Fish Oil, Omega 3, Ethyl Esters and Triglycerides

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Whats the difference between Triglyceride Fish
Oil and Ethyl Ester Fish Oil?
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• There are 2 types of omega 3 fish oil, natural
  triglycerides and ethyl esters

• Triglycerides are the normal formation of fatty
  acids in nature, to get an ethyl ester you must
  create it in a lab

• Because one is natural and the other isnt, it
  means there is a big difference to how well
  absorbed they are by the body, and also the
  health benefits they provide once they have been
  absorbed

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G
Fatty Acid 1
L
Y
C
A Triglyceride
Fatty Acid 2
E
R
O
Fatty Acid 3
L
E
T
An Ethyl Ester
H
A
Fatty Acid 1
N
O
L
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If Ethyl Esters are unnatural why are they used?
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• Because its necessary to concentrate the fish
  oil and to remove impurities. Commercially
  available Fish oils couldnt provide high levels
  of the omega 3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, without
  first converting the raw fish oil to ethyl esters

• To create ethyl esters the bonds are broken
  between the glycerol backbone and the fatty acids
  of the triglyceride, then a single fatty acid is
  attached to an ethanol (alcohol) backbone. The
  process is known as trans-esterification

• Most companies in the industry stop the process
  at this point to save on production costs.
  However a few, (less than 10), convert these
  ethyl esters back into the natural triglyceride
  form which adds around 40 to production costs

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• There are 2 key reasons why you should choose
  triglyceride fish oils rather than ethyl esters

• The first is bioavailability. Bioavailability
  means how much of the fish oil can be absorbed by
  the body.

• Triglyceride fish oil is much more bioavailable
  then ethyl ester fish oil, which means more of
  the valuable EPA and DHA fatty acids can enter
  the body

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• The greater bioavailability of triglycerides lies
  in the fact that ethyl esters must broken down
  differently by pancreatic lipase enzymes in the
  small intestine.

• Because of the unnatural chemical formation, the
  enzymes have to work differently in ethyl ester
  fish oil and first remove the ethanol bond from
  the fatty acid. They then must reattach the fatty
  acids to free glycerol in the body, putting the
  fatty acids back into the natural triglyceride
  formation

• Because triglycerides are already in the natural
  formation the process of absorption is much more
  efficient. Studies have actually shown that the
  process is 10 - 50 times more efficient with
  triglyceride fish oil

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• The second reason for the superiority of
  triglyceride fish oil over ethyl esters is that
  ethyl esters oxidise much more quickly than
  triglycerides

• Oxidation is the chemical breakdown of a molecule
  so it becomes rancid. Omega 3 fatty acids are
  polyunsaturated fatty acids which means they are
  very susceptible to becoming rancid due to their
  double bond structures.

• This fact that ethyl ester oxidise more easily
  has been shown by several studies conducted at
  all temperatures through their peroxide and
  anisidine values

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So How Much Better Are Omega 3 Triglycerides Than
Ethyl Esters?
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• There have been several studies on the different
  absorption levels of the two fish oils. They have
  shown triglyceride fish oil has between 70 and
  400 greater absorption than ethyl esters

• The studies actually used Lovaza, which is an
  ethyl ester fish oil that is most usually
  prescribed by doctors, and is the purest ethyl
  ester fish oil available

• Also after absorption once the omega 3 fatty
  acids are in the body other studies have shown
  triglyceride fish oil is far better at reducing
  the level of circulating blood triglycerides than
  ethyl esters

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• The level of triglycerides circulating in the
  blood is known to be a huge heart disease risk
  factor, and they are also one of the 5 criteria
  used to diagnose people with metabolic syndrome,
  the halfway marker to type 2 diabetes

• Despite the fact that omega 3 is one of the most
  researched molecules in medicine, practically all
  of the research done so far has only focused on
  ethyl ester fish oil

• This is why many doctors dont understand the
  difference between triglyceride and ethyl ester
  fish oil and still prescribe ethyl esters

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• However the scientific community and doctors are
  slowly starting to understand the difference, and
  as this is happening more research is being
  published focusing on triglyceride fish oil and
  highlighting its superiority

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So How Do I Know If My Omega 3 Supplement Is
Triglyceride Or Ethyl Ester?
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• Companies who sell triglyceride fish oil will
  clearly say so on their bottles. Because it costs
  more and is more effective, they clearly want to
  display the fact that they are selling superior
  fish oil

• However, if you are still unsure after checking
  contact the company and ask to see their 3rd
  party testing certificates

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• At Intelligent Labs we only sell the highest
  quality Triglyceride fish oil.

• For more information and to see the articles
  mentioned in this presentation please check out
  the article published on our Intelligent Labs
  blog, or visit our homepage at Intelligent Labs
  for great offers on triglyceride omega 3 and
  other supplements