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Pet Food Comparisons & The Pet Industry...What you don't know may harm your pet!
by Valerie Dearth on 10/05/11
More than ever pet parents are concerned with the safety and nutrition their pet's products provide. This is highly understandable due to the increased awareness that is a direct result of the 2007 pet food recall. The fact that people are now aware of the dangers of what could be in products is probably the only good thing that came out of it. My heart sincerely goes out to all people and their beloved pets that were affected by it. Unfortunately, not enough has changed in the industry as a whole to make it safe to assume that pet products are really any safer than they were before.
There are however some very important changes in the process of being implemented by the FDA that should help to improve the safety and quality of pet products in the future. These changes are going to take time though and it is for this reason that you need to read this information so that you know more about how to evaluate a product that you intend to give to your pets.
Too many people evaluate products simply by labels. I am here to tell you today that pet foods, treats, and products cannot be evaluated solely or entirely by this method. Without an understanding of what the industry is doing as a whole and what is actually missing from a label, you have no way of making an informed decision.
A lot of "help" in choosing products on the internet and other pet information has been circulating for many years and is old, outdated, and not scientifically backed by animal studies. A lot of it has come about by poorly done or unsubstantiated studies. A lot of ingredients that are being used have not been proven to be safe through long-term studies. Much of the ideas of the health of an animal are the direct result of prior formulations and products that can and should be improved upon. Scientific studies for animals are showing that much of the information that was previously believed is incorrect. The industry is changing because many of the long-term studies have ended in the last 5-10 years. These results are shaping the future of the pet industry as much as the new regulations will.
Many so-called experts are really not experts at all. Yes, they may have concerns that match yours, but their evaluations are not accurate because they aremany times not fully aware of all the facts that must figure into the total evaluation. Always check out who you are getting your information from as many of these people are just groups of concerned individuals. If they are researching old information, you are not getting accurate assessments. You are about to get newer information if you keep reading now.
Most comparisons to any other pet foods, treats, or supplements can easily be done when you look at what the industry is doing as a whole. Mass-market foods are subject to possibly have the cheapest inferior sources of ingredients out there. Many companies base their decisions for choices of ingredients solely on price so they can make a higher profit. Not all suppliers are as safe as evidenced by the 2007 recall. The gluten in question was tainted with melamine and a particular acid that when combined caused severe kidney impairment and failure in the animals. It was used by the ingredient supplier to make the gluten appear to have a higher protein content. Therefore, it appeared to have a high protein content and be of a better quality than it actually was.
This is why all incoming ingredients should always be tested. Melamine slipped by any quality control methods because it had never been seen in pet foods before. Menu foods did not know to test for it. This is something that many people do not realize. Menu foods has a very good reputation for their degree of quality control. They are one of the best canning facilities in North America. Companies hire them to perform the canning and processing. It is the company that is hiring that has control over where their ingredients will come from and what degree of quality they are willing to pay for when formulating a product. Testing for melamine is now part of their program and I would hope is now part of any other producer's program.
The responsibility of what is in any pet product on the market is the company's as they are the ones that choose what ingredients they will use, where it is purchased, and what quality it is. There are different sources for suppliers. They have different grades of ingredients. They have different levels of integrity. The integrity of a company is just as important if not more so than any other criteria! Some suppliers are well known within the industry for substituting when supplying ingredients. A company that truly cares about the quality of their products will not use a supplier of this type. A company that has integrity is going to care about producing or supplying a higher quality and safer product.
Many ingredients come from overseas and are not tested. Right now a lot of companies are up in arms because of the new guidelines that are just beginning to be implemented in the industry. The FDA is in the process of forcing all companies to have imported ingredients independently tested which is going to cost them a lot of money that they have never spent before. This is going to drive up the cost because they are going to pass that on to the consumer.
They are going to force these companies to pay for regular inspections and testing of product. Force them to use Good Manufacturing Processes. I recently did a talk on the pet food industry here in Cincinnati, OH. I told people that the only way to know more about whatever food you are feeding is to pick up the phone and call the company. Ask them what temperature the food is cooked at, how long is it cooked, what type of testing and how often is it done. Is it done every single batch? Every 50? Every 100? What are they looking for when they test? Bare minimum dangers or all known possible contaminants?
I would like to interject a question here relevant to all the above information. Why does it take the FDA or any other governing organization to force any company to test their incoming ingredients or their product before it goes out to the store shelves in the first place? If a company really cared about the quality of their finished product that is going to impact the life of your pet, wouldn't you think they would take it upon themselves to do these things on their own? This should be one of the first considerations when comparing any products in my opinion!
So we now know that labels really tell you very little about the food or product. They don't list contaminants like salmonella, pesticides, herbicides, ethoxyquin used to preserve some meat before the company buys it. Did you know that some wild caught salmon has ethoxyquin sprayed on it to preserve it after it is caught? This will never appear on the label. A company is not required to tell you what is in an ingredient they are using if it is in it before they purchase it. They are only required to disclose what the ingredient is and where it falls in on the label according to the amounts used prior to cooking and processing! They don't tell you what percentage of a meal is actually meat and not some bone meal, ligaments, and tendons) The percentage of meat is very important! Tendons and ligaments aren't harmful, but they occupy space in the meal and they are not very digestible. The animal is simply not going to digest much of that type of protein. You want a meal that is made up of as much actual meat as possible. Preferably you want it to contain no antibiotics, steroids, or hormones too. The only way to know something of this nature is to personally ask a company. It will not normally be listed on the label.
Cooking times and temperatures are also critical and will not be found on the label. If a company is cooking over 120 degrees and they are cooking the food for a half hour or more they are cooking away some of the nutrition. Some companies even twice bake! I have talked to a lot of companies and many of them use temperatures in excess of 350 degrees. Many of these companies are also cooking and twice baking for periods of 30 to 45 minutes! This all affects the level of nutrition that is in the food no matter how good the ingredients look that are listed on the label. Any temperature above 120 degrees will pretty much negate the benefits of any fruits or vegetables listed. The vitamin content and antioxidant protection of let's say blueberries for example are just about non-existant at that point! Yes, they can be listed on the label because the company did in fact use them, but the benefit is not there any more.
What many people don't know is that many of these comapanies are just meeting AAFCO's feeding guidelines for nutrition in the first place. They are not trying to pack as much nutrition into every little kibble like the food I use does. To me, in my opinion, this tells you that their main focus is profit motivated and not targeted on delivering optimal levels of nutrition. If their focus is on only meeting the necessary minimal levels of nutrition required by AAFCO, they are more likely to make decisions in their ingredient choices that are not in the best interest of your pets.
A company always has a choice to exceed what AAFCO requires. Most do not because it means they would have to raise their prices or eat the losses. It is all about the bottom line. That is why you see so many foods with really inferior ingredients out there. AAFCO sets guidelines for the industry to ensure that pets are at least getting adequate levels of nutrition for growth and maintenance throughout all life stages. But a company can use any variety of ingredients to meet these requirements. Not all proteins for example are easily digested and used well by the animal. Certain forms of minerals do not get absorbed as well, especially if they are not in a natural form (chelated). Chelated minerals have been proven to have a 40% higher bioavailability. Some fats are better used than others. An animal's system is designed to digest and use animal fats at a higher rate. Digestion of fat is critical to the animal being able to use it's protein. So you see, it matters distinctly what ingredients go into a food. You can't just look at the guaranteed analysis of fats, protein, and carbohydrates and know how much of any of it your animal is actually using.
Any food that has corn, wheat, soy, or gluten shoud be absolutely avoided at all cost! Corn and wheat in particular can be very harmful. A lot of people don't realize that there is a highly toxic and carcenogenic mold that loves to grow on these two common ingredients used in a lot of foods. This mold will grow on it in the fields. It can grow on it in the storage silos and even in warehouses if the foods are not handled properly. It can be in foods in high amounts if the food is not tested every single time a batch is created by a company. This is why you want a food or any other product for that matter that is tested after every batch is made. This is also another reason why it is important that the food is as fresh as possible.
A company that is still using corn, wheat, or gluten are mainly doing so because they are very cheap to purchase and they contain high amounts of protein when analyzed. But this type of protein is not efficiently used by the animals. At best is is only 50% available when a meat like let's say chicken is about 70% available after digestion. So when you see let's say 18% to 25% protein for example, the bag indeed contains that, but the animal is not able to use it, so in fact the animal is not getting the high degree of protein it really needs.
Here is a great time to talk about the Grain Free fad that is going on now in the industry. Folks, there is absolutely no scientific backing for grain free diets being better for animals. Let me make this point clear here. There is not any scientific studies that prove it to be harmful or what the animal actually needs either. We simply don't know yet! Let me explain to you where this came from in the first place because it is relavant to what I just explained above.
In the past many companies were using too much grain in their diets. They were doing this because when you analyze grain in a lab, it contains quite a bit of protein. We have already discussed how this type of protein is not very digestible. But the companies were using the grains as a big portion of the protein and since grains also turn into sugars when digested, not only were the animals getting limited high quality protein, they were also getting too much sugar in their diets. These grains were also not necessarily coming from sources that were as clean and free of contaminants like the toxic molds mentioned above. They also may have come from supplies that had higher levels of pesticides and herbicides too. One cannot assume that the grains were the total problem here when you address all the other factors. But the fact that animals were not doing as well on them created the idea that it was solely the grains that were the problem!
Here is what you will see on a label that is using grains as a majority of the protein. You will see the protein source in this manner. Turkey, chicken, venison, lamb, salmon, etc. What you must know is that this means that the company used meat that had a high degree of water content before the food was made. It is required for them to list it in the beginning of the label because when the ingredients are first gathered together before production the meat did weigh more and take up a bigger percentage verses the other ingredients. But, after cooking, this water weight and volume is gone! So this type of ingredient is not necessarily still at the top of the list in actuality. These types of formulas will a lot of times be the ones that also list 3 or more grains after the meat somewhere on the label. When you add up all the grains, or soy, or gluten, that is where the bulk of the protein is really coming from. So when you see the protein in the guaranteed analysis, the bulk is not coming from all
the meat that you see on the label.
Animal studies prove that dogs and cats do have digestive enzymes for grains. If a company is not using them as the protein source and is only using enough to form a kibble, and they are testing for contaminants, then they pose no threat to the health of the animal. This is a direct example of marketing. The past practices of the industry created a problem. The problem is blamed on something without all the facts considered that could be a factor. The real truth doesn't come out and the science is not properly used or evaluated by people and companies. Hence you now have the makings of a whole new marketing niche.
It is just like the puppy and kitten formula niche. Puppies and kittens weren't thriving on the adult diets way back when they hit the market. So the companies knew they had to formulate differently and puppy and kitten formulas were born. There are companies that have foods for all life stages that puppies and kittens will thrive on. We have seen where formulas for all life stages work beautifully. I hope you are beginning to understand here how marketing of fads and niches is where a lot of these companies focus.
One of the best ways for a layman to really even begin to evaluate any food is to look at feeding amounts. This will at least tell you how much nutrition you may be getting. A better food is going to require a lot less volume fed per day. But as you have read above that is all it tells you! Labels also never tell you how long the food has been stored at the company or any warehouse and how it was handled during storage. Many of the mass-market products have been in storage for very extended periods of time which also affects nutritional content. Vitamins deteriorate over time, fats can become rancid, probiotics sensitive to air and temperature changes will die and offer little or no immune protection, insecticides may be sprayed on the paper bags, poisons for rodents may have been used in close proximity to them. It is not
a pretty picture at some of these storage facilities. They are not necessarily climate controlled either and that affects how long nutrition is viable when the food is stored.
This is why Dr. Jane Bicks DVM, will never allow Life's Abundance foods or any of her other products to be sold through mega store chains. How on earth does it make sense to put forth the effort she does to produce a product that is guaranteed safe, fresh, and with a high degree of nutrition and then let it be purchased in mass quantities by some entity and subjected to poor storage for months and months. This would possibly jeopardize the quality, safety, and reputation that she and Life's Abundance have worked so hard to build. It could also jeopardize the health and safety of the pets that she is trying to help stay healthy.
Personally, Life's Abundance is the only company I fully trust with my pet's health and happiness. They maintain our own warehouses. They guarantee the food is fresh as they only make small batches and store enough to keep up with customer demand. Life's Abundance foods are normally only 6- 8 weeks old when shipped directly to your door! They have climate control. The food is kept at temperatures to ensure few nutrients are lost during storage. They maintain all insect and rodent control from the outside of the building. They don't subject the bags to any of it during storage. We even use a special plastic resealable bag that does not leach contaminants like BPA into the food. We use special non badge cans for our wet Dog and Cat foods for the same reason.
Dr. Jane Bicks DVM was on the board of the Cornell Feline University when the study for hyperthyroidism was done which directly linked the incidence of the emergence of higher numbers of felines with the disease to the introduction of canned cat foods. The linings of most cans and plastics can contain harmful levels of these types of contaminants. We are also very proud to say that we have always tested every single batch of any product Life's Abundance sells.
Did you know that some of the paper bags that most foods are stored in leach contaminants into the food during storage? They also store them in paper because these foods need to breathe during storage because they may be subjected to temperature changes that could possibly cause condensation in the food which could allow those nasty toxic molds to grow during storage which could make an animal sick or possibly kill it! But these types of bags also let in air because they can breathe. Air destroys nutrition! Because Life's Abundance has absolute control of their foods and treats from production to their own wharehouses and then sells directly to you and quickly ships using UPS they can control how their product is handled. That is as good as it gets!
So you see comparison to most foods is really quite easy.
Life's Abundance Always Uses
Highest quality ingredients that are tested
Tests every single batch for any and all dangerous contaminants
Guarantees freshness
Guarantees live and viable probiotics
Bags and Cans that protect freshness that don't leach dangerous chemicals
Fast low cost shipping
We use and have always used Good Manufacturing Processes because we care
I consider Life's Abundance food as being the best possible and safest product that I can purchase for my pet for all of the above reasons I discussed. Some people may think initially that our food is a little pricey. I never do! When you look at the volume you are feeding which makes the bag last longer, the assurance you get with the care that goes into packaging and handling of product, the freshness of product, the nutritional content, and truth in labeling, it is hands down the best decision to keep feeding it.
Many people buy pet insurance for their animals and never think twice about it. I would rather pay a small percentage more for a product that is produced, protected, and handled in the manner ours is. It is the same as paying a little more for the insurance of the health of my pet.
And by the way, I didn't even get into all the differences! I just skimmed the surface! The pet industry as a whole is really deceptive. Labels are extremely misleading. Laws don't require a lot of things that are actually in the foods to be listed on the labels. Companies can substitute ingredients for up to six months before they have to legally change their label. Did you ever get curious when a kibble you bought wasn't the same color month to month? Or why one month the dog or cat had good digestion and no diarrhea or loose stools, and the next you had problems? It probably never occured to you that the company may have switched out an ingredient in order to produce a batch. Food for thought eh?
When and if all the new manufacturing laws go into effect, all the companies that have been selling foods at way cheaper prices because they have not been
testing and they are buying inferior ingredients are going to have to spend a ton of extra money on inspections, maintenance of facitlities, testing of ingredients before, and testing of finished product.
It is going to be a dead give-away as to who they are because their prices are going to jump through the roof in comparison to what they are now charging. Of course, they will try and blame it all on the economy or rising cost of ingredients. What they won't tell the consumer is that they have never maintained their equipment properly, tested minimally, and the consumer will still be paying a higher price for a product that is possibly old, stale, and could be contaminated by something at the warehouse!
The budget cuts at the federal levels are possibly going to affect all this. I saw an article that the FDA figures it would slow all these new laws down, but it is coming in the next 2-3 years by their estimate. There are some prominent adds in the Pet Industry Magazine for companies that need to learn how to comply with all of this which is proof that they aren't now!
Best Protection for Radiation Poisoning & Heavy Metal Exposure
by Valerie Dearth on 03/23/11
With the ever present situation in Japan I would like to discuss some substances that can help protect the thyroid gland from exposure to radioactive iodine 131. This substance is easily absorbed by the thyroid gland and can increase the odds of getting cancer. It is very important to take precautions in the case of any exposure to this substance. California was recently warned of a cloud of radioactive particles that was released into the atmosphere and traveled across the ocean several hours after the first explosion of the reactor due to the build up of hydrogen. All of the west coast of America should be aware that the jet stream carries over 1600 metric tons of environmental toxins and now radioactive substances have increased this load.
Studies done by the Environmental Working Group and other organizations that monitor environmental pollution has previously shown that whatever is poured out into the atmosphere in Asia and neighboring countries ends us as a residual contaminant in our United States. For instance, toxic substances that are know to originate in China and Japan from their industrialized society have been found in the environment of the United States from Washington on down through California.
Potassium iodide has been big in the press and on the web recently and should really be reserved for emergency and immediate exposures. Everyone else should be regularly consuming the sea vegetables like kelp, kombu, wakame, and can also use what are known as atomic iodines. I know of two on the market which are Nascent Iodine and Magniscent Iodine. These are all sources of iodine. Lugol's which cannot be ingested like any of the before mentioned sources can be used topically on the skin and will be absorbed safely in this manner. Most iodines you will find in drug stores, grocery stores, and health food stores that are in a liquid form or tincture CANNOT and SHOULD NOT be taken orally (ingested). These forms should be used only on the outside of the body on the skin. Always read labels carefully and fully and follow all instructions given. Too much iodine can be harmful. Some people are allergic to iodine and anyone with an existing health condition or who is pregnant or nursing should absolutely consult with their health care practitioner before using it.
The kelps and seaweeds are also helpful as they provide a wide source of minerals that aid the body in detoxifying toxic substances at a higher rate than normal. One should stay well hydrated with purified water to help the body eliminate easier. When a person takes in iodine in a natural form it helps to "load" the thyroid with it and this protects it from the radiation.
Nature's Sunshine has great supplements containing sources of iodine.
If the nuclear reactors were to have a complete meltdown there will be way more than radioactive iodine 131 to worry about. The other radioactive elements like Strontium, Cesium, Plutonium, and Uranium do not break down quickly like radioactive iodine 131. These heavy metals can stay in the body and cause damage to DNA for decades. So what can we do about those you ask?
In the past during the Chernobyl disastaer they used a natural substance in the water, on the ground, and also ingested it that was able to help pull and remove these dangerous radioactive particles from the environment and the people and animals exposed. Everyone should be aware of just how well a substance known as clinoptilolite can tightly trap and hold onto any heavy metal and also can trap some other environmental substances. The unique thing about it is that during the animal studies with zeolite(clinoptilolite form) the animals that ingested it also showed a higher nutritional profile in their bodies. So the removal of the heavy metals allowed their nutrition to do a better job of keeping them healthy.
It doesn't take much more than these facts to make me want to use it daily and stay on it as well as use it with my animals. I work in a steel making facility and am heavily exposed to many harmful noxious toxins and I want to protect myself all I can from this environment. Other professions that are heavily exposed are hair dressers, painters, machinists, mechanics, people that work on road crews (carbon monoxide exposure), and numerous other occupations that you would never think expose you to numerous sources of lead contaminantion, as well as food sources of lead, and mercury.
But we are getting away from the radiation topic here aren't we? Sorry for that, but since we are talking about toxin exposure I just had to make you a little more aware. During the Chernobyl distaster they spread more than 500,000 tons of mined clinoptilolite (zeolite) on the surrounding countryside. They also baked cookies with it and fed them to people in the area surrounding the reactor. Cattle and I would think any other food animals were fed zeolites to protect them as well. Plants grown on the soil contaminated from the Cesium and Strontium showed no contamination from them when tested!
These facts I have mentioned were presented in a paper at the 1998 National Academy of Sciences titled "La Roca Magica: Uses of Natural Zeolites in Agriculture and Industry." Click the link below to see the full paper, and go to the section titled Nuclear Waste and Fallout.
The Clinoptilolite zeolite written about in this paper is raw mined zeolite. It was not "cleaned" of toxins present in its cage-like structures, which reduces the absorption capacity. Read on below to find out more about the differences in zeolites.
http://www.pnas.org/content/96/7/3463.full?sid=3bcf8a83-3968-4c2a-a832-f4f6fdd75de2.
Folks, zeolite is a powerful detoxifier. Further there is only one form of clinoptilolite (zeolite) that has been purified and micronized so small that it can actually get into the blood stream and do it's mop up work at a cellular level. If you notice I always stress that it is in the form of clinoptilolite. I do this because if you were to google zeolite or go on some site such as Pub Med where you can read the results of all kinds of studies with this mineral, you would also see studies on asbestos. Asbestos is a harmful form of zeolites. It has a needle-like structure and can imbed itself in the body and is very harmful. The form clinoptilolite is a cage-like structure and is absolutely safe. It even has a GRAS rating which stands for generally recognized as safe. It is very important to understand the differences between different zeolites.
There are other clinoptilolites on the market, some of which are suspended in a humic acid substance and some of them have caused problems in people who use them. The one I use is Natural Cellular Defense by Waiora and it is not in a humic suspension. It is also the only one that is micronized and also undergoes a patented process where it is heated and the zeolite "cages" are expanded enough to allow the acid wash to remove all toxins from the cage. This allows it to trap and hold more toxins than a mined zeolite. Zeolite is a natural substance found in nature due to volcanic eruptions and it traps environmental heavy metals so well that in it's mined form it is already loaded to some extent with them. So the process that Natural Cellular Defense goes through makes it way more effective because it has been cleared of these contaminants.
There was a double blind placebo study done which was published by Dove Press. If you would like to read this study you may do so by going here:
http://www.myherbfarmshop.com/WhyDetoxify2.html
Click on the underlined link under Dove Press and then find the link at the bottom of the press article for download study. It is quite impressive!
No other zeolite has the ability to trap and remove heavy metals as well as this one. A mined zeolite has a cage that is too large to pass the intestinal lining and get into the blood. Yes, they work and they will remove heavy metals, but they do so from the intestinal tract only.
Natural Cellular Defense (NCD) is your best bet for protection and the one I would use if it was me! If you would like to purchase it to use or have on hand in your emergency kit at home go here:
. Medical Disclaimer and Important Note* You should always consult with your physician before deciding to take any supplements. Nothing mentioned in this article is meant to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent any disease.
Your Brand of Fish Oil Does Matter
by Valerie Dearth on 03/07/11
These days Omega 3's are in the news everywhere you look. Everyone including doctors are telling us to add them to our diet. Clinical trials that were done concerning fish oil and it's health benefits were done with a 2:1 ratio fish oil. This meaning that you have twice the milligrams of EPA to DHA. I have actually seen oils that claim to have the recommended ratio of 2:1 but it is reversed. They have twice the DHA and all studies I have seen recommend twice the EPA to DHA. This is what I would take for myself after having read the information on clinical trials.
I have actually seen some labels on fish oil supplements that don't even tell you how much EPA and DHA is in the product! All they give is a total of essential fatty acids! Wow! I would run from one of this type! Some labels will also have "other" essential fatty acids listed. What these "other" essential fatty acids are is usually the essential fatty acids that are not distilled out that come from the algae that the fish eat that builds up in the flesh. This is not harmful, but it is one reason why many people get digestive upset, bloating, and burping from many fish oils. It is the algae derivitatives and impurities that cause this. You do not usually experience any of these discomforts from a highly refined oil. It would be impossible to take higher amounts per day of some of the oils on the market. You would be absolutely miserable!
You should also stear clear of any shark liver or cod liver oils. Since the liver is the major detoxifying organ in the body, these types of oils can be heavily contaminated with things you just don't want to be ingesting. Also, they contain high levels of vitamin A in a form that can become toxic at higher levels of consumption. Personally I don't like to use anything coming from shark harvesting. Some sharks are endangered species and I don't like to support something of that nature.
I would like to mention at this time why I don't like to take a fish oil blend that has a lot of other things added to it. You see many products on the market that contain a lot of extras. I want an oil that is supplying EPA and DHA and only has added antioxidants. I will go into further detail about antioxidants below and why you must have them when taking fish oil. It is a concern to me that not only do a lot of these types of products contain inferior oils, depending on the types of additional ingredients, I may also be getting too much of something else. So for this reason, I always suggest taking other supplements separately and not use a combined product.
What you don't know about fish oils and the industry that produces and sells them could be very detrimental to your health. In fact, in 2010 a very interesting law suit was filed in the California court system concerning contaminants found through third party testing of many well known and "respected" companies that sell what is labeled as molecularly distilled. I will not mention these companies here, but if you would like to read the news about it you can by using this link.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/02/health/main6259938.shtml
What is really interesting to note is that one of the companies listed is actually a supplier for a lot of fish oils on the market. When you are buying a particular "brand" of fish oil, you are sometimes buying the exact same oil that another company is providing under a different label. Another may add more or less other ingredients, but the base oil is the same. So this can be a huge concern when you are looking for a high quality purified source.
In my opinion, this is the real question we should ask here concerning the law suit in California. How is it even possible for a fish oil that is molecularly distilled to still contain contaminants at possibly higher levels to ever be labeled as free of pcb's, dioxins, and heavy metals? Well the answer to this question can only come from understanding what is going on in the industry and the laws concerning the labeling of products. The first thing we must understand is that by law any ingredient purchased from a supplier can contain many things that do not have to be disclosed by the company that is producing and labeling that product. If a contaminant is already in an ingredient before production, it does not have to be listed on the label at all. A company only has to disclose information like the amount of the ingredient used and identify what it is.
There are also differences in the number of purification processes done to an oil. Molecular distillation is the minimum requirement that I would want for an oil that I was going to take. A highly refined oil actually goes through a few more distillation procedures in order to concentrate the levels of EPA and DHA. This is one reason you see some oils that have been molecularly distilled but you don't see the high concentrations of EPA and DHA that you may be looking for. The better oils go through molecular distillation and then they also go through further distillation processes until they are as pure and as concentrated in EPA and DHA as they can get. When an oil has gone through the maximum distillation procedures, you get higher purity, higher concentration of beneficial essential fatty acids.
Other factors that affect the actual quality of an ingredient figure in too. A certain degree of "trust" that the company is using updated or state of the art testing equipment is one primary problem. A really exceptional testing facility will spend the money on newer equipment that has the capabilities of identifying the levels of contaminants. In other words, better equipment is more sensitive and can actually more effectively pick up levels of contamination. This equipment is very expensive to purchase and many companies rely on older more outdated equipment which simply cannot pick up all the levels that are in a base ingredient. So if an oil or other substance is being tested on equipment that is not sensitive enough it will test out as having a higher purity level that is actually has. You also are 'trusting" these companies to be maintaining their equipment properly and calibrating them on a regular basis. I don't know about you, but I realize that all this costs the companies a huge amount of money that would have to be reflected in the end price to the consumer. So it would seem to be next to impossible to even begin to sell a fish oil at a cheap price if it in fact was going through extensive purification processes and tested on state of the art equipment!
One other item of interest when talking about testing of fish oils is this. Some companies will not test every single batch of their products produced. Some may test every 50 batches or every 100 batches. This varies due to how much the company wishes to spend on the cost of testing. Although it is a good thing that they are testing these batches, it is not an assurance of quality for every single batch they sell. With all the information I have presented on pollutants and contaminants, I think you can easily understand why I personally would only want to take a fish oil that has been tested every single time. If it wasn't, how in the world could you rest assured that it was safe and pure? As a matter of fact, the brand I use actually has a batch # listed on the side of every single bottle and if I wish to, I can go directly to the consumer page on IFOS and look up that batch and see the results for myself. That's the kind of rest easy feeling I want from a company.
IFOS stands for International Fish Oil Standards. This is a company that maintains and updates equipment to facilitate providing accurate assessments of the degree of purity of a fish oil. A highly refined fish oil will have levels of contaminants in the ppb (parts per billion) and ppt (parts per trillion). Folks, that is virtually nonexistant! It doesn't get any better than that. You may visit IFOS and look up fish oil brands that are tested at this facility and see for yourself which brands they test and the results of this testing of each batch they send by using this link. If you click on the individual companies you will also see all the most recent batches they have had tested. It is interesting to note that some of these are pretty large companies and they have very few batches listed. Either they just don't sell much fish oil, or they are not sending every single batch in for testing. Sure makes you wonder!
http://www.ifosprogram.com/IFOS/ConsumerReport.aspx
You will notice on this list is a company called Life's Abundance. This is the brand of fish oil I use, highly recommend, and have listed on my fish oil page. It is called SeaLogix. I have personally used this particular brand for over 4 years. I have tried others just to be fair and did my own research, and I have found it to be a better overall product for less money in the long run. It is also one of the 5 star fish oils listed on IFOS. There are very few fish oils on the market that have what is known as a 5 star rating. You can learn what a 5 star rating means by visiting the IFOS site. Your cheaper brands of fish oils would never be able to surpass the testing and criteria it takes to meet a 5 star standard.
All this leads me to this. It takes 100 gallons of raw fish oil pressed from the flesh of fish to produce 1 gallon of a ultra purified oil. The leftovers from this processing and purification is usually what is sold to the consumer as a "health food grade fish oil". This is what is found in most grocery stores, drug stores, and many health food stores when you are buying the "bargain" brands.
Price is another thing these other companies will fool you with. They may sell an oil that seems to be cheaper because the price on the bottle is maybe lets say $15 or $20. But if you actually do the math and figure how much EPA and DHA you are geting for every 1000mg ingested, you will find that the so called bargain, isn't a bargain at all. Believe me, I have done my research and done the math on numerous fish oils on the market. I have compared other ultra purified 5 star oils in price. Most of them cannot possibly supply what SeaLogix does and they end up costing considerably more in the long run. I won't go into the math here, but anyone who would like to know how to actually figure or compare another brand can feel free to contact me at any time. I would be happy to go over it with you. When you are getting the high concentrations of EPA and DHA that 1000mg of SeaLogix provides and you figure how much another brand provides, you will find that most of the time you are getting more benefit at a better price. This is especially true with your run of the mill health food store brands. None of which I would even consider taking after having been in the industry so long. When you figure how much of the other brand you would have to purchase to equal the amount you are getting with 1000mg of SeaLogix you start to see what I mean. Do the math for yourself. It is quite astounding as to how much you are actually paying for less benefit with an oil from another company.
Ok, so we've gone over testing, now let's talk about some other very important and little known information. Let's talk about freshness. How fresh your fish oil is means just as much as initial purity. To understand the true importance of freshness, you must know that fish oil is what is referred to as a highly volatile oil. This means that it is very unstable and very readily subject to oxidation (rancidity). So because of this it MUST be protected at ALL times during any of the stages of processing. From the intitial cold pressing to storage during transit to refineries, to the protection of it by cold refining techniques, and the injection of nitrogen into the barrels that it is housed in between each distillation process.
The introduction of nitrogen into the barrels is necessary to force out any oxygen in the unoccupied space in the top of the barrel. Anytime fish oil is exposed to oxygen (air) it is subject to rancidity. High temperatures will cause rancidity also. This is very important because if you are taking a fish oil that is in any stage of rancidity you can be doing harm to your body and you will not see the health benefits that it may provide. A rancid oil is like ingesting hydrogenated trans fatty acids. It has the same detrimental health effects in the body!
So why can't you just smell or taste your oil to see if it is spoiled? Well it is a fact that a fish oil can be in varying degrees of rancidity and it will not have a foul odor or taste yet. Quite scary! Then the question is how do you know at all that what you are taking is going to be fresh. Well, here again, we must be able to have some level of trust. The only way you will ever know any decent information to base an educated decision on is to investigate the company that is supplying your brand's base product. You would have to call companies and ask detailed questions. You would have to find a company that only purchases batches in smaller quantities that they can readily sell off before they purchase more to package. Here again, there is a trust factor involved. Life's Abundance is one of the few companies I completely trust.
Another thing that will effect freshness is quickness of transport and handling of the oils after they are purchased from the supplier. How many oils do you think are sitting in the hot sun for hours and hours during shipment via trucks? Probably most. How many are sitting for months and months on wharehouse shelves before they are shipped to a store via a truck and again sitting in the hot sun during shipment in trucks that are not refrigerated.. This is something that many people never take into account. A company could produce a very high quality oil and it can be ruined or in the stages of ruination by the time it ever reaches a store shelf. This is another reason why Sealogix from Life's Abundance is my top choice! I happen to know that this company is very stringent on buying amounts that they can sell quickly, that they have fast shipment, and that they are extremely picky about maintaining their wharehouse facilities. You see, a lot of what you truly get for your money boils down specifically to the company involved!
The last thing of importance that I will go over concerning what to look for in a good fish oil is antioxidants. You MUST have antioxidants along with fish oil. Taking fish oil without adequate levels of antioxidants like vitamin E is like taking rancid oil. Remember I told you that fish oil oxidizes easily? Well it will also oxidize in the blood stream and it is the vitamin E and other antioxidants that protect the body from free radical damage. It is vital that a fish oil also supplies at least a minimum amount of vitamin E. SeaLogix has vitamin E and it also has Sesamin extract which is very good anitoxidant.
This is another thing that factors into total cost. I have actually seen some good fish oils that have NO vitamin E in them or any other antioxidants. These antioxidants not only protect the oil as a preservative during storage, but they offer the protection to you that I mentioned above. It is also something else that you would have to purchase that is going to figure in on your total cost.
Medical Disclaimer and Important Note*
You should always consult with your physician before deciding to take fish oil. Fish oil can effect certain medications. If you are pregnant or nursing, on any medications, have been diagnosed with a disorder, or are scheduled for any surgery you should not start taking any brand of fish oil or any other herbal or vitamin supplements without their knowledge, consent or recommendation. Nothing mentioned in this article is meant to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent any disease.
A Natural Observation of Lemon Balm
by Valerie Dearth on 02/06/11
We live our lives in such a fast paced world that we seldom take the time to watch and learn from the natural world. Nature has given us many examples of how to live in peace yet we as humans seldom take the time to learn from them. It is a sad thing as the world is so full of separation, hate, anxiety, and competition that only adds stress to our daily lives.
One day as I was sitting on my arbor seat enjoying the afternoon and garden spot, I happened to look down at a beaurtiful Lemon Balm plant, one of two that flanked the sides of the entrance to my arbor made from old barn wood and lattice. As I sat quietly looking in detail at the leaves and plant as a whole, I noticed the managerie of insects that were going about their daily practice of investigating the plant.
As I watched them I noticed the wide variety among them. There were insects of all types and sizes with much diversity among them. They all went about their daily work without much notice of each other. The thought occured to me that we as human beings could learn so much from this one example of nature. Here I observed huge differences in behavior and size and yet not one example of fighting or competition between species. All of them seemed to know that what they needed to survive would be provided for them and that there was no need to fuss or fight over a particular leaf that they claimed rights to or felt they needed to protect due to the feelings of lack in their world.
I began to think about this and it made me feel a little sad for a time being. Here we have insects that can coexist on a simple Lemon Balm plant in perfect harmony while they go about their daily lives and yet we as humans who think we are so far advanced cannot live in the same world without fighting and competing for our piece of the world. What we could learn from this one example of nature would completely change our lives! What if we could all stop judging each other as good, bad, or indifferent and just start living instead!
What if we could all just start only taking from our sources what we needed at the time like these insects were doing. What if our diversity could just be, instead of being used as a comparison for one race or religion or culture as better or more important. What if we could just exist together and accept that the other was present and deserving of the same rights of sustenance without judgement of importance. What if we could just honor the place the other occupies in the world in the same way we wish to be honored and spend our time being who we are without worrying about what we lack or what the other person had that we think we should have. Just how much removal of stress in our lives would this one practice facilitate? How much peace would it bring to our lives and the world?
