There is just no denying the benefits of fish oil to our health. Even the American Heart Association and the FDA have accepted this and recommend its usage for improving our health. It is, however, a bit difficult to choose one out of the many fish oil pills out there. How to know which one is really effective and actually does what it claims? Let’s find out.

The number one thing you need to check is the source of the oil. Namely, which fish has it been extracted from. We need our oil to be from a fish containing DHA Omega 3 in large quantities. These would typically be cold water fish like the Salmon, Mackerel, or even better – the Hoki. Till recently, EPA Omega 3 was considered to be the most important ingredient of fish oil. Latest research has shown though, that it is DHA that is responsible for most of the health benefits we get from the oil. So, DHA should be our main focus area in the fish oil pills.

The Hoki fish is abundant in the southern sea of New Zealand and is naturally rich in DHA. The water in this area is free from industrial pollution too. Which means the level of contaminants in the fish here would be very low as compared to the fish in industrialized areas. This is important, as the toxins in the fish will make way into our bodies through the oil, and we may end up doing more harm than good to our health by taking the pills.

This brings us to the next point to check in the pills. Has the oil been properly refined? A good refining process like Molecular Distillation can remove almost all the impurities from the oil. Now, this is an expensive and complex procedure, and not all companies use it for this very reason, and make do with less effective and cheaper refining techniques. You need to make sure the oil you take has been molecularly distilled and is really pure.

Coming back to DHA, you need to see that the DHA content in the fish oil pills is more than the EPA content. One reason for this is, DHA is the most beneficial for our health – EPA is secondary to it. Also, our body can easily convert DHA into EPA by a simple process, but the reverse is not possible. The only way to get DHA is by taking the oil.

Make no mistake about it. Fish oil pills are the single most effective health supplement out there. Just do some research and find a good one.