Review: Nature Made

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Nature Made was created in 1971 by Barry Pressman of Northridge, CA. the company was a runaway success, and it is now one of the largest manufacturers of supplements in the United States.

Nature Made places their priorities on product sources and state of the art manufacturing processes. This is a high tech company that uses techniques like infrared scanning and liquid chromatography for verification during the production phases of their supplements.

In addition, heavy scientific research goes into every supplement they produce. With a highly varied staff consisting of PhDs and dieticians, Nature Made conducts its own scientific reviews and discusses the latest scientific findings. This process helps Nature Made determine which products to manufacture and which products are just passing fads with no real health benefit.

Taste & Consistency

Nature Made carriers all of the standard types of fish oil and cod liver oil as well. In fact, I don’t think there is much this company does not produce when it comes to supplements. I tried the standard capsules and the chewable gummies (an easy way to ingest fish oil). Consistency was solid all across the board.

Be sure to get the enteric coated type to reduce burping, as I did experience a great deal of gas with both types of fish oils.

Effectiveness

Nature Made oils are produced in using the Esther ethyl oil process. This means they are not quite as absorbable as a triglyceride or fermented oil. Esther ethyl oil is more difficult for the pancreas to break down and this results in less oil being absorbed into the body(around 20-30% less than Tg oils) and fat cells. If you have trouble with digestion it will help to get the enteric coated variety, which will result in more of the oil bypassing the pancreas to dissolve in the small intestine.

The potency of this product was unfortunately very weak. Out of the 2 types that I tried I felt I needed to take double or even triple the dose when compared to a more expensive fish oil. Usually with fish oil I get a “clear headed” feeling 1-2 weeks in. With Nature Made, I had to gradually up the dose to triple the amount to notice a significant difference.

Price

At around 12$ a bottle, Nature Made offers one of the cheapest fish oils on the market. Their cod liver oil and flax seed oils are even cheaper, less than 10$ a bottle. Stick to the value size for the best cost ratio.

Contaminants

This product has very little in the way of contaminates. No detectable level of heavy metals, furans, or dioxins. This may be do to the fact that Nature Made is a large enough company to be able to send regular auditor’s to inspect its suppliers facilities. All Nature Made products are USP verified. This means that a 3^rd party lab regularly tests all Nature Made products to verify purity. They were actually the first supplement company to ever earn such a distinction.

In addition to this, Esther ethyl oils are well known for being very low in contaminants due to their heavy processing.

Conclusion

Nature Made fish oils are a classic example of getting what you pay for. However, their attention to purity and scientific process should not be overlooked. This brand rated fairly highly on our shopping list. If you are a person who just wants a cheap fish oil for general health maintenance, than look no further. Those who are suffering from chronic conditions should shoot for a more potent brand of fish oil.