What Is Pharmaceutical Grade Omega 3?

The term Pharmaceutical grade omega 3 has been 'coined' in the Omega 3 supplement production industry as a way of helping the consumer to focus in on a quality product. Yes, it is an attention grabbing terminology because we all associate a product that we believe is pharmaceutical grade with the pinnacle of industry standards in purity and production quality.

Here's the question though. Is pharmaceutical grade omega 3 a real term that has relevance in the production and purity of omega 3 fish oil products or is it simply a marketing terminology?

You have no doubt heard or read somewhere that pollution in the world's oceans is now a real cause for concern when choosing to eat fish or sea food on a regular basis.

General official recommendations advise that you keep your fresh fish intake to about twice a week to minimize exposure to pollutants. This is unfortunate given the health benefits associated with eating fish.

Although there is much scientific research that should now positively reinforce your decision to include more omega 3 fatty acids in your diet, how do you get around the very real issue of heavy metals such as lead and mercury along with dioxins and pcb's being present in your food choice?

As a consumer, you can't be expected to know what is safe to eat and what isn't unless manufacturers and suppliers are required to publish and adhere to certain safety standards.

The benefits to ones health from eating fish is known to be associated with the presence of omega 3 fatty acids in the flesh of the fish. Omega 3 fatty acids are actually fats. They are termed good fats because a significant amount of scientific research spanning several decades has shown without doubt that cardiovascular and brain health just to name two important body systems are very reliant on a regular dietary source of these fats.

Because issues have been raised about contamination in the world's oceans, attention has turned to dietary supplements that contain the important health benefiting factors found in omega 3 fish oil.

The idea behind supplementation is that we could perhaps make up for the short fall in dietary omega 3 by daily taking one or more capsules that contain the oil blend. Unfortunately, the same issues of contamination apply to fish oil as it does to fresh fish.

Because not all supplement manufactures are reputable, pharmaceutical grade omega 3 came into being as a term to direct consumers toward a better quality product. However, it is not a term that is used by independent batch testing laboratories.

A batch testing laboratory tests a manufacturer's product against a set of standards.

The term pharmaceutical grade omega 3 does not indicate the purity of a product in any official capacity, it is not a scientific term. It may well be that if a product is marketed as being pharmaceutical grade that it is of very high quality and purity...however a competing product may also claim the same thing, but on closer analysis the two products could vary significantly.

Fortunately for the consumer, a set of voluntary standards does exist which is called a voluntary monograph. The monograph recommends standards for the presence of environmental contaminants.

Unfortunately for the consumer, there are several proposed standards and they are entirely voluntary from the manufacturer's perspective, so it's a case of consumer beware.

Make sure your product of choice has been measured against a standard of the highest quality.

The IFOS or International fish oil standards have become quite well known in the industry.

Any product that equals or exceeds the standards that IFOS apply to their clients products when tested would be worthy of your attention.

The important issue is not whether your product markets itself as being pharmaceutical grade omega 3 fish oil but rather if the manufacturers have been willing to subject their products to independent testing.

Your safety is of primary importance as is being able to achieve long term health benefits from your preferred product(s). This after all is why you would choose to supplement in the first place.