this study found that Omega-3's lowered impaired glucose intolerance...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20358787

and this:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17127043

Just to be clear: lowering IGT - which is a pre-diabetic state - is a good thing, right?

Yes, impaired glucose tolerance is a bad thing. It is sometimes called prediabetes.

In general, the more concentrated the fish oil (higher EPA and DHA ratio) the more processed it is.

Many health websites pick up information from other sites, and pass it along. ONE site that writes a sloppy copy may be repeated ad nauseum on others. This happened with evening primrose oil, which contains GLA. (GLA is also an abbreviation for a totally different substance, a chemical toxic to the brain that causes seizures). Well, somebody did a search and found GLA causes seizures and this was tagged to evening primrose and borage supplements forevermore! It sometimes is best to go to
PubMed directly and do your own search. (that is how I found this confusion with GLA, many years ago). This is one criticism I have with Livestrong site...they paraphrase and use other sites'
comments without being more careful. Sometimes Livestrong is okay and others, not so much.

If anything, I think Omega-3's may LOWER blood glucose, and for those on insulin or oral medications they may need to test more often to see if they are still in normal range when using Omega-3's. I have never seen a paper that they raise blood sugar. Now when people take enormous amounts ---amounts past essential food intake suggestions, THEN being monitored by a doctor is a good idea. I've only met one person taking 13 grams of fish oil for an autoimmune kidney disease who was doing that with his doctor's supervision.

That makes sense about the glucose, I was having a hard time understanding why it would/could cause it to rise.

My supplement says :
2 softgels (2g)
2 Softgels contain
Calories 20 •
Calories from Fat 18 •
Total Fat 2000 mg 3%
Saturated Fat 480 mg 2%
Monounsaturated Fat 840 mg •
Polyunsaturated Fat 680 mg •
Cholesterol 15 mg 5%
Vitamin D3 (from Wild Alaskan Salmon Oil) 100 IU 25%
Wild Alaskan Salmon Oil 2000 mg •
Total Omega-3 Fatty Acids 520 mg •
EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid) 180 mg •
DHA (Docosahexaenoic Acid) 220 mg •
Other Omega-3 Fatty Acids (Octadecatetraenoic Acid; Docosapentaenoic Acid; Linolenic Acid; Heneicosapentaenoic Acid; Eicosatrienoic Acid) 120 mg •
Total Omega-6 Fatty Acids (Linoleic Acid; Arachidonic Acid; Eicosadienoic Acid) 60 mg •
Total Omega-5; 7 & 8 Fatty Acids (Myristoleic Acid; Palmitoleic Acid; Margaroleic Acid) 95 mg •
Total Omega-9 Fatty Acids (Oleic Acid; Gadoleic Acid; Erucic Acid; Nervonic Acid) 300 mg •
Other Omega Fatty Acids 545 mg •
Astaxanthin (from Wild Alaskan Salmon Oil) 5 mcg •

Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
• Daily value not established

Other ingredients: Capsule: (Gelatin [Halal], glycerine and water), B.A.S.S.® (Botanical Antioxidant Stability System® [extracts of rosemary, organic oregano, and organic sunflower oil]), and natural mixed tocopherols.

Contains: 100% Wild Alaskan Salmon Fish Oil

Naturally gluten free.

That shows that 2 capsules have "about" the same amount of EPA and DHA than regular fish oils.

NatureMade example:
http://www.vitacost.com/nature-made-...FY0WMgodOxEAvw

More EPA in 2 capsules.

There are double strength caps now too.

EPA is typically the anti-inflammatory fraction.
DHA is more for cell wall repair and brain functions.
But both overlap quite a bit.

Look at products on iherb to compare them. They have good
details, and that would make it faster for you to compare.

I guess I was more concerned with quality of the specific oil vs quantity of good stuff in it.

I was lead to believe the most important aspect of choosing a fish oil was their process of refining it or the purity of the oil. Things like mercury and such.

Who wants to take a fish oil that could potentially be a poison to us. lol But then that is a concern with simply EATING a fish.

thanks!

Because of the processing of the oils today, mercury is removed early on. I remember reading that the processes are better than in the past, and it is really the PCBs and dioxins that are problematic.

If you look on iherb, some companies explain what is removed in their products, in detail.

This is a quote from iherbs NatureMade product:
from http://www.iherb.com/Nature-Made-Fis...e=pricegrabber

So essentially, you don't believe any specific brand is better than another because you think everyone is doing the right thing??

I guess I can tend to be a brand snob once in awhile if I believe it matters enough. Not always but certain things. I guess that is why I am getting hung up on this because there is so many different thoughts on fish oil, from how it is processed, to WHERE the fish is from, to what KIND of fish, salmon vs sardine, etc. There seems to be so many factors to fish oil that seem to make choosing brand is important.

But what do I know. It's why I have avoided fish oil for some time now, because the information is overwhelming. Just talking to people you get a million different answers on what is more important to look at.

In the end, who the heck knows. I should not get so hung up the details but I do want to be responsible with how and what I spend my money on. The thought of buying inferior product drives me insane.

I think the NatureMade product is fine.

I don't know about the zillions of store brands however, or whether the oil comes from China, etc.

And I suppose some places LIE, and that is to be expected too.

You can drive yourself nuts with worry.

NOW brand also claims molecularly distilled too:
http://www.iherb.com/Now-Foods-Tri-3...Softgels/39952

NOW has always been a good company.

I think today fish oils are made quite well...years ago not so much. Years ago we used Carlson's.

Oh, no doubt companies lie. No doubt.

The company I bought, New Chapter, while supposedly use to be great, has huge discussion/debate going on now because P&G bought the company recently, which has sent die hard lovers of the company into a tizzy due to awful practices of P&G.

I doubt there is any one singular "great" company but I do believe some are better than others. The problem is figuring out which one. lol

Deception in the supplement/whole food industry is rampant for sure, as with everything. It is up to us to do our best to figure out the good, the bad, and the ugly.... or not. But I am not into blind faith too much, lol.