Newswise — Do fish oil supplements just seem too "¦ well "¦ fishy? Show
The February issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter explains some health benefits of this diet supplement and ways to overcome the occasional fishy aftertaste. Fish oil supplements are especially good for those who want the heart health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids but don't like to eat fish. Fish oil supplements often are prescribed for heart attack survivors; the supplements can help prevent future heart problems. They also are prescribed for people with high triglycerides, a type of fat in the blood. Tips to avoid fishy aftertaste or burps include: -- Swallow the capsule frozen. This slows the breakdown of fish oil in the stomach, often reducing fishy burps. The fish oil is still digested effectively. -- Take the capsule at the beginning of a meal. Food traps the fish oil in the stomach, and mixing buffers the odor. -- Try an "odorless" supplement. This type of coated capsule passes through the stomach and dissolves in the intestines. -- Switch brands. A different brand may taste less fishy. For fish oil purists, some manufacturers make a pure omega-3 fatty acids product that doesn't taste fishy, although it is likely to cost more than standard products. Mayo Clinic Health Letter is an eight-page monthly newsletter of reliable, accurate and practical information on today's health and medical news. To subscribe, please call 800-333-9037 (toll-free), extension 9771, or visit www.HealthLetter.MayoClinic.com. ‘Your product said BURP-FREE! Yet I keep burping fish! You’re a bunch of liars!’ We’ve heard that once or twice. Fishy burps. It’s the #1 reason why people stop taking fish oil supplements. According to GOED,
Two people could take the same fish oil supplement. But one might burp in disgust while the other smells like a rose. Burping does not necessarily mean the oil is bad. Nor is burping harmful in anyway. Let’s assume you’re a burper. What can you do to prevent it? There are lots of tricks – freezing the pills before taking it, taking it just before falling asleep, taking it with a meal etc. None of these tricks work well. What works better is taking an enteric coated pill. Enteric coating works. Most of the time anyway. 20% of you will burp if you take a regular (non-enteric) fish oil. With enteric coated pills, the number is under 5%. Shouldn’t it be zero? It should…but it isn’t. How Enteric Coating Works (and why it sometimes fails)Enteric coating is sprayed onto the outside of the pill. The coating will stay intact and prevent the pill from dissolving in the acidic environment of your stomach. Once the pill has moved past the stomach and into the small intestine, the surrounding environment is no longer acidic. It is neutral. In non-acidic environments, the enteric coating dissolves and the fish oil is released into the intestine for absorption. Since the pill dissolves in the intestines and not the stomach, you will not experience fishy burps. Well, you shouldn’t. The reason that enteric coating works is due to the highly acidic nature of the stomach. There are two reasons why enteric coating of fish oil supplements fail:
Since enteric coating is sprayed onto the surface of the capsule, it is technically possible that the coating could chip or crack, like the paint on a wall. But this is so rare that it virtually never happens. More often than not, it’s the stomach acidity that’s at the root of the problem. Let me explain: acidity or pH is measured on a scale from 0 to 14. Zero is extremely acidic and 14 is extremely alkaline. 7 is neutral.
A healthy stomach is at about 1 or 2…in the same ballpark as battery acid. This is normal and healthy. Your stomach produces hydrochloric acid in small quantities to kill germs and to prepare proteins, some vitamins and minerals for digestion. Here’s the surprise – many people don’t produce enough stomach acid. There are several reasons for this:
This condition is called hypochlorhydria. Instead of pH being at 1.2, their stomach pH drifts up to 4 or 5 or even above 7. Most people ironically consider this ‘too much acid,’ and begin taking antacids like Tums, Rolaids or stronger heartburn meds like Omeprazole. The problem is not always too much acid and these products don’t address the root cause of the issues. But that’s a rant for another day. How does low stomach acid affect enteric coated fish oil pills?Enteric coated fish oil pills will work perfectly well at pH of 1, 2 or 3. But at pH of 5 or 6, it won’t work. pH of 6 is getting close to being neutral and the enteric coating starts to dissolve. Natural enteric coating made from algae (like the kind on OmegaVia) has a pH trigger of 3.5. In other words, the pill starts to dissolve when the surrounding acidity rises to 3.5. Synthetic enteric coatings made from methacrylic acid copolymers have a pH trigger of around 5.5, which will work better for people with hypochlorhydria. If you have a low-acid stomach, the enteric coated pill ‘thinks’ it’s in the intestine and promptly dissolves. If you burp up fish oil after taking an enteric coated product, your stomach acid production is compromised. The burping window is 2-3 hours. This is a very simple test for hypochlorhydria. Doctors should be using enteric coated fish oil pills to test their patients’ stomach acid production. It is a simple, cheap and safe test. The only downside is that if your stomach isn’t acidic enough, you may burp for about 3 hours. People with this condition may not know that they have low stomach acid. We know. We hear from customers who have this issue. Our customer service folks are not doctors. They are neither qualified nor authorized to diagnose you with hypochlorhydria. But we keep detailed notes of angry calls from burpers. We’ve noticed trends and have learned a thing or two about stomach acid. Temporary curesIf you take OmegaVia and experienced burping, you may want to do a small, self-experiment: take your OmegaVia with something acidic. Your choices are:
With all of these acidifying agents, you will be able to keep the enteric coating intact in the stomach, so you don’t burp up fish oil. But don’t do this on a daily basis. That’s overlooking the real problem. The Elephant in the StomachRemoving the inconvenience and nuisance of a fishy burp is minor compared to addressing the key issue: decreased stomach acid. I strongly suggest you go to a functional medicine doctor to get to the root of this problem because fishy burps are the least of your problems. There are several health issues associated with low stomach acidity. Find the root cause and fix it. Low stomach acid can cause several nutrient deficiencies. Another issue is that a healthy stomach is a very hostile place for most bacteria. With a low-acid stomach, bacteria from the mouth, intestines and elsewhere can easily colonize the stomach. A low-acid stomach is also unable to reliably kill pathogens like Salmonella. If you go to a general practitioner, he or she may simply send you home with an antacid, which fixes nothing. Go to a functional medicine MD. Once the problem is truly addressed, you will not only not burp up ‘burp-free’ fish oil pills, but you’ll feel a lot better a lot healthier. Your turn…
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. How do you stop fish oil burps?Take Fish Oil at the Beginning of a meal.
Food traps the oil in the stomach and this will help to reduce side effects like fishy burps and buffer the odor. If you take the fish oil after a meal the oil does not mix as readily with the stomach's contents, leading to more fishy burps and heartburn.
Does taking fish oil make you burp?Summary Fish oil is high in fat and may cause acid reflux symptoms such as belching, nausea, indigestion and heartburn in some people.
Why does fish oil make me gassy?Yes. The high-fat content of fish oil is what causes those unwanted fish burps that have become synonymous with taking fish oil. Burping is a side effect of increased gas and indigestion. Some fish oil brands contain enteric coatings and lipase.
How long do fish burps last?In many cases, people experience fish burps anywhere from 10 minutes to hours after they take their fish oil supplement, Ferira says. The problem is so bothersome that up to 18% of people report stopping their supplements because of it.
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