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Tracy's Newsletter |
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Tracy's Newsletter |
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Issue #53
3-21-07
In This Issue...
Tell Your Friends
Want to help your friends stay in shape? Tell them to visit www.cavemaneating.com and sign up for Tracy's Newsletter. It will give you and your friends something new to talk about each week! Have Questions? Please feel free to email me at tracy@smartcarblife.com with questions or ideas about this newsletter or about my two books, The Smart-Carb Guide to Eating Out: Fast-Food and Family Restaurants and The Dessert Diet. |
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Since last week's newsletter came out giving my recommendations for which fish oils to take, people have been asking me whether the fish oil they currently take is a good one.
Below is my "fish oil formula" that you can use yourself to figure out whether or not your fish oil is highly concentrated in EPA and DHA.
How Many Milligrams of Fish Oil Per Serving?
1. First find how many milligrams (mg) is in one serving. For many fish oils this is around 1,000 mg, but it varies.
Sometimes fish oils list grams (g) instead of milligrams. If your fish oil lists grams, then multiply this number by 1,000 to get milligrams.
How Much EPA and DHA Per Serving?
2. Next find out the milligrams of EPA and DHA per serving. These are usually in the hundreds, something like 300 mg of EPA and 150 mg DHA. This will vary widely, so just check the label.
Add EPA and DHA, Then Divide by Milligrams Fish Oil
3. Now add the EPA and DHA. Divide this number by the milligrams of fish oil per serving. This will give you a number somewhere between 0.1 and 0.7.
You can multiply this number by 100 to get the percentage of EPA/DHA in the fish oil. This will range from 10% to 70%.
What the Number Means
The number you get tells you how much EPA and DHA are in your fish oil relative to other fish oils.
This is based on the label, and there's no telling how accurate labels are. However, it gives you an idea of how different fish oils may compare in terms of purity.
Only one fish oil is tested regularly by an outside lab to verify its purity. This is Dr. Sears Fish Oil. However, it's one of the more expensive brands. Take it if you're willing to spend the money; otherwise, here's how to judge fish oil quality based on the label:
If the number is 0.5 (50%) or above, it's is a very concentrated fish oil. If it's below 50% , it's a lower concentration.
Less-concentrated fish oils can be dangerously contaminated with ocean pollutants, which is why I recommend taking fish oils with 50% EPA/DHA or better.
Fish Oil Practice #1: Whole Foods Fish Oil
Here are the numbers for Whole Foods Fish Oil:
Fish Oil per Serving: 1,000 mg
EPA per Serving: 180 mg
DHA per Serving: 120 mg
To find the percentage of EPA/DHA, do this calculation:
Add EPA + DHA, then divide this by the fish oil per serving, or...
180 mg EPA + 120 mg DHA = 300 mg EPA/DHA
300 mg EPA/DHA divided by 1,000 mg fish oil per serving = 0.3
0.3 is the same as 30%
So the Whole Foods brand of fish oil contains 30% EPA/DHA. This is below 50%, so it's not one that I recommend. It's a low-concentration fish oil that may be contaminated with ocean pollutants.
Fish Oil Practice #2: USANA Fish Oil
The numbers for USANA Fish Oil are:
Fish Oil per Serving: 2,000 mg
EPA per Serving: 580 mg
DHA per Serving: 470 mg
Try doing this one yourself and see what you get. I'll wait...
*
+
=
*
+
+
*
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Done? What did you get?
I got 0.525, which is 52.5%.
This is over 50%, so it passes. It's a highly-concentrated fish oil which is less likely to contain contaminants and will give you a higher health benefit than less-concentrated fish oils.
Jeff Schechter, a Tracy's Newsletter reader, is a distributer for USANA products. You can purchase the USANA fish oil at his link: www.velocity.usana.com The two brands of fish oil that I mentioned in last week's newsletter also have concentrations significantly above 50%.
Try this formula out on your fish oil to see if it passes the "fish oil test."
Here's a quick quiz to see how much you learned from reading last week's newsletter:
1. What can happen if you take a less-concentrated fish oil (such as the cheap kind that's on sale at the mega-mart)?
a. You get very little health benefit for your money.
b. You injest cancer-causing PCB's and dioxins.
c. You overdose on Vitamin A.
d. All of the above are possibilities. 2. Which brand(s) of fish oil do I recommend based on their high concentrations of EPA and DHA?
a. Dr. Sears' Fish Oil
b. Costco Fish Oil
c. Dr. Michael Murray Recommended RxOmega-3 Factors Fish Oil
d. Both a and c.
Think that you're fish-oil smart? Then check out next week's newsletter for the answers!
Answers to last week's quiz:
1. Which is not a Key to Caveman Eating?
b. Eat a fruit by itself. 2. Which meal below makes a good Caveman Breakfast?
d. egg whites cooked with olive oil with oranges ____________________________________________________Workout Tip:
Remember to eat a snack like a small handful of nuts ten to twenty minutes before you work out and another snack after you work out. This will help in your recovery and keep you from feeling as hungry at mealtimes.
-- Tracy
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 Tracy Jones is a nutritional educator, a public speaker, and the author of two books.
Tracy holds a Master's Degree in Biology from the University of California at Davis and a Credential in Adult Education from the University of California at Berkeley Extension. She is a rigorously-trained scientist and an expert in Zone Diet-based nutrition, fast food and convenience food health values, and food macronutrient values. Tracy was introduced to the Zone Diet in 2000 by her mother and became a quick convert to the diet after it helped her lose thirty pounds and heal from health problems. Because the meals in Tracy's books are balanced based on Zone Diet principles, people who eat them are able to enjoy their favorite treats while staying slim and healthy.
Tracy regularly follows her own diets, dining at fast food restaurants like McDonald's and Burger King and eating meals from The Dessert Diet. Her favorite desserts are ice cream and chocolate. Tracy enjoys helping people enjoy the best life has to offer, including great health, delicious food, and happiness.
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Please email feedback and questions to: tracy@smartcarblife.com. To learn more about my books, please visit: www.DessertDiet.com. |
