Miss Qi, who lives in Beijing, has always been a loyal supporter of deep-sea fish oil. She has been taking a deep-sea fish oil from Australia for two or three years in a row, and the price of a bottle of 200 capsules is generally 240 yuan. Not long ago, Miss Qi's boyfriend went to Australia on business and wanted to buy some deep-sea fish oil for Miss Qi. Surprisingly, the deep-sea fish oil with the same brand and specifications is very cheap in the local area, as long as tens of RMB, and the price is similar to that of ordinary vitamins, common cod liver oil and other products. In the eyes of local people, these fish oils are not "aristocratic health products" at all, but very common nutritional supplements.
As a result, the doubt of "deep sea fish oil" began to be noticed.
In the interview, the reporter found that the main reason why most consumers are eager for deep-sea fish oil is the so-called efficacy of deep-sea fish oil. The reporter saw that the promotional materials of a brand of deep-sea fish oil impressively wrote: "Deep-sea fish oil contains fatty acids, commonly known as EPA and DHA."
The main function of deep-sea fish oil is to lower cholesterol and prevent vascular diseases. EPA is called "vascular scavenger", which has the function of dredging and cleaning the heart blood vessels, thus preventing a variety of cardiovascular diseases.
DHA is an indispensable material basis for the formation, development and operation of brain cells, and can also help activate weak retinal cells, thus playing a role in nourishing and strengthening the brain, improving vision and preventing myopia.
In addition, DHA is an essential component in breast milk, which can enhance human immunity. Deep-sea fish oil is suitable for diseases such as hypertension, high cholesterol, hyperlipidemia, cerebrovascular disorder, myocardial infarction, arteriosclerosis, glaucoma and cataract.
The fantastic efficacy of publicity materials has puzzled many consumers, but the explanation of professional nutritionists is quite different from his boasting.
Bian Huawei, deputy director of the Nutrition Department of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, said that deep-sea fish oil is equivalent to ordinary plant edible oil, and vegetable oils such as peanut oil, sesame oil, soybean oil and millet oil all contain the so-called nutrients of deep-sea fish oil, that is, multiple fatty acids. Bian Huawei explained that the so-called EPA and DHA are actually abbreviations of two kinds of polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are abbreviated into English and look like that.
The instructions revealed the secret.
In fact, it's not that ordinary consumers can't see the secret in deep-sea fish oil. Ms. Xu, a Beijing consumer, is a "turtle". In the United States, Xu once bought two boxes of original deep-sea fish oil produced by American companies. After returning to Beijing, Xu bought another box of deep-sea fish oil of the same brand in Beijing, but accidentally found that the contents of the Chinese and English instructions were quite different. Ms. Xu said angrily that the Chinese manual is simply out of thin air and absurd.
According to Ms. Xu's comparison, the Chinese manual of this brand of deep-sea fish oil is compared with the English manual, and there is an extra paragraph: "Deep-sea fish oil has the functions of lowering cholesterol and preventing cardiovascular diseases, preventing blood coagulation and thrombosis, relieving stroke, reducing arteriosclerosis and hypertension, reducing blood viscosity, promoting blood circulation and eliminating fatigue. Taking this product for the elderly can reduce the possibility of developing Alzheimer's disease. " This statement means that deep-sea fish oil has therapeutic functions.
A person from the US Food and Drug Administration said that the deep-sea fish oil sold in the market belongs to health care products rather than medicines, so the efficacy promotion is restricted by laws and regulations. Relevant persons of the Food and Drug Administration think that the specific contents of the Chinese instructions for the above-mentioned deep-sea fish oil are exaggerated.
Another careful consumer found that in addition to efficacy publicity, there are three more words on the Chinese manual: follow the doctor's advice. He said that these three simple words are actually to mislead people into the framework of "this is a drug". In addition, the Chinese manual also "deliberately" missed a sentence: daily life.
The value is undetermined, which means "daily dose not specified".
On the bottle of a certain brand of deep-sea fish oil that a patient came to consult, Bian Huawei, a nutrition expert in the Third Hospital of Sun Yat-sen, found an English word meaning "No domestic sales". Bian Huawei revealed that this is an Australian brand of deep-sea fish oil.
He believes that the potential meaning of this sentence is that there are still many uncertain factors in the product, such as safety. "This may mean some hidden dangers, and international and domestic businesses do not rule out the possibility of hiding hidden dangers for commercial purposes." Bian Huawei said angrily.
Eating more may be harmful.
"I don't recommend people who come to consult nutrition to eat deep-sea fish oil." Bian Huawei said that it is not excluded that deep-sea fish oil has health care functions, but eating too much may also cause harm to the human body.
Bian Huawei said that deep-sea fish oil is actually a kind of fat, a simple polyunsaturated fatty acid, and each fat has so-called adverse reactions when used alone. Therefore, from the point of view of nutrition, doctors never advise people to eat only one kind of fat, but all kinds of fats.
For people who prefer unsaturated fatty acids in their diet, such as some vegetarians, nutrition believes that vitamin E or vitamin C should be taken properly to prevent side effects. Taking deep-sea fish oil as a health care product other than the normal diet will undoubtedly increase the calorie intake in people's diet, and it is also a eating habit that is not conducive to human health.
Bian Huawei said that the so-called role of deep-sea fish oil propaganda is true, such as softening blood vessels, but the medical community has not reached a quantitative index of softening. "It is very likely that the so-called role is not reflected, but the side effects such as fat accumulation and peroxidation are reflected."
Teacher Liu, a graduate student majoring in food chemistry at South China Agricultural University, believes that deep-sea fish oil, as a health care product, has not been verified by clinical trials, nor has it been proved to be safe for a long time like ordinary food. The effect and toxicity of fish oil are not credible only by merchants.
Marine experts:
"I never spend money on deep-sea fish oil"
Mr. Yang studies the environment and is the head of the Environmental Monitoring Center of Nanhai Branch of the State Oceanic Administration. He said that from the environmental point of view, the deep sea is indeed less polluted than the shallow sea, but the specific situation depends on the location. There are many credible ingredients in the promotion of deep-sea fish oil, but it seems that there is no inevitability to associate it with food. Mr. Yang said that the fish in the sea are swimming and the sea water is flowing. There is no way to say that there is less pollution in the deep sea and the quality of fish oil is good. Mr. Yang said he didn't want to comment on deep-sea fish oil, but he said he wouldn't spend money on deep-sea fish oil because it was unnecessary.
Nutrition expert: the stability of deep-sea fish oil is worth discussing
After detailed information inquiry and research, Qing Wu, an associate professor in the Department of Food Chemistry of South China Agricultural University, concluded that deep-sea fish oil does have its unique contents, namely DHA and EPA. However, it is worth discussing whether the existing health care product deep-sea fish oil can provide these nutrients for human body. Instead of spending a lot of money on fish oil, it is better to eat fish directly.
Professor Wu said that the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids in deep-sea fish is indeed higher than that in freshwater fish, and the composition of polyunsaturated fatty acids in different fish species is also different. Professor Wu introduced that the chemical structures of DHA and EPA refer to docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid respectively. Freshwater fish and vegetable oil are not necessarily available, or the content is not as good as that of deep-sea fish. For example, peanut oil is mainly eicosatetraenoic acid, so although it is all unsaturated fatty acids, its composition is different.
However, Professor Wu pointed out that the chemical structures of DHA and EPA, namely eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, are very unstable and easy to be oxidized, resulting in low storage resistance of fish oil, and air, light and metal ions during processing may lead to its oxidative decomposition.
In order to know more, we specially consulted Dr. Gu, who came back from the United States as the general manager of Shanghai Zikang Baojian Co., Ltd., and she affirmed that there has been a news release in the United States, "Preventing mercury poisoning-women and children should use deep-sea fish oil with caution." In fact, in the American market, this fish oil health product, which is very popular in China, is not very popular in the United States.
References:
Southern metropolis daily