There is now little doubt about the health benefits of Omega3 oils. These have been well publicised recently and more and more people are becoming aware that the vast majority of us are deficient in our Omega3 fatty acid intake. Of course these essential fatty acids are found in fish oil which comes from fish, but how do we increase our intake of omega 3 when fish is contaminated with Mercury?

A recent study published this year has examined the levels of Mercury contamination in fish and in the north Pacific Ocean. According to the results of the study the levels of Mercury in the North Pacific has increased 30 percent from 1996 to 2006.

Not only that but it also concluded that around 40 percent of all Mercury exposure of people in the US came from tuna consumption from tuna caught in the Pacific.

This is seriously worrying, because you do not want to be eating too much Mercury. It is a neurotoxin and it has serious health implications for adults, but in particular for the fetus and for infants.

It was found that Mercury made its way into the oceans because of atmospheric Mercury production as well as Mercury leakage from Asia. It was present in the oceans as methylmercury, and works its way up the food chain to the fish at the top of the food chain, commonly shark and tuna. And shark and tuna make up a large percentage of our fish intake.

This creates a dilemma for people who recognise our inadequate levels of Omega3 intake in our diets and you wish to increase their intake of fish to increase their intake of omega3 oils. By eating more fish, whilst increasing your intake of essential fatty acids, you also increasing your exposure to Mercury.

Fish is expensive and is also a declining resource. Is there a better way of increasing your intake of essential fatty acids other than eating expensive fish? Yes there is.

Much more cost-effective than eating fish and also safer is to increase your Omega3 intake levels by daily supplementation with omega3 supplements. These are much more cost-effective than buying fish and the very best fish oil supplements are free of Mercury contamination and are safe to be taken daily. As a result of these fats the sales of fish oil supplements are increasing faster than any other nutritional supplement in history.

However if you like eating fish, you recognize the expense involved from eating fish and that you may be increasing your Mercury levels then eating fish is a good way to increase your intake of Omega3 fats. But if you don’t like fish, if you don’t want to undertake the extra expense of buying fish and you prefer not to take more Mercury in your diet then there is a much more cost effective and safer alternative, namely fish oil supplements.

It is however worth noting that there wide variations in the quality of the various supplements available, and that the best fish oil supplements contain almost 3 times as much Omega3 fats as average capsules.

To find a comparison of the different fish oil capsules available visit my website.