Maybe you should refrigerate your fish oil supplements?

This is just a quick post about a certain issue concerning the extremely popular supplements that contain omega-3 fish oil, how it might be a good idea to check for rancidity, and that you should refrigerate the ones that are still good.

A few years back, this particular product was getting pushed and marketed like it was some miracle pill and whatnot.  Take fish oil for this, krill oil is best for that, omega-3 does this, and so on.  First of all, it is well known that omega-3 fatty acids are very good for your overall health, heart & circulatory system, etc.  But for the ones that don't regularly consume fish/seafood (which is the most common source for omega-3s), taking the fish oil supplements simply seems like the best option.

Well, a couple years ago, there was some crazy study that came out claiming there is a link between fish oil supplements and prostate cancer.  Can you believe that crap?  So, I decided to write about that bogus study, here: "Bogus Study says Omega-3 & Fish Oil Supplements increases risk of Prostate Cancer"

However, after discovering some rancid fish oil from my pile of supplements that I regularly consume, I decided to search for more information.  Although I generally consume fish and/or seafood a few times a week, I would still take a few fish oil pills throughout each week.  In the past, it seemed to smell fine with no noticeable issues, but the last couple of bottles I purchased seemed a bit odd, extra fishy smelly and rancid, so I quit taking them altogether.

Upon further research, this seems to be a common problem with fish oil supplements.  This particular oil spoils much quicker than conventional oils like vegetable, corn, peanut, canola oil, etc.  Even olive oil lasts longer than fish oil, going by what I recently read, and olive oil is quite prone to spoilage to say the least.  So after thinking about this a bit more, perhaps the crazy study that linked prostate cancer to fish oil pills didn't realize that it could simply have everything to do with rancid fish oil and not omega-3 supplements that were fresh and of high quality.

In closing, if you do decide to buy fish oil supplements, check them out before use.  Cut one open, smell it, and let your nose and common sense decide.  The oil shouldn't smell like rotten fish!  Buy from reputable brands and, to increase the real shelf life (not the one listed on the bottle), I think it might be a good idea to refrigerate your fish oil.  The last two bottles I bought that were rancid, coincidentally occurred during the hot summer months and from the same brand that I never by from anymore (Spring Valley), so go figure; cheers!

---End of Post "Maybe you should refrigerate your fish oil supplements?"

Semi-related Post:
http://random-twaddle.blogspot.com/2015/02/my-thoughts-about-multivitamins.html