Historical Use Of Fish oils
Fish oils have a long history of consumption most notably among people living in coastal areas such as the fishing communities of Scotland, Iceland, Norway and Greenland. They were widely consumed as a constituent of their high sea food diet but also as oils in their own right such as cod liver oil. It was the observation that Greenland Inuits had good heart health, in spite of their high fat diet of blubber and oily fish that brought the benefits of Omega-3 rich fish oils to the wider awareness of scientists.

Since that association was made in the 70's a large number of scientific studies worldwide have highlighted the multiple benefits of dietary Omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil, in areas as diverse as heart, brain and eye health. In fact, it seems that these fatty acids are important in almost every aspect of health.

Why take a fish oil supplement
Current dietary recommendations are to reduce the intake of saturated fats and increase that of polyunsaturated fats including the consumption of Omega-3 rich oils. Since many people either do not like the taste of fish or find it expensive and inconvenient to prepare they may not receive a regular intake of Omega-3. In fact it has been estimated that only about one third of the British population consume the Government's minimum recommendation of 1-2 portions of oily fish (e.g. mackerel, sardines, herring, pilchards and salmon) a week. Regular intake of fish oil supplements can provide a convenient way of helping to fill this nutritional gap.

Concerns over the pollutants in fish have not helped its popularity. Sadly many of our oceans have been contaminated with industrial pollutants such as mercury, dioxins and PCBs and these have accumulated in fish. With this in mind The Food Standards Agency has issued guidelines on upper limits for consumption of shark, Marlin, swordfish and other types of oily fish for sectors of the population including pregnant women. Aquamarine fish oils have been purified to the highest standards and provide a reliable way of avoiding this concern.

As an added benefit fish oils as well as providing Omega-3 fatty acids also naturally contain the important vitamins A and in the case of Cod liver oil, vitamin D. Vitamin D is manufactured by our body when the skin is exposed to sunlight. However, many individuals do not get enough sun to generate adequate vitamin D especially those living in northern latitudes and during the winter months.