Store in a cool, dry place.
You can refrigerate or freeze the oil, though there is no need, except in excessively warm room conditions. Our Salmon Oil will become cloudy if refrigerated or frozen, but this is no cause for concern. (For more, see "Cloudy Fish Oil Myth", below.)
Daily Dose
The recommended dosage for healthy adults is 3 capsules daily (3,000mg of salmon oil) or as recommended by a health care professional.
This advice is based on intake recommendations from authoritative scientific bodies. To learn more, click here.
It is best to take Salmon Oil with a meal. If you experience excessive occurrences of fishy burps, try our lemon-flavored Salmon Oil.
CAUTIONS: Salmon oil should be taken at the recommended dose. Consult with your physician before taking substantially higher doses, or taking this product if you are pregnant, diabetic, allergic to fish or iodine, using blood thinners, have a diagnosed cardiac condition or immune disorder, or anticipate surgery.
Omega-3s for Mothers, Infants, and Children
Here is what widely respected pediatrician William Sears, M.D. told us in respose to our question on this subject: • "... experts attending a 2005 workshop recommended at least 300 mg a day for pregnant and nursing mothers (most mothers get only 20-25% of this amount, unless they take omega-3 fish oil supplements). In our medical practice we have mothers take at least 500 mg of DHA per day during pregnancy and lactation." • "The recommendation for infants is at least 200mg of DHA per day, which is the dosage added to infant formulas." • "Practically speaking, infants under one year old receive their omega-3s through mother's milk or fortified formula, but it is perfectly safe and perhaps even beneficial for infants to be given extra Vital Choice fish oil at a dose of around 300 mg a day of DHA. I stress DHA rather than EPA because DHA is the main brain growth omega 3." PLEASE NOTE: Consult with your physician before taking doses substantially higher than recommended, or taking this product if you are pregnant, diabetic, allergic to fish or iodine, have a diagnosed cardiac condition or immune disorder.
NOTE: There are as yet no official omega-3 intake recommendations for children over two years of age, so please consult your pediatrician. A dose of 300 mg of DHA would be provided by 8 of our 500 mg Salmon Oil capsules, 4 of our 1000 mg capsules, or 1 teaspoon of our Liquid Salmon Oil.
CAUTION: If your child has never had fish or fish oil, please check for seafood allergies (which are uncommon) by rubbing some Salmon Oil on his or her skin, in a less sensitive area such as the lower leg.
A Cloudy Fish Oil Myth
Our Salmon Oil will become cloudy if refrigerated or frozen, and this is no cause for concern. Makers of some highly refined, distilled fish oils assert, disingenuously, that if a fish oil becomes cloudy when cold this means it is not as pure or efficiacious as an oil that remains clear when cold. But if a fish oil becomes cloudy when cold this simply means that it retains some of the shorter chain fatty acids -- including small amounts of saturated fatty acids -- that occur naturally in fish.
In fact, most of what we know about the myriad health benefits of omega-3 fish oils comes from studies involving consumption of whole fish, which, like our Salmon Oil, contain small amounts of saturated fatty acids, which, in any case, are perfectly heart-healthful, according to the current scientific consensus.
Fish oils and blood thinners
The omega-3s in fish oil possess properties associated with “blood thinning”, but according to research by American Heart Association (AHA) consultant William Harris, Ph.D., they do not appear to pose any risk to persons taking blood-thinning drugs (e.g., Coumadin). To learn more about this research, published in the American Journal of Cardiology, see “Can Fish Oil Cause Bleeding Risks?”.
The U.S. FDA has not evaluated these statements. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.