What Should You Look for in an Omega-3 Supplement?

Q. As a big fan of your Ultimate Omega-3 book and I'm wondering what your thoughts are about a fish oil supplement that I recently purchased, which consist of 100% Norwegian fish oils. Two capsules contain 1600 milligrams of omega-3s: (700 mg of DHA, 700 mg of EPA, & 200 of other omega-3s).

A. Here's my bottom line on fish oil/omega-3 supplements: Aim to get the right dose for the best price. Here's the caveat-the supplement needs to be one you tolerate. For kids, that might mean choosing a more expensive supplement, if it's one they will take, such as the Coromega, which is a kid-friendly pudding-like supplement (I do not consult for, nor profit, from this company).

Your new supplement contains a nice dose of the key omega-3s (700 milligrams each of DHA and EPA, for a total of 1400 milligrams of these long chain omega-3 fatty acids). To put the dose into perspective, consider the following:

For healthy people, International guidelines [1] recommend aiming for at least 650 milligrams a day, from a combination of EPA + DHA. If you have heart disease, the American Heart Association recommends [2] getting at least 1000 milligrams/day. And the American Psychiatric Association recommends [3] at least 1000 milligrams/day if you have a mood or impulse disorder.

Lastly, I created a cost analysis of some popular fish oil supplements, and turned it into this interactive widget, which allows you to sort the columns. I chose 800 milligrams as the comparison dose, because it's about what you get in one prescription capsule of Lovaza. Here's the link:

http://ow.ly/kc7M

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