Your Fish Oil Shouldn’t Smell Fishy

One of the most common complaints about most fish oils found in the United States is their fishy smell and taste. This week’s blog will tell you exactly why this shouldn’t be the case, and why it doesn’t have to be!

First, we need to answer WHY many fish oil products do not smell so nice. This comes from an element with which we are all quite familiar: Oxygen. Let us explain…

Marine oils in their raw form are very delicate. Specifically, fish oil is very sensitive to oxygen. Essentially, if fish oil is exposed to oxygen over any significant amount of time, it will most likely go rancid due to “oxidation.” It works like this…

When fish oil is wild-caught and harvested, it is then transported to the necessary factory to be refined and bottled. If this is a short process, then the oil can be quickly refined, naturally flavored, and carefully bottled to preserve an excellent product (assuming the refining process meets the strictest quality standards). However, if this process takes too long, oxidation begins to set it.

Oxidation occurs when a foreign molecule forms a molecular bond with the glycerol molecules of the polyunsaturated fish oil. These oxidized fats become lipid peroxides or free radicals, a.k.a rancid, nasty fish oil. This is one of the main reasons why so many people have negative fish oil experiences, and most likely why you have as well.

However, the good news is that you now have excellent fish oil options which do not taste or smell like fish.  Lysi Cod Liver Oil is sourced, refined, and bottled in Iceland quickly so that rancidity does not have a chance to be a factor. The key factor here is that the oil is harvested in very close proximity to our refineries, which allows the turn around time to be much quicker than what the average US consumer is used to experiencing.

This is the equation we strive for in every drop of our Cod Liver Oil: Sustainable sourcing + quick turn around time + masterful refining + careful bottling = happy & healthy consumer.

So, next time you crack open a bottle of those rancid, nasty fish oil pills you’ve had sitting in the cupboard for a few months, realize that it doesn’t have to be that way! We take necessary steps to ensure that our products can be enjoyed by men and women of all ages without fear of rancidity. Because, at the end of the day, your fish oil shouldn’t smell fishy.