The health benefits of omega3 essential fatty acids are becoming more and more mainstream, and gradually the population is becoming aware that most of us are deficient in their Omega3 intake and that increasing our intake of essential fatty acids may help improve a number of health outcomes for all of us. Omega3 fatty acids are found in fish oil and this obviously comes from fish, however fish is generally contaminated with Mercury. So what do you do increase your intake of healthy fats if the source, namely fish, is contaminated with Mercury?

There has been a study published this year which has looked at Mercury contamination of fish in the North Pacific Ocean. It found that the level of Mercury in the North Pacific has increased 30 percent over 10 years from’96 to 2006.

Not only that but it also concluded that around 40 percent of all Mercury exposure of people in the US came from tuna consumption from tuna caught in the Pacific.

This is concerning. Mercury is a serious environmental toxin and is no good for our health when we consume it. It is a neurotoxin and has serious implications for the developing fetus and infant.

It was found that Mercury made its way into the oceans because of atmospheric Mercury production as well as Mercury leakage from Asia. It was present in the oceans as methylmercury, and works its way up the food chain to the fish at the top of the food chain, commonly shark and tuna. And shark and tuna make up a large percentage of our fish intake.

So the conundrum for anyone that understands the importance of increasing their intake of omega3 fatty acids, and who also understands that the vast majority of our population is deficient in Omega3 fats, is that by increasing your intake of fish to increase your intake of Omega3 fats you are also increasing your intake of Mercury.

Not only that but fish is a declining resource and is also getting more and more expensive with time. Is there a better way to increase your intake of omega3 fatty acids other than by eating fish? Yes.

The better way is by daily consumption of omega3 supplements. Fish oil supplements are extremely cost effective when compared to buying fish, and the best fish oil supplements are entirely free of Mercury. For both these reasons many people are now taking daily fish oil capsules, and the result is that the sales of omega 3 supplements have increased faster than any other nutritional supplement in history.

If you like eating fish then by all means increase your intake and this improves your dietary intake of omega3. However by doing so you are also increasing your intake of Mercury, as well as affecting your budget. But if you’d prefer to avoid the cost of buying fish as well is the risks of eating Mercury then omega3 supplements are certainly a much more cost-effective and are safer way to do so.

It is however worth noting that there wide variations in the quality of the various supplements available, and that the best fish oil supplements contain almost 3 times as much Omega3 fats as average capsules.

To find a comparison of the different fish oil capsules available visit my website

Want to know more about the health benefits of Fish Oil? Or more about Omega3 Fats? Visit Peter’s Website Healthy Omega 3 Fish Oil.