Excellent news Warren. I received my first shipment of your new fish oil yesterday and I must say I love it! I love it because it doesn't smell badly and it hasn't even come up on me during the day, it's very gentle towards my sensitive stomach. Thanks again for a great product.

Thats great Alex...that is the result we would expect. Glad you like it.

I believe that it's better to get our vitamins and minerals from the food we eat, and not supplements. Supplements are OK for short-term use, but for long-term use is not a good idea.

There are plenty sources to get Omega-3 from.

Hi Jason,

This is an argument promoted by various dietitians but it is really an unrealistic one. Even if a person is on an ideal diet, it may still not be possible to get enough essential nutrients and how many of us actually eat a perfect diet.

You may find it interesting Jason to do some research on this matter. In the case of omega-3s (which this post is about), virtually no one gets an adequate amount of DHA from their diet alone.

Your post reminded me of an article that I wrote about seven years ago which still applies today so I am going to post it as a new article on the blog.

Yeah, you're right, but it's mostly people in the western side that lack DHA (and most other important vitamins and minerals), hence the reason we have a lot of health problems. Omega-3s fight inflammation which is becoming a big problem and will only pose more health problems.

I myself am actually going to start taking you're fish oil supplement. Why? Because you use hoki fish, and secondly, I don't want to get my source of DHA from tuna alone because it contains high mercury levels.

People should at least try foods like seaweed -- just look at the japanese. Young-looking and disease free right into old age.

If you know what's good for you, go with Life Extension Foundation. They have more at stake and have been around longer. You don't know what xtendlife put in there products; it could be a placebo or even worse toxic or contaminated. Xtendlife is derived from Life Extension. Look at the similarity between the two company and organization names. Total balance uses LEF Mix as its benchmark. Xtendlife has only one health advisor (Joanna) and developer, while Life Extension has numerous standing by over the phone to answer your questions. Life Extension also has numerous scientific and medical advisors. They even have there own magazine with the latest discoveries on health and clinical trials; something xtendlife does not have the capabilty to do. Xtendlife refuses to send me their clinical trials, saying it's confidential. Lie? Maybe they don't have any? They only has a cheap blog with very little updates from a chairman (Warren Matthews) without any true credentials. Life Extension product line is way bigger than xtendlife's too. With these discoveries I've unveiled about the two LEF organization and xtendlife company, Life Extension foundation is way more established, professional and credible. So play it smart and safe and switch lef.org if you know what's good for you. Xtendlife appears to be a bad company in disguise!

Hi Jason,

Great to hear that you are going to start using our Omega 3 oil. You will be pleased with it. As a point of interest, getting DHA from tuna is okay PROVIDED that the crude oil is processed correctly. It needs to go through a special stage prior to the normal molecular distillation and concentration process. There are only two plants in the world that can do this - most cannot.

We use one of them which totally eliminates the mercury. This is why even with the tuna component in our oil, there is no detectable mercury and why our self-imposed specifications are so much tougher than all the others.

Hello Kenneth,

It seems that you have serious chip on your shoulder and I know it is not related to us but you are trying to make Xtend-Life the brunt of your unhappiness. However, consistent with our policy of not deleting blog comments - good or bad - we are leaving your comment in place.

You have earned the dubious honor of being the sender of our first bit of ‘hate’ mail in 10 years.

I have no idea of what your motivation could be or why you are doing this. I understand that you have spent literally hours on the phone with our staff over the last few months making all sorts of unfounded accusations. Throughout all this, they still dealt with you in good grace and patience.

I agree that LEF is a good company and I have been quite open about the fact that 10 years ago, when Xtend-Life was founded, we were looking for the best supplement in the world. In our opinion, LEF mix was the best at that time. We did not copy it but rather said to our formulator Prof.Dr A Munem Daoud - one of the top bio-scientists in the world - that we wanted to develop a new formula that was better than this product. That is how Xtend-Life started. If you examine the two products you will see that they are quite different.

Anyway you have gone right over the top with your accusations and no doubt many of our customers will be upset at reading what you have said as they know it is all unfounded. We have an open door policy and we are very transparent. Any customer is welcome to visit our facilities and factory for an inspection at any time and they will see that all our products are true to label and we do not compromise on anything.

I intend blocking you from this ‘cheap’ blog Kenneth as it is intended for knowledge, not for this type of vindictive comment.

As with all people, I wish you well nonetheless and hope that life starts treating you better in the future.

Are fish-oil supplements and DHA supplements from a vegetarian source like algae (that’s where fish get their DHA from) -- these are much smaller pills and have no fish taste or smell equivalent?

Opps sorry. I meant to ask if they are nutritionally equivalent? I don't mind taking XL Omega 3 supplements, but my 3 yr old can't swallow pills yet.

Hi Thuy,

Actually the fish oil is more complete than the DHA derived from algae. Some of the fractions of the fish oil we use are not present in the algae product. By the way, we will soon be bringing out a children’s version which will have half-sized soft gels at 500mgs instead of the 1000mgs, so that will hopefully solve the problem for younger children.

Hello Warren,
Are you familiar with Omega XL based in Fort Lauderdale,Fl.? If so, how does your product compare in ingredients etc? Omega XL is quite pricey at $49.95 but I was able to find it for less through a few distributors who sold it as low as $32. That has changed as the company has done away with its distributorship program in an attempt for price control and now offers an affiliate program with new rules and expectations. That is why I have been moved to search the web and came across your site. If your product will do what Omega XL has done for me at a fraction of the cost I will be one very happy customer to say the least!

Hi Trish,

Sorry for the delay. I was on a flight back to NZ on Friday and spilt a glass of wine over my laptop totally destroying it. That combined with being away for almost 5 weeks has put me behind.

Omega XL is actually a greenlipped mussel oil from New Zealand. We are trying to find out what they have in each soft gel so I can give you an informed answer. They don't give that info on their website.

One of my staff has emailed them asking for a breakdown but as yet no reply. Do you happen to know what each of their soft gels contain? I would really like to be able to answer this as I think that they are very much overpriced.

Hi Warren,

I have been taking the fish oil supplement.

I was pleasantly surprised because I am allergic to fish, but this doesn't react with me too badly. I still get a stuffed up nose, but I can live with that.

I'm assuming that no combination of hemp /avocado / olive oil could mirror the benefits of fish oil.

Hi Marcus,

The problem with the oils from plant source is that they do not contain the long chained fatty acids. DHA and EPA.

Whereas the body can produce the short chained essential fatty acids from the long chained one it is very difficult to do the reverse.

So, your assumption is correct.

Hi Warren,
When I wrote you earlier I had ordered your Omega-3 and was wondering how it might compare to Omega XL. After further research on your site I found the GLM- Omega 3 and realized that it was the one I should have ordered. Your staff was so pleasant and easily changed the order for me as it had not yet shipped. As far as knowing the other ingredients in each soft get of the Omega XL I don't know any more than you do. The label on the bottle does not give a full breakdown. I have received the GLM and am giving it a try. I appreciate your previous response and would love to know if you are able to find out the ingredients. By the way, I was so sorry to hear about your mishap on the plane. Bummer!!! Hope things are getting back to normal for you. Thanks much, Trish

Hi Trish,

Yes, I am getting back on top of things thanks.

We have written twice to Omega XL to find out how much mussel oil is in their product. The first one was two weeks ago and although we received an automated reply there has not been any follow up.

Good to hear that you have the GLM product. Actually you will be receiving an email today as will our other customers of GLM advising that we are discontinuing this product because we have developed something better. I am sorry that your timing was a little early. It is always awkward then phasing out one product and introducing a new one. If we announce it early and then we have delays it can cause quite a few flow on problems. I hope that you understand.

The new product is a greenlipped mussel powder that has some rather unique benefits which the previous powders lost in processing. We have prepared a detailed 'guide' which explains how and why it works and that will be posted on the website later today.

Because it does not incorporate the Omega3 within it like the previous GLM Omega 3 we are going to be supplying all customers with a free bottle of the new Omega 3 when they place there next order for the GLM so they can phase the new combination in better.

This may all seem a bit confusing but the email that you will get later today will clarify everything as will the 'guide'. Please get back to me if anything is not clear.

I will post the details on the Omega XL when we get it.

I will also do an article on the new product within the next couple of days.