Carlson Fish Oil

Carlson Fish Oil is my personal brand preference having tried several.  It’s one of the few liquids that is available in different flavors that actually doesn’t taste nasty and leave me with “fishy burps” later in the day.  Nordic Naturals is another high quality brand of fish oil but for the money I choose to use Carlson.  As I’m not a big fan of gelatin capsules I usually purchase in the liquid form.  I have used the capsules and they do tend to last longer and for those who absolutely do not want to taste the fish oil at all it’s the better way to go.

In a winter climate I recommend using Cod Liver Oil from Carlson to take advantage of the natural Vitamin D which most of those living in colder climates are deficient in when winter rolls around and we are not longer getting enough sun exposure to allow our bodies to develop healthy amounts of vitamin D.  Recent studies I’ve read suggest that a lack of Vitamin D plays a role in increased risk of stroke.  Better safe than sorry and I have not read a single study to suggest that obtaining vitamin D from cod liver oil has any side effects.  However one should keep careful count of the amount of Vitamin A intake they have in non-beta carotene form.  Vitamin A accumulation can be toxic if excessive.

Carlson Nutritional Supplements began with a Vitamin E product.  For Vitamin E I recommend you look at AC Grace Company.  I can’t say they are better than Carlson but they are better known specifically for Vitamin E.

Like most vitamin companies today trying to capture market share Carlson offers an array of fish oil products.  Sometimes it’s difficult to determine which is the best of the bunch for your own particular needs.  I believe the best way to get nutrition is from whole foods and try to avoid synthetically blended vitamin supplements whenever possible.  However when it comes to EPA and Omega 3 Oils there is another factor to consider and that is mercury contamination.  I read another recent study that suggested that an adult weighing 180lbs should consume no more than 1 can of regular “chunk lite” tuna every 3 days and no more than 1 can of Albacore “White” Tuna every 9 days.  Children and those who weigh less should extended the period of time between tuna consumption. This is all due to mercury toxicity in our ever increasingly toxic world.  For this reason I choose to supplement fish oils which have been purified to remove metals toxins such as mercury instead of increasing my dietary intake of fish.

Back to what fish oil to select.  Carlson calls their fish oils “The very finest fish oil” and offers their liquid product with varying amounts of other nutrients and flavors.  My preference is the Original Very finest fish oil lemon flavor. This is the one that doesn’t cause me to have any fishy burp reaction.  The photo pictured on this page is of the original.  Carlson oils are bottled in Norway and unlike many low cost budget brands Carlson oils are tested in an FDA-registered laboratory to be fully potent and free of detrimental levels of cadmium, mercury, PCB’s, lead and 28 additional tested substances.

So if you believe in the benefits of Omega 3 fatty acids and are looking to add a quality fish oil supplement to your diet I can recommend you take a close look at Carlson Labs. Parents should note that Carlson also has specific formulas of fish oil for children.

I am not a health care professional, any suggestions or recommendations are based solely on my own personal use of the Carlson Brand Nutrional products and are not backed by scientific data.  Furthermore I am not compensated by Carlson Fish Oil Company for this recommendation.