MET-Rx Fish Oil With Vitamin D

Label Accuracy

Total omega-3 fatty acid content was measured at 370mg/serving, only 2.78% over its 360mg label claim. However, this product does not disclose either EPA or DHA content (our rankings account for and penalize products that do not disclose active ingredient content). Our analysis recorded 200mg EPA and 120mg DHA in every serving.

Additionally, vitamin D3 content was overstated by 50%; each serving measured 1500 IU (compared to a 1000 IU label claim).

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Product Purity

Mercury content measured at 3 PPB (parts per billion), just above the 2.4 PPB category average. The Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3 (GOED) mercury limit is 100 PPB. Bulk samples of this product also passed the six mineral assays, indicating presence of under 1 PPM of arsenic, lead, cadmium, bismuth, antimony, and silver.

Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) content (representative of aroclors 1016, 1221, 1232, 1242, 1248, 1254, and 1260) measured at less than 0.01 PPM. The Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) 2 PPM limit on PCBs for the edible parts of fish/shellfish. California’s Proposition 65 requires products containing greater than 0.09 PPM of PCB content to bear a cancer warning.

Peroxide value recorded at 4 meq/kg, and p-anisidine value recorded at 17.4.

Note: Our freshness scores are based entirely on peroxide values, measures of primary oxidation in fatty acids. Flavoring agents have been shown to skew p-anisidine values (measures of secondary oxidation). LabDoor is currently researching alternative p-anisidine assays that have the capability to account for and eliminate the effects of flavoring.

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Nutritional Value

One serving of MET-Rx Fish Oil with Vitamin D provides 370mg total omega-3 fatty acids, below the 1.1g - 1.6g daily Adequate Intake (AI) range set by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) for individuals over the age of 14. Of the total omega-3 content, EPA accounts for 200mg and DHA accounts for 120mg. There is currently no established daily recommended intake for EPA and DHA, although the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommendation -- 0.3g - 0.5g EPA + DHA/day with 0.8g - 1.1g ALA/day (which is partially converted to EPA and DHA) -- is held in high regard.

Furthermore, this product consists of 29% EPA + DHA.

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Ingredient Safety

Mercury content measured at 3 PPB, over the 2.4 PPB category average and significantly below the 100 PPB limit established by the Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3 (GOED).

PCB content measured at less than 0.01 PPM, significantly below the 2 PPM limit set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the stricter 0.09 PPM limit enacted by California’s Proposition 65.

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Projected Efficacy

Omega-3 fatty acids constitute 34% of this product's total fish oil content.

370mg omega-3, consisting of 200mg EPA and 120mg DHA, is expected to be moderately effective based on an estimated 1g recommended daily intake.

Omega-3 fatty acids are clinically shown to improve cardiovascular conditions such as coronary heart disease, hyperlipidemia and hypertension, and, according to limited evidence, enhance cognition, reduce anxiety, improve athletic performance and decrease risk of certain cancers. Clinical research supporting the latter effects is promising, but not conclusive; additional research is required before any conclusions can be drawn.

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