Posted by Larry Hoover on April 9, 2003, at 12:12:57
In reply to Re: Fish Oil question, posted by noa on April 8, 2003, at 21:58:10
> Ritch, I did check the label. Each teaspoonful of the Carlson's fish oil has 4 gms of fat: 2 gms of polyunsaturated (1600 mg. of which are Omega-3's), 1 gm of saturated, and 1 gm of monounsaturated.
>
> My guess is that the saturated and monounsaturated may solidify somewhat in colder temperatures. I think olive oil is a monounsaturated and I know olive oil gels in the fridge.
>
> I am also going to guess that if they solidify, the liquid becomes a suspension, and the solids gravitate to the bottom, at least somewhat. And, that as the amount of fish oil in the bottle lessens, we are seeing more of the solids.
>
> If this is correct, I would assume that shaking the bottle is a good solution (no pun intended!) to the problem.
>
> Or, is it possible also that if we wanted to we could separate out the gelled parts from the parts that remain liquid, and that these would be higher in concentration of Omega-3's? Hmmm...
>
> I certainly am no chemist, so I would love to hear from the more scientifically-minded posters on board whether my guesses are reasonable or not.Your explanation is probably correct. You're observing a physical process, not a chemical one. The properties of the different triglycerides in the bottle are not identical. In the cold of the fridge, some condense more readily than others. When condensed, they're denser, and gravity will separate them out. Yes, you're decanting the "better" triglycerides first.
The sound of hissing air on opening the bottle may be due to a chemical process, i.e. the oxidation of the polyunsaturated fatty acids. The gas phase will lose oxygen, reducing the pressure inside the bottle. You may want to add some vitamin E (just dump a couple gelcaps worth into the bottle). The vitamin E will get nailed first, helping to protect the fish oils.\
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:216908
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030407/msgs/217816.html