Whats the difference between Triglyceride Fish Oil and Ethyl

Ester Fish Oil?

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

• There are 2 types of omega 3 fish oil, natural triglycerides and ethyl esters

• Because one is natural and the other isn’t, 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

GL

CY

RE

LO

ET

A

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Fatty Acid 1

Fatty Acid 2

Fatty Acid 3

Fatty Acid 1

A Triglyceride

An Ethyl Ester

If Ethyl Esters are unnatural why are they used?

• Because it’s necessary to concentrate the fish oil and to remove impurities. Commercially available Fish oils couldn’t 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

• 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

• 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

So How Much Better Are Omega 3 Triglycerides Than Ethyl Ester’s?

• 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

• 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 don’t understand the difference between triglyceride and ethyl ester fish oil and still prescribe ethyl esters

• 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

• 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 it’s superiority

So How Do I Know If My Omega 3 Supplement Is Triglyceride Or Ethyl Ester?

• 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

• 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