downing 16.25 teaspoons ( 5.4 tablespoons) of fish oil per day.

I think Robb's guidance aims to achieve a 1:1 omega-6:omega-3 ratio. Has anyone actually tried this? Have they noticed a difference over, say obtaining a 4:1 ratio instead?

5 tablespoons a day of fish oil seems like an awful lot.

[strengthstarter]

5 tablespoons a day of fish oil seems like an awful lot.

Yes, I know! It is why I asked about it.

Still, the guy swears by it and can point to research in humans to show benefits up to a 1:1 ratio (typical american diet is 20:1). Eating Paleo w/ grass-fed/wild meats puts me up in the 3:1-5:1 range but any pushing it any further requires eating quite a bit more fish or some pretty hefty supplementation.

[Dastardly]

I get this:

http://www.healthspan.co.uk/images/product_details/1988146.jpg

£9.95 ($15.82 for 600ml)

Kinda expensive, but it tastes delicious and is very rich in nutrients compared to trying to swallow ten caps every day.


of which DHA - 460mg
and EPA - 345mg
Total Omega-3 - 920mg
Vitamin A - 970mcg (120%)
Vitamin D3 - 10.4mcg (208%)
Natural Vitamin E - 5.5mg (55%)


It is also apparently the highest quality oil available in the UK, and I believe that too.

[tnumrych]

I get this:

http://www.healthspan.co.uk/images/product_details/1988146.jpg

£9.95 ($15.82 for 600ml)

Kinda expensive, but it tastes delicious and is very rich in nutrients compared to trying to swallow ten caps every day.



It is also apparently the highest quality oil available in the UK, and I believe that too.

I have used Cod liver oil myself, it is very omega 3 rich and good stuff overall, but it's also very Vitamin A rich. With the recommendations for omega 3 amounts you would at the least have to consume 5 servings yielding something like 5mg of Vitamin A:eek:. Hypervitaminosis A is some nasty stuff, so I would be careful using that as your only source of EFAs.

[Chewie_jrc]

That's interesting Lyle. I remember on the Xfit boards a buncha people throwing warnings out to be super careful of your fish oil brand (toxicity, impurities, etc.). Thanks for the tip, the Costco brand is much easier on the wallet.

[Casey Dupre]

As may be evident from the crossfit forum, I posted that I use member's mark triple strength fish oil from sam's club. It is 60% pure and 3 caps gives you 2.7 grams of omega-3. Good stuff and great price.

[pauld]

Does anybody have links to studies or reputable sources for how much fish oil per day would make sense for folks doing strength training?

[tnumrych]

Does anybody have links to studies or reputable sources for how much fish oil per day would make sense for folks doing strength training?

Just check out Lyle's website, he's done all the legwork for you, and he has plenty of information to read on the subject.