Review: Nordic Naturals

Nordic Naturals was founded in Norway by Joar Opheim. Joar came to Califronia in the mid-80s to study for his MBA and was disappointed by the lack of quality fish oil available in the states. At the time, Joar had many previous sports injuries and so had to bring his fish oil with him during trips to and from Norway. Joar was driven by his love of science and decided to contribute to broadening the scope of the fish oil industry in both the US and Norway. This has resulted in Nordic Naturals creating many patented techniques and processing standards before guidelines for such things even existed. Nordic Natural’s core philosophy is conducting business in an ethical and truthful manner, and creating products via sustainable practices. Nordic Naturals sources its products from the Norwegian sea, with a focus on relationships with independent fisherman instead of the larger chain fishing companies. This allows Nordic Naturals to maintain a consistent level of quality and keep their oils mostly additive free.

Taste & Consistency

Nordic Naturals specializes in sardine/anchovy, salmon, and cod liver oil. They offer these in lemon, strawberry, or plain. In terms of taste this is probably one of the mildest tasting oils I have used. I have tried all 3 flavors and they are about the same in terms of palatability. Also, if you’re like me and tend to get burping from your fish oils you will be pleasantly surprised by thus product as I did not experience much gas at all. They also offer enteric coated capsules for those who are more sensitive to the effects of fish oil. The product maintains a solid yellowish consistency across multiple batches, which is a sign of uniform manufacturing processes. It also keeps reasonably well in terms of rancidity. Also, the capsules tend to taste a little more potent than the oil variety. I’m not sure why, it may have just been the batch I received. You mileage may vary. Nordic Naturals offers vegetarian sourced supplements as well. These are mostly algae or borage seed based. Some are targeted at small children. I can’t comment on these as I have not tried them personally.

Effectiveness

Nordic Natural oils come in a triglyceride form. Triglyceride oils are the least processed of the 3 types of fish oils and are made by squeezing the entire fish and then heating/distilling the by product to separate the oils. The bio availability of triglyceride oils is good and even those with poor digestion should have no problem with this product. Nordic Naturals has one of the more potent fish oils on the market due to their manufacturing and product sources. Their website claims that they use nitrogen during every stage of the distillation process resulting in a much less oxidized form of TG oil. This is an interesting idea since it cuts down on the formation of free radicals. Even so, they do add natural vitamin E as a preservative. Those sensitive to additives should be aware of this. As for effect, you should see some sort of result regardless of what your using this fish oil for. For me I noticed an overall increase in my mood and a clearer head after 2 weeks of 2 capsules a day. One surprising thing is that it greatly improved a rash i had developed. I had tried a few brands before this will mixed results. I also noticed an almost immediate effect on my hair - it became much more smooth and shiny.

Price

Nordic Natural fish oils are priced at about 30$ a bottle. Not cheap but not the most expensive either. If you are on a budget you could probably take a smaller dose and still see some effect since this product is a little more potent than your typical fish oil. Budget conscious buyers should opt for the capsules instead of the oil since you get more servings that way. Containments Nordic Naturals products come in at a lower end in terms of containments. Heavy metals are below detectable levels and dioxins/furans come in at .56 PPT, well below the 2.0 PPT set by prop 65. Nordic Naturals does all of its testing through 3rd party laboratories, I could not find any in house test results. Glycerin is used as a filler in Nordic Naturals fish oils. Glycerin is a sweet byproduct that was originally sourced from animal fats. Now it can come from a variety of strange places, such as bio diesel manufacturing. Although glycerin has many uses (such as in toothpaste), to some it may be toxic.

Conclusion

This fish oil rated vary highly on our buyers guide, and with good reason. Nordic Naturals produces upper quality fish oil at a mid-range price. This product has a great shelf life and almost no fishy after taste. It has great absorption due to its triglyceride oil index and is quite low on the contamination scale. You should stick to the capsule form for consistency and to get the most value per bottle. I recommend this brand to anyone who is looking to treat a chronic condition or just for overall health maintenance.