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

When I’m looking at supplements, I try to find the purest ones, because vitamins and supplements are actually the most artificial, processed foods in my diet. So I’d normally look at pure fish oils, but when I saw the Barlean’s Omega Swirl on sale, I couldn’t resist.

(Retail price is $26.35 or a 16oz bottle, which is 47 servings. I think I paid about $18.)

What this is, is like a fish oil smoothie. It has a good dose of fish oil, but with some additives to make it actually taste good. (If you’ve ever taken straight fish oil liquid, you know that “good taste” and “fish oil” don’t usually go together.)

I just had to try it out of curiosity…

Barlean’s Omega Swirl Health and Nutrition

Omega Swirl is a combination of cod liver oil and other stuff mixed in to give it a “smoothie” texture and the “lemon zest” flavor.

Per serving values are as follows:

Omega-3: 985mg (365mg EPA and 365mg DHA, 255mg other)
Omega-6: 320mg
Omega-9: 970mg

That’s a pretty good amount of Omega-3 per serving, considering most regular pills and liquids are about 200-600mg Omega-3 per serving.

Unfortunately, you’re also consuming some Omega-6 fatty acids (which are usually considering pro-inflammatory, so you don’t want to go overboard with them.) But that’s really not that bad because you’re still getting a net of 665mg Omega-3.

I’m neutral on the Omega-9 because I have no problem with them, but probably don’t need more than I already get.

Note: You probably have plenty of Omega-6 in your diet already. It’s found in healthy foods like nuts and seeds, as well as virtually all processed foods and fast food. Omega-9 is also found in nuts, and is plentiful in olive oil, which you should be getting every day. In contrast, Omega-3 is harder to come by, typically found only in cold-water fish and the foods in their diet. Hence the importance of supplementing just Omega-3.

Other ingredients include Vitamin A and Vitamin C. One thing to mention is that this is sweetened with xylitol, a low-calorie sugar substitute. Xylitol is a naturally occurring sugar alcohol, so it’s not risky like artificial sweeteners; some studies even show dental health benefits from xylitol.

This adds up to 45 calories per serving, which is more than you’d get with pills, but it’s a small price to pay for the Omega-3 health benefits.

Since I mentioned faster recovery times in my other fish oil reviews, I should mention it here: I’ve been taking fish oil for a while and I didn’t notice better recovery when using this specific product. Likewise, I didn’t notice a huge drop in recovery ability.

So if you don’t regularly take fish oil, you might feel better in an overall healthy sense, as well as notice that you recover from exercise quicker than usual. But you never know.

Barlean’s Omega Swirl Taste Test

If cheaper brands of fish oil have scared you off, you’ll really have to trust me here – this stuff tastes great!! The lemon-flavored fish oil actually tastes like lemon meringue pie.

It does leave a light aftertaste, but it’s a lemon aftertaste, rather than a fishy aftertaste. And there is no weird oily residue left in your mouth and throat.

The texture is thick, like an oily smoothie. It doesn’t just dump out onto the your teaspoon; you squeeze it out, so you don’t have to worry about spilling it.

Again, it’s WAY WAY better tasting than other fish oils that are plain. I normally take the pills, but I did try the liquid before, and I was not pleased! Even the Carlson Very Finest Fish Oil, which is supposed to be the best-tasting fish oil, tastes putrid compared to Barlean’s Omega Swirl.

My final verdict is…

While Recoup|90 is the most pure form of Omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil (it’s pharmaceutical grade) and what I’d recommend for elite athletes, and any brand of softgel pills are typically healthier than a flavored, sweetened liquid, this Barlean’s Omega Swirl seems pretty good.

It should provide enough Omega-3 for recreational athletes (or elite athletes, if you double the serving size,) so if you don’t swallow pills and can’t stand the taste of plain fish oil, Omega Swirl is a tasty way to take fish oil.

Official website: www.Barleans.com

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

Omega-3 fatty acids have become my #1 favorite supplement, and the easiest way to get a good dose of Omega-3’s is with fish oil pills. One fish oil I tried recently is the Carlson Super Omega 3 Fish Oil.

There are two popular brands of fish oil – Barlean’s and Carlson’s. Both Barlean’s and Carlson’s brands get high rankings for quality and value in publications like Consumer Reports. So these are two brands you can trust to get you a quality fish oil that’s not contaminated with substances like mercury.

So I was confident that this Super Omega 3 Fish Oil would be good stuff. The first indicator for this was that the pills had a very light scent. (Some fish oil pills smell nasty.) Second, there is absolutely no taste to these capsules.

A serving size is one pill, and that pill contains 600mg Omega-3’s (300mg EPA, 200mg DHA, and 100mg other Omega-3’s.) The suggested use is “take one or more soft gels daily, at mealtime.” To get a good dose of Omega-3’s, suitable for an athlete, I took 2-4 pills per day.

On the days I was taking 4 pills (which was most days,) I was getting 1200mg EPA and 800mg DHA. That’s the same EPA content as Recoup|90, and actually double the DHA content. Of course, Recoup|90 still wins in the purity battle.

Another factor in favor of Recoup|90 is pill size. Carlson’s fish oil pills are rather large (like most fish oils,) while Recoup|90 is on the small side, making them easier to swallow.

As for price, one serving of Recoup|90 is $1.33 for 1200mg EPA and 400mg DHA.

Three servings of Carlson’s Super Omega 3 totals $0.59 and gets you 900mg EPA and 600mg DHA. (Based on a retail price of $25.50 for 130 pills.)

Three servings of Barlean’s Fish Oil totals $0.57 and gets you 1080 EPA and 720mg DHA. (Based on a retail price of $23.99 for 250 pills.)

Based purely on price, it would appear Carlson’s and Barlean’s are the obvious choices.

* Also, note that that is the retail price for a serving of these Carlson pills. I ordered from VitaminShoppe.com and got 130 pills on sale for the super low price of $12.88, so I was actually getting these at $0.10 per serving, or $0.30 per my daily dose. Sweet deal!!

Testing the Carlson Super Omega 3 Pills

On 4/1/09, after a week or so without any fish oil, I started taking these Carlson pills. Within a week, I could feel the difference. I actually felt more of a difference by taking this stuff than when I started Recoup|90.

On most days, I was taking three of these Carlson’s pills. On light days when I wasn’t not sore from a previous workout, I did just two pills. But one day I went crazy and did four pills.

After a week, I decided to go with four pills per day no matter what.

It seemed I could work out harder, yet be less sore than when I was doing easier workouts! Of course, there were times when I was feeling extra worn out or just plain sore. So the Carlson’s pills certainly didn’t work better than Recoup|90, but they must have worked a little bit, so I’m happy with that.

I used them all of April 2009 and I’m pleased with the results.

My final verdict is…

Carlson’s makes a high-quality fish oil. It’s not as pure as Recoup|90, but it’s cheaper, and I swear it’s still aiding my recovery in a noticeable manner. I’d rank it as my #2 recommended fish oil.

You can’t go wrong with this Carlson’s Super Omega-3 Fish Oil. And if they’re still on sale for 49% off at VitaminShoppe.com, it’s a no brainer!

Official website: www.CarlsonLabs.com

Buy online: www.VitaminShoppe.com

One supplement that has been growing in popularity in recent years is fish oil, due to the Omega-3 fatty acids it contains. After seeing numerous research studies touting improvements in heart health, brain function, and even decreased muscle soreness, it’s no wonder why interest in fish oil is mounting.

With my diet being rather low in fish and algae, I have to start thinking about Omega-3 supplements.

But the problem I have found is that if you just go out and buy the cheapest fish oil on the shelf, you end up with a very low dose of the important Omega-3 fatty acids. A good dose of Omega-3 is 1000mg, but most of the cheaper pills contain about 200-300mg per serving. (And a lot of them also contain Omega-6 fatty acids, which are the ones you want to avoid!)

Once you realize that taking 3-5 servings per day is annoying, you see the value in the higher priced, ultra-pure supplements. That leads me to today’s review of Recoup|90 fish oil capsules, which are possibly the most expensive fish oil capsules available!

These are “premium Omega-3 fish oil capsules.” A one-month supply comes in at $49.95 (discounted to $39.95 for repeat customers.)

Why Choose Recoup|90?

The first big selling point for the Recoup|90 pills is the purity. Each serving (four small pills) is packed with 1800mg Omega-3, which is nearly triple what most fish oil pills contain!

Recoup|90 is actually 90% pure, meaning the Omega-3 fatty acids compose 90% of the pill. You’re getting the good stuff and virtually nothing else.

The big selling point, though, is the claim that these pills reduce muscle soreness. I guess they were created to help people who regularly suffer from Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS.) But at the same time, they are great for athletes who want to reduce soreness and speed recovery so they can workout more often.

recoup|90… taken daily after exercise, will help your body recuperate more effectively and more rapidly than ever before, allowing you to get back exercising sooner and performing better!

These claims are based on research studies, so it’s not some hyperbole marketing garbage. There are studies out there showing Omega-3 and fish oil helps DOMS. (So you would think it would decrease the time needed for recovery.)

Not to mention, Germany’s Olympic team uses this stuff, and one of their weight lifters won gold in 2008.

Sidenote: At least one study I found, found that fish oil improved the ability of muscle cells to take up glucose in the presence of insulin. So it’s possible fish oil could help you absorb even more carbs in your post-workout meal, which would help you perform better in your next workout.

Testing Recoup|90

I tested Recoup|90 for one month, taking four pills per day, after my workout. I preceded the test with an easy recovery week to make sure my body was fresh at the start. I was hoping the effects would kick in by weeks 3-4, so I could workout harder even after weeks of hard training.

Note: I had taken fish oil supplements before this, but not on a daily basis, and only the cheaper ones that are much lower in Omega-3.

The test started on Saturday, 2/14/09. I did about three hours of bodyweight exercises (for the bodyweight exercise guide) that day then followed up with a 50 minute indoor bike ride.

The next day I was sore as heck! (I certainly wasn’t expecting an instant cure, but you can always hope.)

During my first week, my recovery times were very good, although that is typical for my first week back after an easy week.

The second week on these pills I seemed to be recovering at the same speed as usual. I couldn’t distinguish anything out of the ordinary.

Weeks three and four were more of the same. I changed up my routine a little bit, cutting back on my weight lifting and increasing the time spent on my bicycle. I was able to recover from the cycling fairly easily, but that’s because of the lower intensity. My recovery time from my weight lifting days did not seem to speed up in any noticeable manner.

My last day on these pills was a Sunday, 3/15/09.

My workout was a little different than usual that day – instead of cycling, I did some pull ups followed by running some sprints and skipping rope. For some reason, I think I felt a little better than usual on Monday. (It’s hard to say if that had anything to do with the fish oil.)

For the next few days (without Recoup|90,) I seemed to be doing alright with my training, and I figured, “boy, I don’t want to spend $40/month for that.”

I took a recovery week right after that and felt great, so I hit the gym again. But guess what? Even though I was fresh, I was getting pretty sore! And for some reason, the soreness didn’t seem to go away.

After thinking about it for a while, I realized that I’m feeling more sore now than I was while using Recoup|90. So even though I didn’t notice a benefit when I started Recoup|90, I sure noticed a benefit being taken away when I ran out of Recoup|90!

Recoup|90 Observations

Here is a roundup of all the stuff I noticed during my testing:

Pill Size

The Recoup|90 pills are slightly smaller than the average capsule, and they are way smaller than cheaper fish oil pills that don’t offer the same ultra-pure formulation. (Note: the cheaper pills are bigger, yet contain less Omega-3 fatty acids per serving.)

Swallowing

One thing that’s awesome is how swallowing four of these little pills is much easier than swallowing even one of those gigantic fish oil pills!

Side Effects

The only side effect I’ve heard of with fish oil pills is “fish burps.” I experienced none of those nor any other health issues.

Taste

There is no taste to these pills, at least not from the gel capsule. (I thought about chewing one up, but decided against it, preferring not to know what the oil tastes like!)

There is not much of a smell, either. Other fish oil pills I’ve taken, even the expensive ones, smell really bad when you stick your nose in the jar. Sticking my nose in a bag of Recoup|90 was like a breath of fresh air!

Soreness

I touched on this earlier, and the problem is – soreness is one of those things that’s very hard to quantify. And even if I had noticed decreased soreness, was it necessarily from these? Even if you keep your workout progression, sleep schedule, and diet the same, it’s still hard to tell.

As much as I wanted super fast recovery, I never once got the feeling, “hey, I’m not sore today.”

The Deprivation Test

What happened once I finished the product and resorted to a lower dose of a lesser quality fish oil? I got the feeling that my recovery periods had become longer than usual!

So while I didn’t notice faster recovery when I started Recoup|90, I’m really starting to notice slower recovery now that I don’t have it.

That could be all in my head, but it’s possible that I am just now realizing that Recoup|90 did help! The reason that led me to believe this (and order another pouch of these pills at retail price) is that I just completed a recovery week yet I’m not seeing the speedy recovery I got accustomed to!

Fish

The one thing I didn’t see mentioned on the website was the type of fish used in Recoup|90. I got in touch with the company and they gave me the answer:

The fish in Recoup|90 come from an area in the South Pacific which is a low-pollution area. Also, they use smaller fish like sardines and anchovies. (While salmon is a widely-known source of Omega-3, the small sardines and anchovies are also great sources.)

My final verdict is…

Quality-wise, this is a great fish oil capsule (possibly the best one money can buy.) Other high-quality, ultra-pure fish oils seem to be just as expensive but not quite as pure, so the price actually isn’t bad.

I don’t know if this fish oil will aid your recovery in a noticeable way, but I’m pretty sure it did help me recover faster than usual (hindsight is 20/20,) and I’m positive it will do a better job than other fish oils on the market. At the very least, I believe it has improved my general health, so if you can afford $40 per month for a single supplement, Recoup|90 looks like a great choice.

Official website: www.Recoup90.com

I’ve been doing more research on supplements this year, and one supplement I really need to take more consistently is fish oil. Omega-3 fatty acids are such an important part of your diet, and since I’m not a huge fan of seafood, taking fish oil pills seems like a good idea.

Plus, can you really get enough Omega-3s from your diet, even when eating seafood?

Here is a quick comparison chart I made to compare various fish oil supplements, from your typical high-quality fish oil to the ultra pure, super expensive stuff…

(Values are “per serving.”)

Pill Brand	Omega-3	EPA	DHA	CLA	Price
Barleans Signature (Pills)	n/a	360mg	240mg	n/a	$0.19
Barleans Signature (Liquid)	n/a	880mg	585mg	n/a	$0.47
Barleans High EPA-DHA	n/a	783mg	400mg	n/a	$0.83
Biotest Flameout	4625mg	880mg	2200mg	352mg	$1.36
Recoup|90	1800mg	1200mg	400mg	n/a	$1.33
Carlson Salmon Oil	750mg	360mg	250mg	n/a	$0.28
Carlson Super Omega-3 Fish Oils	600mg	300mg	200mg	n/a	$0.25
Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega	1280mg	650mg	450mg	n/a	$0.83

As you can see, there is quite a difference in potency and price amongst these brands. All the brands listed have good reputations, but some have much higher Omega-3 content per serving, which raises the price considerably.

The brands also vary in ways not shown in the chart. The Barleans fish oil supplements mention the LNA content, which is not mentioned on the others’ labels. Biotest Flameout has a slightly different formula than the others, with its high DHA content and the inclusion of CLA. So you might want to do some more research before making your final decision.

Based on the chart, I’d probably go with Barleans fish oil. If one chose the Barleans Signature capsules and took 4 servings per day, that would be similar to the fatty acid content of Recoup|90 and Flameout, but at a substantial discount! Sure, that would require swallowing more pills, but that’s a significant amount of money!

Also, Barleans comes in a liquid, so that is worth a shot if you don’t want to swallow eight pills per day. That oil contains lots of good fatty acids for just $0.47 per serving.

However, you do have to wonder what else is in some of these pills. Recoup|90 pills are smaller than the others, yet the other brands contain much less Omega-3 content. And the liquids are a whole other story, considering their Omega-6 content. (You don’t want to add any more Omega-6 to your diet.)

For quality, Biotest Flameout and Recoup|90 do sound like the best.

Barleans seems to be the best value, though.

Whatever you do, seriously consider taking some sort of Omega-3 supplement!

Information for this chart was compiled based on the nutrition labels of these products as shown on their websites and packaging. It is correct to the best of my knowledge, but I could have made a typo or the label could have changed, so I make no guarantees to the accuracy of this chart.