Omega 3 Fish Oil

Fish Oil Production

Fish oil is produced by a continuous and carefully controlled process, the main objective it to remove all impurities from the crude fish oils ( free fatty acids, coloured components, protein residues, oxidation products etc ) in order to obtain a clear almost colourless oil with a low content of oxidation products and other contaminants. The processes involved are comparable to the ones used in the processing of all edible oils and fats, that is, deacidification, winterisation, bleaching and deodorization.

Essential Fatty Acids

The term essential is deduced from Latin. Essential fatty acids are nutritional factors, discovered in 1929 at the University of Minnesota by George and Mildred Burr. Like vitamins, they are not synthesizable by the human body and therefore must be absorbed from food.

Omega Fatty Acids

The omega fatty acids are named according to the position of the first double bond in their carbon chains. Thus, the first double bond in the omega 6,s begins at the sixth carbon from the end of the chain. The first double bond in the omega 3,s begins at the third carbon position from the end of the chain, once in the body both omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids are bio chemically converted and control the body initially in two ways. First, they become incorporated into the cell membranes and secondly keep the cell membrane optimally fluid. If there are not enough omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, these cell walls will incorporate saturated fatty acids and other lipids and become less fluid. In fact, essential fatty acids are the major building blocks of cellular membranes surrounding every cell in the body, know as lipid bilayers, because they are made up of two layers of fat, these fatty acid walls help to control the opening and closing of the cells channels that allow the passage of important messenger molecules into and out of the cell. In a second pathway, the omegas convert to hormone like substances called eicosanoids that influence metabolic activities, blood clotting, inflammation, vasoconstriction and vasodilatation, blood pressure, and immune function. In addition the eicosanoids appears to have a certain role in regulating mood. Because the eicosanoids derived from the omega 6,s are proinflammatory and those derived from omega 3,s are anti-inflammatory, it is important the body has an adequate balance. The recommended ratio is 3-5: 1 of omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acids.

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