Why you need to stop taking fish oil from the supermarket.

You’ve likely heard about how fish oil can have a number of benefits to your health - maybe in reference to supporting ‘heart health’ or ‘reducing inflammation.’ Maybe you’ve heard it’s good for you and started taking one from the supermarket only to find no real difference except for fishy burps sometimes (it’s a no from me).

While fish oil (or omega 3s) are one of the most well studied supplements, it’s important to understand that not all are created equal. Allow me to explain.

Why take fish oil?

Fish oil contains ‘essential fatty acids’ such as omega 3 which are hugely beneficial to our health. Whenever the term ‘essential’ is used referring to a nutrient it means that the body cannot produce this from other things and we need to get it through the food we eat.

Omega 3 fatty acids have been well studied and found to have a variety of health benefits and roles in the body, including:

• Immune health

• Cardiovascular health (including cholesterol and blood pressure)

• Fetal development

• Cognitive function & mental health

• Joint support

Omega 6 is another essential fatty acid, however we typically get more than enough of this through food. Omega 6 is pro-inflammatory by nature, while omega 3 is anti-inflammatory. We need both, ideally in a 1:1 ratio. However in a typical Western diet, we often get far too much omega 6 in relation to omega 3, sometimes closer to 20:1.

Having a lower omega 6 to omega 3 ratio has been associated with a reduced risk of developing many chronic diseases.

Can you get enough omega 3 from diet alone?

Oily fish (salmon, tuna, sardines etc) are the best source of omega 3s in the diet. There are some plant-based sources including chia seeds, flaxseeds and walnuts, but the omega 3 in plant-based sources is significantly less bioavailable (usable by the body) than the type of omega 3 found in fish.

It’s generally recommended to consume oily fish about 3 times per week. In my experience working 1:1 with clients, very few people would be hitting this target. Many of us also consume far more omega 6 - contained in vegetable oils, cereals, soy, almonds and many other foods.

If increasing your intake of oily fish is not high on your priority list, then adding in a fish oil supplement might be the way to go.

Why are not all fish oil supplements created equal?

There are a few things to consider when it comes to selecting a fish oil supplement:

1. What is the quantity of EPA & DHA? These are the two omega 3 fatty acids which have the most clinical research behind them (they have big long names which I won’t bore you with but they are always labelled as EPA & DHA). Basically we need more DHA as infants and children - this helps more with brain development and eye health. We need more EPA as adults and this has a lot of benefits for the heart and most other areas of health.

   
   When looking at a fish oil supplement, lower quality brands often make their supplement appear more “high strength” by listing the total mg of fish oil, eg 1500mg - this means nothing without looking at the amount of EPA & DHA.
   
   To give you some context, let’s compare a common fish oil brand you can find in supermarkets with one I would typically prescribe to clients…
   
   ’High-strength’ supermarket Fish Oil:
   Total fish oil = 1500mg
   
   Practitioner-only Fish Oil:
   Total fish oil = 1280mg
   
   When looking only at the total amount of fish oil, the supermarket one appears higher strength and “superior” right?
   But now let’s look at the breakdown:
   
   ’High-strength’ supermarket Fish Oil:
   Total fish oil = 1500mg
   EPA = 270mg
   DHA = 180mg
   Total omega 3s = 450mg
   
   Practitioner-only Fish Oil:
   Total fish oil = 1280mg
   EPA = 650mg
   DHA = 450mg
   Other omega 3s = 180mg
   Total omega 3s = 1280mg !!
   
   I remember when I first learnt about this when I was working in a health store and it totally blew my mind!!
   
   I hear what you’re saying: could I just take more of my supermarket fish oil to get the same amount of EPA & DHA?
   I wouldn’t recommend it and here’s why:
   

2. Has the fish oil been purified of heavy metals, other potential contaminants and things your body doesn’t need? As you can see in the practitioner-only fish oil the total amount of fish oil is also the total amount of omega 3’s. Going through this process of extracting everything which is not needed and purifying the fish oil is expensive, hence why many brands don’t do this. This is why there is also a huge difference in the quality of fish oils available on the market.
   

3. Does it have a fishy aftertaste? This is a classic sign of a low-grade fish oil. A good quality fish oil should have no fishy smell and no aftertaste. The brand which I recommend processes their fish very quickly to ensure that it is fresh and the oil does not go rancid.

I hope this has been insightful! Reviewing your supplements can be one of the best investments for your health. It’s so important that what you’re taking is actually going to have a benefit to your health and not just cost you money or worse, do you harm.

If you’d like individualised guidance on what’s right for you, book in for a supplement review here. If you’d like to know if a supplement review is right for you, please always feel free to message me on socials or flick me an email. If I can’t help you, I’m always happy to refer you to someone who can.

References:

Simopoulos AP. The importance of the ratio of omega-6/omega-3 essential fatty acids. Biomed Pharmacother. 2002 Oct;56(8):365-79. doi: 10.1016/s0753-3322(02)00253-6. PMID: 12442909.

Swanson D, Block R, Mousa SA. Omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA: health benefits throughout life. Adv Nutr. 2012 Jan;3(1):1-7. doi: 10.3945/an.111.000893. Epub 2012 Jan 5. PMID: 22332096; PMCID: PMC3262608.