Environmentally Healthy Fish Oils

brianthebard

Is there an environmentally healthy option out there atm? We all know how bad the fishing industry is, and that's basically where the fish oil is coming from. I wouldn't use cod liver oil because I already avoid eating cod and it wouldn't make sense to use the oil. I read up about fish oil a while ago and it sounded pretty questionable environmentally and sustainably speaking. What are the options out there, or would I be better off looking at alternatives like more beef in the diet? Cheers.

Macha

Are you concerned about thinks like PCBs and mercury or the sustainability of the fishing industry? Or both?

Seven Seas has nothing about the environmental impact of fishing, which would suggest they don't care much about it.

Interesting article on the merits of reducing amount of Omega 6 in your diet, rather than spending more money and putting more pressure on fish stocks:

http://blog.nutritiondata.com/ndblog/2009/03/is-taking-fish.html

The article links to a rebuttal by a guy from a sustainable fish company (I'm guessing he's assuming best fishing practices, which only applies to a fraction of fisheries of course). But this is the company's website:
http://www.vitalchoice.com/index.cfm

I know MSC is the main sustainable fishing certification scheme out there so maybe they certify fish oil supplements. More generally, mussels are one of the most sustainable fish so getting some more of them into your diet might be an idea.

El_Dangeroso

I was waiting for your answer tacconol.

This is a really thorough (read: long) article on all the elements to consider when buying a fish oil, including sustainablility:

http://thehealthyskeptic.org/the-definitive-fish-oil-buyers-guide

Sustainability

The sustainability of fish oil production is difficult to gauge. Some oils are produced as a byproduct of fish harvesting, and manufacturers claim that they are simply making use of something that would normally be discarded. While this is certainly better than harvesting fish solely for their oil, it still supports harmful fishing practices.

The safest bet is to only use fish oil that is made from fish that are certified by MSF or a similar organization, such as the Environmental Defense Fund. Vital Choice Wild Salmon Oil is one example, as is Jarrow Max DHA (which is made from anchovies and sardines, both of which are generally regarded as safe to eat from an environmental standpoint).

brianthebard

taconnol wrote: »

Are you concerned about thinks like PCBs and mercury or the sustainability of the fishing industry? Or both?

Seven Seas has nothing about the environmental impact of fishing, which would suggest they don't care much about it.

Mainly sustainability, I can't really condone fish oils on the grounds that I'm using a by product in the same way I view whey for instance. Plus some like krill oil are clearly not already part of the human food chain. Good suggestion about reducing omega 6 that's something to look at. I wonder if I eat more sardines would it give me the same benefits as fish oil tabs? I hate eating plain tinned fish though, any suggestions for preparation?

spiralbound

You can buy a vegan DHA supplement, made from algae:

http://www.devanutrition.com/vegan_DHA.html

El_Dangeroso

Whole fish is always better than fish oil (from the same guy as previous link) so sardines would be ideal, I think there is 2.5g of omega 3 in a tin, so equivalent to five normal capsules.

Reducing omega 6 would reduce the requirement for omega 3 to a level that could be attained by eating wild fish 1-2 times per week, but only if you can get omega 6 below 4% of calories, this means rigorously avoiding seed oils such as corn, safflower, soybean, sunflower, basically anything labelled as 'vegetable oil', olive and avocado are ok as they are fruit oils and low in omega 6.