Product Review: Carlson's Fish Oil

Fish oil is recommended for any and all people to add to their diet for its high concentrate of omega-3 fatty acids. These fatty acids are necessary for health, but relatively hard to come by in sufficient quantities in a fish-light, modern diet. Supplementation is needed, but you're going to want a good fish oil for a good price.

This review is for a liquid fish oil - Carlson Laboratories Very Finest Fish Oil.

It's available in lemon flavor and in orange flavor. As of yet, I've only tried the orange flavor. I'm going to wait until I run out of orange to try the lemon flavor.

Taste: It tastes like pretty much any fake orange flavored drink or medicine, sans aftertaste or bitterness. It didn't repeat on me (in other words, no burps), so there wasn't any fishy aftertaste in any way, shape, or form.

Nutrition: Each teaspoon full is 4g of fish oil, of which 1600mg is DHA and EPA and other omega-3 fatty acids. That's a pretty good ratio of DHA and EPA (1.6g / 4g = 0.4), but all of the oil is valuable nutritionally, not just the omega-3s.

Storage: You need to refrigerate it after opening, and they recommend using it within 3 months. Since the 500ml bottle contains 100 teaspoons full, it should last pretty much most of those three months if you stick to the recommended dosage.

Price: $48.50 for 500ml is a bit steep, but luckily you don't need to pay that. Check Amazon.com or Vitamin Shoppe and you'll find it for much less than that. The price is reasonable for the convenience of taking a teaspoonful (or even a tablespoon full) instead of knocking back a bunch of fish oil pills with your meal. Speaking of which, here is an excellent rule of thumb for how much fish oil you need, check this post by John Berardi. The % fat in the post is approximate body fat. Around 15%? One tablespoon (3 teaspoons) a day - making the bottle last about a month.

Bottom Line: Recommend. Tastes good, good value for the (actual internet retail) price.

Share