which is the best omega 3 oil?

[frenziednester]

I have been recommended O3, but all the ones I have tried so far leave the boys retching at the taste - have tried Boots, Halib Orange chewy sweets, and sanatogen - does anyone have any better experiences before I waste any more money on stuff they won't take?

you could always just squeeze cod liver oil tablets over their food. or use flax seed .

Eye Q Chewies go down no problems here - but there again my ds used to take the liquid off the spoon and say yummy.

Just be abit careful about ingredients on some as some have nasty sweetners added including aspartame!

What about just buying omega 3 milk, then you'll all get it without realising.

no sweeteners in cod liver oil...

no chance of just giving them fish? seriously, thats probably the best option, theres always debate about which oils to go for-DHA vs ECA etc. but i think its pretty much agreed that fish are good.

I've got a feeling there's a vit A issue with cod liver oil

eyeQ citrus flavor liquid is ok (and my DS is v fussy)

Just found this.

Cod liver oils and fish oils are not the same. Cod liver oil is extracted from cod liver and is an excellent source of vitamins A and D. Fish oils are extracted from the tissues (flesh) of fatty fish like salmon and herring and are good sources of EPA and DHA. Fish oils contain very little vitamin A and D, but cod liver oil does contain EPA and DHA. However, you would probably exceed the recommended daily intake of vitamins A and D if you were to try to obtain therapeutic amounts of EPA and DHA from cod liver oil.

Sadly (as a veggie) have discovered that flax seed oil is not an exact alternative to fish oils. Your body needs to convert flax seed oil to get the omega 3 out while it's just there in fish oils (not the exactly scientific explanation but along those lines). Not everyone can do this conversion - no way of knowing whether you are one of the people who can or can't. Damn.

Probably much better to get omega 3 from your diet - as a basic principle holds goods for almost all vits and minerals (although I think there's more evidence for omega 3 supplements being effective than for others). There's something about nutrients in food that has more effect than nutrients on their own. Lots of research going on in this field - there's a lab in Leatherhead and researchers in Norfolk, I think, who are leading on this. Have forgotten the details, sadly, but as a broac principle it holds good.

oh lol have essay on this right now, just came on here to have cup of tea!

forgot about A/D in cod liver oil. Yes. that would be a drawback.

think you'd still get same sort of fat. basiclaly they are long chain polyunsaturates cos that means they will be liquid (and hence useful to the body) at lower temperatures, so all fish have them. Also the actual source of the "fish oils" is not the fish themselves but the seaweed they eat, so all sea-caught fish should have it. I think. I'll look it up later.

flax seed oil. ok my limited understanding is that, yes, the body uses DHA directly but has to convert the oil in flaxseed, which I think is linolenic acid (there is also a linoleic acid, which I think is the omega 6, whereare linolenic acid is the omega 3. might be the other way round. who cares?) But I didn't think this was much of a problem? Our bodies are always having to convert x to y to use it.

The thing about converting linolenic acid (thanks for the reminder!) was mentioned at a Royal Society of Medicine forum on food and health. So I assume there's some thinking behind it but can't remember details, sadly.

hmmm

but what does that mean, does it mean if you are vegetarian you are buggered?

vegetarians have been healthy for years.

Will try to do decent search later. Cos if I am honest I don't really know what I am talking about. But am intigued.

we are running out of fish, and what little we have is full of mercury and PCBs. So WTF do we do?

(am not vegetarian btw but I think it is rather a good idea to be so)

Fillyjonk (great name!) I think probably the majority of veggies are healthy - however i must be the most unhealthy veggie in the world - i eat crap, the only difference is it isn't made with anything with a face in it.

Anyway, ds isn't veggie and i give him 'Eskimo Kids'. I found problems with EyeQ as when i took him off it, he went bananas - quite literally. Eskimo Kids seems to suit him really well and although it is expensive (£16.99 for 210ml) one teaspoon a day means it lasts approx 2 months. EyeQ is alot more expensive and doesn't contain anywhere like the 410mg of EPA or 280mg of DHA on Eskimo Kids.

It also has added vit D and E and other gooeies in it and is Tutti Frutti taste, which my son (who doesn't like a lot of things) will actually take. I get it from a health stall on the market but i haven't seen it anywhere else - i'm not sure if Holland & Barrett do it.

thanks for this - the children hate fish, so I am on a bit of a loser there, and I have heard lots of people say that O3 helps calm the little darlings down a bit.

Eskmo kids is available on line www.yournutritionshop.co.uk or tel 01494637806
£14.35 for 210ml postage is free for orders over £15

I know because I did my regular order today.

It does seem to have the highest levels of the good bits in it, I have been using it for my son for about a year.

The tutti fruitti flavour does help to get it down as well