Mercury found in fish oil, how are we affected?

You should strive for a well-balanced diet if you want to live longer and healthier. One of the foods that you need to eat includes sea foods, especially shellfish and fish. Fish are known to contain fish oil, which are very rich with long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. This compound has multitudes of benefits.

For one, it is highly beneficial for children as fish oil helps develop their brains. It also improves the children’s hand-and-eye coordination. It can also perk up their concentration and prevent the risk of developing attention-deficit disorders.

For pregnant mothers, on the other hand, fish oil can stop the occurrence of preeclampsia as well as gestational diabetes.

However, today, there are a number of researchers that prove the presence of mercury in fish oil, which may lead to a phenomenon called heavy metal or mercury poisoning.

Several studies indicate mercury poisoning is linked to subtle developmental deficits in children, and decreased performance in tests of language skills, memory function and attention deficits. Methylmercury exposure in adults has also been linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease including heart attack.

Certain fish and shellfish can contain varying levels of mercury. There are some who may only have minute amounts of the metal that they are fairly safe to eat. There are also others that have high levels of them that they should be strictly avoided.

When it comes to mercury in omega 3, the ones who are in danger are pregnant mothers. As long as there is mercury in fish oil, their unborn child is at risk.  Evidences showed that children who had been exposed in-utero through their mothers' ingestion were affected with a range of symptoms including motor difficulties, sensory problems and mental retardation.
 

If they can’t help it, they should choose the kind of fish that they’re going to eat it and settle for small servings only.

Be sure to purchase only Pharmaceutical-grade fish oil
If you want to be sure that there is no mercury in fish oil, make sure that the supplement that you have purchased have passed thorough examinations to verify any presence of heavy metals or PCBs.

You also have to only buy them from reputable drug companies, those that have been licensed by the government to sell drugs and vitamins. Moreover, don’t forget to ask the drug store if he has any certificate that will prove that the there is no mercury in omega 3 supplements.

New technologies today can also permit drug and health food manufacturers to create their own long chain omega-3 fatty acids. These are usually referred to as pharmaceutical-grade fish oils. The benefits are basically the same, only that since they are synthetically produced, they don’t contain any harmful chemicals, including mercury.