our Health philosophy
“Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food!” – Hippocrates, circa 400 BC
Like Hippocrates of Kos, we share the opinion that nutrition plays a crucial role in our health. Key cornerstones in our health philosophy are as follows:
- Keep your diet as natural as possible.
- There are – apart from industrial trans fats – no good or bad fats, only unfavorable ratios.
- Sugar, white flour and an excess of omega-6 fatty acids is a main cause of many health problems.
- Daily intake of a natural fish oil or vegetable algae oil high in omega-3 fatty acids is beneficial to our health.
Our goal is not for a person not to use our oil, but that they have a sufficient omega-3 level. That means that we do not recommend our NORSAN oils and capsules to individuals who already have a sufficiently high omega-3 index in their bodies and therefore have no need for additional omega-3 fatty acids. Enough is enough, and more than that does not provide any additional benefit.
What does NORSAN mean?
NORSAN’s mission is twofold:
- To educate about how fats work, especially the role of omega-3 fatty acids for our health.
- To develop and provide the best omega-3 products. Read here about our product philosophy.
Both parts of the mission are equally important. Education lays the necessary groundwork for understanding that getting enough omega-3 fatty acids is particularly important. NORSAN products are specifically designed to help with this, but there are also other good omega-3 oils on the market.
In general, however, 9 out of 10 people have a clear and measurable omega-3 deficiency, so our oils would be a suitable supplement to the existing diet for the majority of the population.
The effect of omega-3 fatty acids
The actual effects of omega-3 fatty acids are a subject of ongoing and wide-ranging debate. Among experts, certain groups argue that regular intake of omega-3 has no effect and is therefore not necessary for health. On the other hand, there are a number of experts who can clearly demonstrate the positive health effects of omega-3 for a wide variety of diseases and health issues.
Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for our health and our bodies, but if there is a deficiency, you need a certain dosage for the intake to actually help. Taking one standard omega-3 capsule a day is just as useless as doing one push-up every day. It helps a small bit, but not really. If you have an omega-3 deficiency, you generally need at least 2,000 mg of omega-3 fatty acids daily, which often means 10 to 15 standard capsules (the contents of omega-3 capsules vary widely).
So does omega-3 help or not?
The answer is simple: omega-3 fatty acids only help if you use them correctly. Compare it to exercise, which most people view as a positive factor for their health. However, if someone jogs for 3 minutes every day or does one push-up every day, it is very likely that these measures will not result in a significant improvement in health. The same applies to omega-3.
As with all foods, you also need to pay attention to quality. What raw materials were used, and how were they processed? In an extreme case, if you take 10 capsules containing fish oil that has already gone bad, you can’t expect any positive effects. The body will (fortunately) try to get rid of this oil, and you’ll experience unpleasant burping. With high-quality omega-3 oil, this does not happen. For this reason, NORSAN offered our oils only in liquid form during the early years. Not because we think capsules aren’t useful or good in certain cases—rather, we wanted to emphasize that you don’t have to “hide” it in a capsule. With other foods, we would never even consider such an idea.
There are many omega-3 concentrates on the market. The advantage of concentrates is that you have to take fewer capsules. However, the night disadvantage is that it is no longer a natural product. NORSAN believes in keeping food as natural as possible. Consequently, you will not find omega-3 concentrates in any of our products, only naturally high-dose oils.
What is the recommended dosage of omega-3?
The answer to this question varies from person to person and is determined by the diagnostic method described above. The dosage is therefore based on the individual’s fatty acid ratio in the body and should be high enough to compensate for any potential deficiency. Regarding the optimal omega-3 level in the body, there is broad scientific consensus that it should be above 8%.
In collaboration with Europe’s leading laboratory for fatty acid measurements, Omegametrix® GmbH in Munich, NORSAN has now conducted more than 30,000 individual fatty acid analyses. This reveals a fairly clear picture: for adults with an existing omega-3 deficiency, the effective dosage starts at 2,000 mg of omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) per day.
What effect does taking 1–2 conventional omega-3 capsules, each containing approximately 150 mg of omega-3, have on the other hand? The answer is simply: none! This also explains why studies repeatedly emerge in which the intake of omega-3 has shown no effect—the dosage chosen was too low. For this reason, NORSAN takes the position that a sufficiently high dosage is necessary to achieve the desired health benefits.
A Diagnostic Approach: Measuring Success, Instead of Just “Hoping“
What are omega-3 fatty acids all about? From our perspective, the focus isn’t on which capsules or oil you should take, but rather on ensuring that your body has sufficient levels of omega-3 fatty acids. The first diagnostic step is therefore to measure the levels of these fatty acids in the body. Their ratio can be determined through a fatty acid analysis.
In the German population, fatty acid analysis reveals an omega-3 deficiency in 9 out of 10 people. The following values are measured averages (recommended ranges):
- Omega-6/3 ratio between 1:1 and 2.5:1
- Omega-3 index above 8%
- Industrial trans fat levels below 0.5%
Regulating the levels into a positive range requires a change in diet, usually accompanied by the use of an omega-3 oil as an additional supplement. Fatty acid measurement can also be used to evaluate the success of a dietary change that has been made. This step is helpful for NORSAN because this approach allows the effectiveness of an omega-3 supplement to be accurately monitored by laboratory blood values.
Did you know? NORSAN was the first company in Germany to introduce this diagnostic method.
Regulating your omega-3 index
The structure of fatty acids in the body reflects our diet. Depending on individual test results, the following may be recommended adjustments:
- Too low levels of omega-3 fatty acids – Increase consumption of fish products
- Too high levels of trans fatty acids – Reduce consumption of industrially processed foods containing trans fatty acids (“hydrogenated vegetable oils”)
- Too high levels of omega-6 arachidonic acid – Reduce consumption of meat products
When it comes to dietary adjustments, we believe this is best achieved through a balanced diet. If using a food supplement, care should be taken to ensure it is as natural as possible.
