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Dangerous Fish Oil Side Effects

What are fish oils? They are oils extracted from the body of fish which contain omega3 which is essential for the healthy operation of our body.

Omega3 are used to treat neurological disorder such depression and bipolar disorder. It prevents the blood vessels from hardening and keeps the heart healthy.

It helps to develop the brains of children and is essential for pregnant women to consume for the healthy growth of the foetus.

Japanese and Eskimos have low incidences of heart attacks due to their lifestyle. Their diet consist of marine food which are rich in omega3.

For more information, read 4 fish oil health benefits

If they are healthy, why are they dangerous?

It is not the fish oil that are dangerous, rather, it is the other substances found that put our health at risk. Here explains some of the fish oil side effects

Heavy Metal Poisoning

Fish lives in the sea. With date, the sea is as polluted as the air. Whatever environmental damage released into the air by factories are brought down as rain.

Fishes are known to contain mercury and consuming too much of them damage the brain and are known as heavy metal poisoning.

However, these heavy metals can be removed by a process called molecular distillation. Check that your fish oil supplement went thru this process. Molecular distillation removes the harmful mercury, dioxins and other toxins found in fishes.

Although omega3 is essentials for children and pregnant woman, always ensure the supplements they take go thru molecular distillation.

Oxidation

Keep your fish oil away from light and heat. omega 3 fats oxides when expose to light for a long period of time. Oxidation removes the nutrition values of the oil and produces free radicals which promotes cancer. Thus keep the fish oil in a dark container in a cooling place.

Fishy Aftertaste

Fishy after taste. No one can stand the fishy smell. To solve this issue, take capsule instead of liquid fish oil supplement.

Stomach Discomfort 

In the initial stage, the stomach might not be used to doing the job of digesting a sudden influx of omega 3. After a week or two, the discomfort feeling will disappear. Alternatively, take the supplements immediately after a meal. This should solve the issue.

Freezing the capsules help as this will ensure that the capsule digests in the intestine instead of the stomach.

Vitamins Poisoning

For some fish oil supplement, they may contain additional vitamins such as vitamin A, B,D and E. Over consuming of the vitamins will produce toxic which harms the body. Taking too much of vitamin A causes liver problems. Hence avoid cod liver or fish liver oil as they are rich in vitamins, unless you have vitamin A deficiency.

Prevent this side effect of fish oil by taking fish body oil instead of cod liver or fish liver oil.

Thinning of Blood

Overcomsumption of omega3 will naturally thin the blood. Thus if you are on blood thinning medications, check your doctor before starting on omega3 supplements.

Despite the dangers, fish oil are generally safe and there is not yet an upper limit for omega3 consumption. It is the other ingredients in the oil that we are prone to over consume in our daily diet.

Hence always check out the ingredients in a supplement before purchasing to safeguard yourself and ensure that you do not suffer the dangerous fish oil side effects.