Tested: Carlson’s Very Finest Fish Oil

Not wanting to swallow another four large pills each day (I’m not very good at it,) I decided to try a liquid fish oil. I’m used to bad-tasting supplements, so I wasn’t even concerned about the taste.

I chose Carlson’s Very Finest Fish Oil in the lemon flavor, which won a “Superior Taste Award” in 2005, and typically earns a 5-star rating from user reviews, so that eased my mind. It has to taste good, right?

So I ordered some from the Vitamin Shoppe since they were having a sale (about $22 instead of $48.) The fish oil came in a dark glass bottle, wrapped neatly in bubble wrap.

I thought this might end up being my #1 fish oil choice thanks to the quality ingredients.

I mean, this is the real deal fish oil. Unlike Barlean’s Omega Swirl, there are no fancy ingredients or sweeteners – just good old Omega 3 fatty acids. Lots of them, too.

This Very Finest Fish Oil provides 800mg EPA and 500mg DHA in one single teaspoon. With 40 calories per serving, that’s a bit more than the Super Omega 3 pills, but manageable.

Unfortunately, this stuff tastes like fish oil! It’s not like it tastes like rancid fish, but it’s not good.

The texture is odd, too. It’s definitely not smooth like olive oil.

Worse still, the aftertaste. It’s not pleasant. To make things worse, the aftertaste likes to stick around. It’s like the fish oil residue sticks around in your mouth, forever coating your taste buds. It’s just plain bad.

I took this oil plain for two days and then decided that was enough!

I took three days off from it, then tried again. This time I put some fish oil in a shot glass, added some good tasting olive oil, and topped it off with some grape juice (since that was the only flavorful liquid I could find.)

It was still terrible!! I can’t describe it, but swallowing fish oil is totally different from swallowing something like olive oil. The taste and texture are way different, and unfortunately, terrible. I had a handful of peanuts as a “chaser” but that still did not get rid of the aftertaste!

Later in the day, I experienced my first ever “fish burp.” It’s like a regular burp, but then the feel of fish oil returns to your throat!

After that I said, “no more.”

I gave the bottle to a friend who had tried liquid fish oil before, but a cheaper brand. He said this Carlson oil was clearly better tasting, but still left that weird oily aftertaste in his mouth.

So I do believe this could be one of the best tasting plain fish oils around. (I say “plain” because if you include Omega Swirl in the rankings, nothing else will even come close.)

But still, fish oil is something best taken in capsule form.

My final verdict is…

This is a good quality fish oil with lots of Omega-3 fatty acids in one serving. If you want to take fish oil in liquid form, this is certainly one of the healthiest options (and supposedly one of the best tasting.)

But actual fish oil grosses me out like crazy, so I’m sticking with the gel capsules, like the Carlson Super Omega 3 and Recoup|90.

Official website: www.CarlsonLabs.com

Buy online: www.VitaCost.com | www.VitaminShoppe.com