How Much Omega 3 Fish Oil Should You Take?
How much Omega 3 you should take is a question we are regularly asked. My response is often the same:
“That depends!”
Our needs differ by degree, not kind
We know that omega-3 fatty acids are essential for all. Whether an Olympic athlete or a retired pensioner, our bodies need omega-3 to function optimally and they can only be obtained through our diet.
How much Omega 3 you take depends entirely on a number of things:
What you eat - particularly how much fish you consume
The quality of the omega-3 fish oil supplement you are taking
Your activity level
How Much Fish Do You Eat?
I’ve always been an advocate of a ‘food first’ approach when it comes to nutrition. If you’re eating plenty of fish - particularly oily fish like sardines and anchovies - then you might already be getting enough omega-3 in your diet.
That being said, the quality of food has taken a nosedive over the last few decades. With fish like salmon increasingly sourced from farms, the nutrient values aren’t anywhere near the levels found in wild-caught fish so is your body really getting what it needs?
Personally, I don’t eat anywhere near enough fish - a chippy tea on a Friday is hardly optimal nutrition to boost those omega-3 levels - so including a high-quality fish oil supplement gives a much needed boost to my micronutrition and keeps me feeling in top shape.
How Good Is Your Fish Oil Supplement?
There are a few things to think about so grab what’s in your cupboard/fridge and let’s take a look at how good your current supplement choice is.
Smell/Taste
Before we look at numbers, how does your supplement smell/taste?
Do you have to hold your nose when you take it?
Do those capsules repeat on you for the rest of the morning?
If the answer to either of those is yes, you probably want to find an alternative.
Think of it this way, if you’re cooking fish and it’s smelly, you’re not cooking a good piece of fish. The same can be said for your omega-3 fish oil supplement.
If it smells/tastes bad, the quality is low and it’s getting worse by the day as it quickly oxidises and degrades in quality.
EPA & DHA
The two polyunsaturated fatty acids that are important to any omega-3 fish oil supplement are eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
EPA & DHA are backed by thousands of studies showing benefits to short and long term health including brain, eye & heart health, lowering blood pressure, reducing pain & inflammation and improving mood & mental health.
It’s widely regarded that the minimum effective dose for an adult is 2000mg of EPA and DHA combined.
How does your supplement compare?
From experience, most omega-3 brands recommend taking 1-2 capsules per day.
How many would you need to take to reach the suggested minimum of 2000mg?
Remember that you’re looking for the EPA & DHA total, not the overall dose.
A lot of supplements will show the overall dose - for example 2000mg - but it might be that the EPA and DHA only make up half of this, or less.
What’s the rest then?
This depends on the supplement but it will be a combination of other omega-3, 6 & 9 fatty acids - the ones that aren’t active or effective when it comes to taking and omega-3 supplement.
How Active Are You?
We created omega3zone for athletes and people engaging in a physical and active lifestyle.
EPA is widely regarded for its anti-inflammatory benefits and is why we have included a high percentage of it in our omega-3 liquid.
We found that supplementing with a high-quality omega-3 fish oil improved our recovery from exercise and enabled us to train harder, more regularly.
And we’re not just talking about high-intensity sports like Crossfit or strength-focused sports like Olympic or powerlifting. Endurance sports create a high amount of inflammation in our bodies and omega-3 should be an essential supplement in any distance runner, swimmer, or triathlete’s nutritional program.
DHA is important too - particularly for brain and eye health - so we’ve included a strong level to ensure these areas of your health are covered too.
So, How Much OMEGA 3 Should YOU Take?
This very much depends on who you are, what you do, and what your diet looks like.
Omega3zone liquid fish oil has the highest dose of EPA & DHA at 4200mg in a 15ml serving.
We have included some values on our bottle box to help guide your decision but if you’re in doubt, speak to a nutritionist or dietician to get specific advice for you.
Many of our customers found themselves taking more and more capsules of their usual supplement in order to take an effective dose and were searching for a better solution.
This Is Why We Created Omega3zone
Omega3zone liquid fish oil can easily be tailored to your exact needs.
No more working out how many capsules you need to achieve an effective dose.
No more foul-smelling and bad-tasting oil to ruin the rest of your day with fishy burps!
I hope that this helps you decide how much Omega 3 is right for you. You can always play around with the dose to see what feels effective and where you get the best results.