The 11 Best Fish Oil Supplements
Contents
The supplement world can be a tricky place to navigate. You want to do the right thing for your health, but who can you trust?
The fact is that many omega3 supplements don’t contain the ingredients they say they do, and nowhere is the playing field more murky than with fish oil.
Fish oil is one of those “run of the mill” supplements that even doctors recommend for their patients. Millions of Americans take it, and in some cases, this improves their health, however, not all fish oil is created equal. In fact, some large brands sell jars of fish oil that would be labeled as harmful if the true ingredients were known to consumers.
See also: Why fish oil supplement benefits may hinge on genetics
How common are fish oil impurities?
Consider these statistics:
Over 70% of fish oil supplements do not contain the levels of EPA or DHA stated on the label.1
This study found that a quarter of omega-3 fish oil supplements tested had high levels of oxidized (harmful) lipids.2
High levels of oxidized lipids, an indication of lipid decomposition, were found in over 80% of more than 35 fish oil supplements from New Zealand, with only 8% meeting international standards.3 50% of Canadian fish oil contains oxidized lipids.4
This study found that omega-3 fish oil products from three of the largest fish oil brands in the US were full of oxidized lipids, toxins and saturated fats. Yes, saturated fats in fish oil!
Suffice to say, oxidized lipids are not a good thing. Rather than protecting heart health, as fish oil supplements are supposed to do, they can do damage:
oxidized lipids have demonstrated negative effects on atherogenic lipids and other biomarkers of cardiovascular disease and may be predictive of clinical events in patients with cardiovascular risk or disease.
Bottom line: the fish oil industry has a big problem. There are serious impurities in many of the top selling brands on the market.
If you’re still set on supplementing with fish oil, the rest of this post will be devoted to strategies you and your family can use to ensure that your fish oil supplement is good quality.
What to look for in a good fish oil product
These are the four most important factors in choosing a good fish oil.
Purity
Look for oils that are either EuroFins- or IFOS-compliant. These European labs operate under standards much higher than even the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), testing for a number of additional contaminants ensuring your fish oil is of the highest quality. The easiest way to verify the purity of your fish oil is to ask the manufacturer for a Certificate of Analysis (COA) for your specific batch. Any legitimate manufacturer should be able to provide a batch-specific COA. This will tell you the exact content of not only EPA and DHA (the good stuff) as well as levels of oxidation (Peroxide Value), heavy metals, and any potential bad bugs (E.coli, staph, salmonella, yeast, and mold).
Freshness
The easiest way (not always the most pleasant) to determine the freshness of your oil is a simple “bite test.” A high-quality, fresh oil will be relatively free of any fishy tastes or smells. The oil should also be relatively translucent, free of any cloudiness or “floaters.”
Form
There are currently four (4) primary forms of omega-3s available in supplemental delivery. This is a source of a lot of confusion for consumers looking for the most bioavailable omega-3 oil. Omega-3s occur naturally in the triglyceride form so it would make sense to supplement in this form as well and the nutritional sciences suggest just that. There is a cheaper, faster manufacturing process that yields what is called an ethyl ester (EE). This semi-synthetic form of omega-3s contains an ethanol backbone that have shown difficulties in both absorption and bioavailability (how well it is incorporated into cell membranes). A large majority of fish oil is in the EE form. Products that contain the triglyceride form will list this somewhere on the bottle while an ethyl ester might be listed as something along the lines of “marine oil concentrate.” Other forms include phospholipids (sub-therapeutically dosed capsules) and monoglycerides (expensive, lack human clinical data). These last (2) forms are driven more heavily by marketing then they are actual science, further contributing to the confusion.
Potency
Lastly, check to see the actual content of EPA and DHA, the therapeutic components of omega-3 fatty acids. Many companies will attempt to deceive consumers by boosting amount of omega-3s but when you look at the supplement facts box you find a fairly low content of EPA and DHA. Ideally, a product should contain close to a gram of a balanced mix of EPA and DHA. Therapeutic ranges fall anywhere between 1 and 6 grams per day depending on clinical conditions. For compliance reasons, the fewer capsules someone has to take the more likely they are to stay complaint and reap the well documented benefits of fish oil supplementation.
Finding the best omega 3 supplement: Fish oil reviews
Amber, our resident food and supplement tester of vegan egg fame, took the reins for these tests.
OK, so our interview gave us some criteria to use in separating the fish oil wheat from the fish oil chaff. We know you’re busy, so we went ahead and evaluated some of the top brands on Amazon and gave our analysis in the notes that follow.
Fish oil brand comparison
| Brand | Product link | Gene Food rating | IFOS status | EPA/DHA | Form | Freshness | Quantity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rosita Cod Liver Oil | View on Amazon | A+ | No IFOS rating; third party testing done here | 443 mg EPA, 605 mg DHA | Triglyceride | Fresh, reminiscent of good quality salmon roe | 5 fl oz. |
| Nordic Naturals ProOmega-D | View on Amazon | A | No IFOS rating; not on labdoor | 650 mg EPA, 450 mg DHA, 180 mg other Omega-3s | Triglyceride | Fresh, bright flavor | 180 softgels |
| Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega | View on Amazon | A | No IFOS rating; similar Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega product received 73.8/100 Labdoor score | 650 mg EPA, 450 mg DHA, 180 mg other Omega-3s | Triglyceride | Clear lemon flavor, no distinct smell | 180 softgels |
| Nordic Naturals Omega Curcumin | View on Amazon | A- | No IFOS rating; not on Labdoor | 490 mg EPA, 350 mg DHA, 160 mg other Omega-3s | Triglyceride | Bright and lemony flavor, can see the curcumin when opening a capsule, no smell | 60 softgels |
| Carlson the Very Finest Fish Oil | View on Amazon | B+ | 5/5 star IFOS rating; 60.9/100 Labdoor score | 360 mg EPA, 240 mg DHA | Triglyceride | Capsule coating has a sugary taste, bite test led to no fishy taste or smell, mostly lemon, clear liquid | 240 softgels |
| Orthomega 820 Capsules | View on Amazon | B+ | No IFOS rating; not on Labdoor | 430 mg EPA, 390 mg DHA | Triglyceride | Not cloudy, OK smell, relatively pleasant taste that's more lemon than fish | 60 softgels |
| Dr. Tobias Triple-Strength Omega 3 Fish Oil | View on Amazon | B | No IFOS rating; 71.9/100 Labdoor score | 400 mg EPA, 300 mg DHA | Not indicated | Not cloudy, but definitely tastes like fish using the bite test, and a little bit fish smell | 180 softgels |
| Nordic Naturals Omega-3 | View on Amazon | B | No IFOS rating; not on Labdoor | 745 mg EPA, 500 mg DHA | Triglyceride | Clear, easy taste, somewhat like olive oil with lemon and rosemary accents, no smell | 8 fl oz. (48 teaspoons) |
| NOW Ultra Omega-3 | View on Amazon | B- | No IFOS rating; 72.7/100 Labdoor score | 500 mg EPA, 250 mg DHA | EE (listed as fish oil concentrate) | Slightly cloudy, mostly tasted fresh but might have been masked by the addition of Vitamin E | 180 softgels |
| Kirkland Signature Fish Oil | View on Amazon | C- | No IFOS rating; 59.3/100 Labdoor score | 250 mg total (does not list EPA and DHA separately) | Not indicated | A bit of a fishy taste here, but clear liquid | 400 softgels |
| Nature Made Burp-less Fish Oil | View on Amazon | D | No IFOS rating; 61.1/100 Labdoor score | 250 mg total (does not list EPA and DHA separately) | EE (listed as fish oil concentrate) | Not cloudy, but some fishy taste and smell | 150 softgels |
#1. Rosita Cod Liver Oil
This is a new addition for us that has been making the rounds on many integrative health blogs, and after a taste test, I can see why it’s becoming so popular. The taste is the freshest I have encountered. The flavor profile on this is reminiscent of a good quality salmon roe at a high end sushi restaurant, you can taste and smell the purity. The Rosita product (View on Amazon) also offers a natural source of Vitamin D and K, which is great for someone like me whose VDR genes don’t allow for high doses of vitamin D in supplement form. Then, you have the fact that the product comes available in liquid rather than capsule form, which allows for controlled dosing. I’m not always a fish oil guy, but when I do take it, I find I do best with smaller, staggered doses. I don’t necessarily want the full dose offered in the capsule products.
1 tablespoon of the Rosita product gives 605mg of DHA and 443mg of EPA.
The fish is sourced from wild caught fish off the coast of Norway. They have an entire page on their website devoted to testing and transparency and the results are impressive.
Gene Food Rating: A+
#2. Nordic Naturals ProOmega-D
This product came on our radar after doing research on the cognitive benefits of fish oil, specifically in those who have suffered from traumatic brain injury. The EPA/DHA content, as well as overall Omega 3 amounts, mirror the Ultimate Omega product, which we also love, however, the ProOmega-D (View on Amazon) has been used in clinical settings to treat patients with brain injury. ProOmega-D is considered the “professional version” of Ultimate Omega. You can read the case study of the patient who used ProOmega-D to aid recovery after a serious head injury here. As with all Nordic Naturals products, ProOmega verifies potency, freshness, and purity with a certificate of analysis for each batch and bottle of its fish oil products.
Gene Food Rating: A
#3. Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega
The Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega (View on Amazon) fish oil product has one of the highest amounts of EPA/DHA per serving of all products reviewed, which is a big plus. But one of the best things Nordic Naturals has going for it — and why it ranks so high in a few spots on this list — are its Certificates of Analysis being made so easily available. Nordic Naturals offers Certificates of Analysis for all its omega-3 products, verifying potency, purity, freshness, non-GMO, sustainability, and no radionuclide activity. We have an example below of how to find your lot number on a Nordic Naturals bottle (right by the expiration date), as well as what a typical Certificate of Analysis looks like.
Once you’ve got your lot number, head to Nordic Naturals’ website to enter and obtain your Certificate of Analysis for that batch. You should expect your lot number to contain its bottling date/expiration date on a Certificate of Analysis and amounts of environmental toxins, heavy metals, and oxidation that are lower than standard. This example is from another Nordic Naturals product, which we review directly after this one.
Gene Food rating: A
As open about its purity and potency as Nordic Naturals seems to be, we would love for them to be IFOS-certified. While none of the Nordic Naturals fish oil products we reviewed are on Labdoor, the following omega-3 products from the company received excellent or good scores there: Nordic Naturals Algae Omega (vegan, 97.9/100 Labdoor score) (View on Amazon), Nordic Naturals Prenatal DHA (74.5) (View on Amazon), and Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega D-3 (73.8) (View on Amazon).
#4. Nordic Naturals Omega Curcumin
Omega Curcumin (View on Amazon) is a fish oil blend that adds curcumin, N-acetyl-cysteine, and glutathione to the usual Nordic Naturals formula. If you’re looking for an added anti-inflammatory benefit from your omega-3 supplement, this is a good choice to consider. Both glutathione and curcumin are difficult to absorb due to low bioavailability, which is why you often see them added to liposomal preparations. The problem with these liposomal products is they encase the nutrients in what are often unhealthy fats that are high in omega-6 fatty acids. By encasing glutathione and curcumin in omega-3 fats, bioavailability is increased without the need to use cheaper phospholipids that can raise TMAO and other inflammatory markers.
Gene Food rating: A-
The doses of all additional ingredients are well balanced. The 400 mg of curcumin is a good therapeutic dose, while the 150 mg of glutathione and 200 mg of NAC are good starter doses for most people. Our particular lot number was bottled in October 2017 with an October 2019 expiration date, with amounts of environmental toxins, heavy metals, and oxidation that were lower than standard. We would, however, love for Nordic Naturals products to be IFOS-certified. While this Nordic Naturals fish oil (and the other one mentioned in this post) aren’t on Labdoor, other Nordic Naturals fish oils received decent scores there.
#5. Carlson the “Very Finest” Fish Oil
The Carlson brand of fish oil (View on Amazon) instructs its users to take two soft gels that total 700 mg when taken together at mealtime. Carlson boasts a special concentrate of Norwegian fish body oils from deep, cold-water fish (anchovy, sardine, and mackerel), with purity guaranteed by an independent FDA-registered lab.
Gene Food rating: B+
We really like the 5-star IFOS rating, plus the clearly labeled triglyceride form (not many brands disclose the form of their fish oil on nutrition labels). The capsule itself is the only one with an actual taste on the outside — sweet, most likely from the glycerin — which can be a little off-putting for some, but probably helpful if you’re knocking back five of these a day. We’re only giving this one a slightly lower rating because its Labdoor score is middle-of-the-pack.
#6. Orthomega 820 Capsules
Orthomega (View on Amazon) has the highest concentration of EPA and DHA per softgel (and is the most expensive at nearly $1 each pill), yet the recommended serving is just one softgel per day. If you went with the Dr. Tobias brand, you’re looking at a similar amount of EPA/DHA per softgel, but double the amount ingested daily if you follow Dr. Tobias’ recommendations. Orthomega also just uses anchovy for its fish oil while all other brands have some combination of fish; it also contains rosemary extract in its antioxidant blend.
Gene Food rating: B+
This one is pretty pricey, but has a good taste and a nice amount of EPA/DHA. Still, we’d like to see an IFOS/Labdoor review.
#7. Dr. Tobias Triple-Strength Omega 3 Fish Oil
Dr. Tobias’ Triple-Strength (View on Amazon) brand of fish oil is a best-seller, containing herring, anchovy, sardine, salmon, and mackerel (in addition to soy — good to know if you’re allergic or have sensitivities). Suggested serving is two 1,000-mg softgels taken daily with meals. Tested and certified by a third-party lab and purified with molecular distillation, this fish oil contains 800 mg EPA and 600 mg DHA per two-softgel serving.
Gene Food rating: B
We like the idea of triple-strength and the value of a pretty good fish oil concentration of EPA/DHA for your buck. It also ranks a bit higher than other brands on Labdoor.
#8. Nordic Naturals Omega-3
This was the only brand tested that wasn’t a softgel. Instead, you’ll take one cold, refrigerated teaspoon daily (1,560 mg) with food, if you dare. Luckily, it’s easier than expected, and Nordic Naturals (View on Amazon) delivers a whopping 745 mg EPA and 500 mg DHA per single teaspoon of purified deep sea fish oil from anchovies and sardines. Certificates of Analysis also are available upon request.
Gene Food rating: B
This was our favorite, in terms of taste and ease of use, in addition to the amount of EPA/DHA per serving, was a winner. However, for those concerned about saturated fat, the liquid form of this Nordic Naturals product contains 8% of your daily recommended amount of saturated fat (whereas other fish oil brands contain between 1%-3%, typically).
#9. NOW Ultra Omega 3 Fish Oil
The nice thing about NOW Ultra Omega 3 (View on Amazon) is you only need to take one softgel per day (but can take two). It also has one of the higher amounts of EPA in this list, but on the low end of DHA. This brand also uses the lower-quality form of fish oil as concentrate rather than triglyceride. Its biggest benefit is the highest Labdoor score of all the fish oil brands we included in our taste test.
Gene Food rating: B-
We like that NOW Foods is a family owned company and were impressed by the Labdoor score, but like many other brands here, hoped for an IFOS-compliant product. We also prefer triglyceride form of fish oil over the cheaper EE, any day of the week.
#10. Kirkland Signature Fish Oil
Kirkland Signature (View on Amazon) is a big brand you’ll find at Costco, and if you’re a regular fish oil customer, you may lean toward this brand based on quantity vs. cost — just 6 cents a day for this supplement. Instructions are to take 1 softgel (containing mackerel, anchovy, menhaden, herring, and sardine) two times daily, in which you’ll get about 500 mg of EPA/DHA total per day. The problem is, Kirkland does not offer a distinction of EPA or DHA amounts on its nutrition label.
Gene Food rating: C-
The low price tag on this one is a convincing argument, but it has the lowest Labdoor score of all brands tested and no IFOS rating, in addition to lower levels of EPA/DHA than some competitors.
#11. Nature Made Burp-less Fish Oil
Nature Made (View on Amazon) is one of the more popular commercial brands of supplements. Their Burp-less Fish Oil contains anchovy and sardine, with a suggested serving size of two softgels daily with meals. The oil’s country of origin is Peru, but it is encapsulated and quality tested in the U.S. Like Kirkland, Nature Made does not offer a distinction between EPA and DHA levels in its product.
Gene Food rating: D
We’re not a huge fan of the taste, nor the form (EE) of this fish oil. It’s on the lower end of Labdoor scores, as well, and has no IFOS rating, plus low EPA/DHA concentration.
Fish Oil Quality FAQ
What better way to understand the ins and outs of the fish oil world than to interview an insider. To get the inside scoop on what to look for in a fish oil supplement, I interviewed a friend who works at a high end supplement manufacturer. My intention here is to give you the real deal as to how “the sausage is made,” and then some actionable tips for finding a good brand.
I think we could see some marketing pushes for different technologies focused on bioavailability of omega-3s. Something that has made an impact in the medical world over the last year, I’ll reserve my comments on its clinical relevance, are Omega 3s in the monoglyceride form. While there has been no published data on the raw material, the idea is that these “predigested” fats are better absorbed than the more common ethyl ester, thus similar benefits can be expected with less oil. We could also see some of self-emulsifying technologies you would generally see utilized in lipophilic pharmaceuticals applied to your fish oil products. In my opinion, until we see these technologies backed up by good studies, consumers would be best served being directed towards a high quality oil in the re-esterified triglyceride form (like we list below).
A large majority of fish oil used to create marine-derived omega-3s come from small, fatty fishes like: sardines, mackerel and anchovies. Other sources include: tuna, cod, salmon, herring among a few others.
This can vary greatly from brand to brand. While actual “catch to capsule” timeframes are difficult to track down, it is speculated that the industry average is 2-3 years. That would mean, a large majority of the fish oil products sitting on the retail shelves contain the oil from fish were harvested in 2014-15.
That is difficult to say … being that the fish oil industry has now been going strong for several decades, many of the quality control issues that once existed such as heavy metal contamination, toxins (pesticides) and oxidation are rare today. There are several organizations, like The Global Organization for EPA and DHA (GOED) and The Council of Responsible Nutrition (CRN), that have developed standards for fish oil products that set specific limits for heavy metals, a wide variety of pollutants and oxidation limits. With that being said, there have absolutely been instances of unacceptable levels of these contaminates being found in products in the retail setting. Note: When I clicked through to the GOED website, most of the links to members were broken, and General Mills was listed as a member, so caveat emptor.
This is probably one of the most misunderstood steps in the manufacturing process. The idea that heat used in the distillation process oxidizes the oil is completely unfounded. The “crude” fish oil goes through a careful multistep molecular distillation and filtration process where the crude oil is refined down to an omega-3 concentrate free of heavy metals and contaminants. During the molecular distillation the oil is exposed to low heat in a vacuum setting, no oxygen is present during this step that could potentially lead to oxidization of the oil. This necessary step removes many of the undesirable free fatty acids and contaminates present and concentrates the oil down to the desired EPA and DHA content.
Krill oil delivers EPA and DHA in the phospholipid form. Based on this, companies have made and continue to make the “superior bioavailability” claim while having no long term data to back up those claims. The studies leveraged by these companies are generally poorly designed, utilize different dosages, do not specify forms, wrong outcome measures, single dose, etc. The only study, that I know of, that compared equal dosages of EPA/DHA as Krill oil and Fish Oil (TG form) found nearly identical increases in Red Blood Cell concentrations over a (28) day period. While the studied dose (1.3 g) can easily be obtained in (2) fish oil capsules, it would take more than (18) OmegaRed krill oil capsules to reach the dose. As it currently stands, krill oil is simply not an economical way to get your EPA/DHA.
Key takeaways on the best fish oil
As you could have guessed by combing through the impurity stats we cited at the outset, there is a wide disparity in the quality of fish oil products on the market today. Most are garbage. If you’re planning on including fish oil in your supplement regimen, it is crucially important to do your homework so you know exactly what you’re getting. Many popular brands do more harm than good. Hopefully this review and “taste test” will help you find a good quality omega-3 supplement.
I use Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega and it clearly states it is FOS certified as well.
I was looking for information regarding the re-esterfied triglycerides form. Your thoughts?
Great write-up, I am regular visitor of one’s web site, maintain up the excellent operate, and It’s going to be a regular visitor for a lengthy time.
Are you familiar with Pure Encapsulations and CO2 extraction?
Also, are you familiar with maltodextrin?
I live in Norway. 45% of us take cod liver oil every day. We also eat a lot of fat fish, but we can be better at both. Very few of us have a biondex above 8%, but many have 4-6%.
I have tested my omega-6:omega-3-ratio twice the past 12 months. Got it down from 3.2:1 to 2.0:1 (and the bioindex went up 9.2 to 11.88%) 🙂
I know about the blood coagulation issue for ratio below 1:1/0.5:1, but I don’t think I will get the ratio so low. I will test yearly, and be aware of nosebleeds..
I eat all kind of foods, but have reduced the intake of omega-6 about 95% the past year (basically vegetable oils). Make almost everything from scratch, using mostly unprocessed fresh/frozen food.
I have in the same period been eating ca 5-10(!) gram EPA/DHA every day, usually 65 gram mackerel (in tomato sauce) and 25 ml cod liver oil, plus some other fat seafood. A capsule or two are far from enough if you want your O6:O3-ratio below 4:1, which really protect you from arthritis, alergies, Altzheimer, depression and som cancers. The oil i drink is Møllers Tran (“Moellers Tran”). It is rinsed. Only traceable amounts of pollutants. (<2.5 % of allowed EU-amounts)
I have always been eating all kind of seafoods, and I still do, but 80-90% of my meals now are meat. Very little vegetables. A lot of butter and animal fat, and hardly any other fats.
I also take 12 gram of hydrolyzed collagen and 20 grams of inulin every day, a "full" multivitamin, 5.000 IU vitamin D3, 2×500 mg vitamin C an 2×100 mg Q10. 0.5-1 liter “chai” (black and green tea + a lot of spices (homemade consentrate)), lots of full cream, some butter, and stevia with vanilla )
I also make concentrated bone broth from 50 kg catle bones every year (simmered for 2-3 days, and then reduced 80%).
What brand/type of cod liver oil do you take? I’m vegetarian and so I don’t eat fish but I have no problem with taking cod liver oil given its health benefits. Thanks.
He takes Moellers Tran – you can find it on eBay and even Walmart online.
GET A LIFE!!!
Your website doesn’t help anybody I’ve read different website endorsing different fish oil brands where they documented analysis etc etc this is just another BS website giving out misinformation.
This article is a very good overview of the many factors involved to educate/ eliminate confusion in evaluating a good fish oil to buy, I appreciate that SO MUCH.
Peter C, if you are not BS-ing, yourself, tell us exactly what is “misinformation” as you claim.
You are confusing your opinion with reality, and confusing endorser/paid websites with (I believe) an independent one. kinda sloppy, waste of space. This article helps a lot of people and is NOT BS, though it doesn’t list nearly as many brands as I would like. And as far as I can tell, this website is not endorsing/ being paid by brands as some websites are, though I could be mistaken: he DOES list a lot of Nordic Naturals. But then he evaluates a couple of low-end ones which I found helpful, and tells me what they don’t, that “fish oil concentrate” is ethyl ester, not triglyceride.
John O’Connor, can you clarify, is your website paid/sponsored or independent? or do they all pay an equal fee to be reviewed?
Very interesting article. I must admit that I have just recently started taking fish oil, and blindly trusted GNC. The label looks good, but in fact I could not find an expiration date. I will do some homework on this before buying my next bottle.
Have just bought Wild Fish Oil. Am still confused about what’s better, Krill oil or Fish oil. And although Wild Fish Oil has all sorts of certifications and positive PR by the company founder, I still have not seen the product in comp. studies. Plus on the bottle there is no breakdown of Omega 3s. Know anything about them? Thanks
I use Wild Fish Oil from Wild Foods because, as they explain, their fish oil is a lot less likely to be rancid. They use US fishers that process their fish right off the boat here in the US, and then into bottling. Plus they told me they keep stock tight, and refrigerate it to ensure it gets to me as fresh as possible. They also source from Menheddan fish only with have higher counts of Omegas. I rarely ever burp from their oils, and have never had them repeat on me, also the fishy smell is almost non-existent.
Hi, is Elite Natural Remedies wild fish oil is a good brand
Hi, thanks for your post! Very informative. Quick question- Nordic Naturals Omega-3… I looked on google and found a couple stores near me that sell the pill versions instead of the liquid form that you reviewed. Do you think the pill version will be as effective as the liquid form?
It won’t be, I take omega 3 for a neurological disease and my doctor specifically told me that the ones in capsules are rancid and to NEVER take them.
I currently take VQ Verified Quality omega 3 fish oil 180mgEPA 120mg DHA, have you heard of this brand? my doctor has me order it from her. Also how much do I actually take daily, I mean how many of the softgels do I take a day? right now I take one in the AM and one in the evening. Thank you for your feedback
What about the Now Brand and Barleans Brands?
Thanks a million for your contribution in this study
My only question would be New Chapter Whole Omega. They are the only B corp company that I am aware of. They claim it is best to derive from Salmon vs the Nordic Naturals and Carlson sardines/anchovies route.
Would love to know your findings on New Chapter!
Blessings
there are two things that concern me. rancid oil and contamination.
I have tasted many oxidized oils. as you say in the bite test. most capsules are not sealed in a way to prevent oxygen from getting to the oil. start biting the fish oil capsules and you’ll taste that. the bottles are better imo but i’ve also gotten bad bottles by some of the brands you reviewed. good fish oil is kind of tasteless.
i’m very concerned about things like mercury, arsenic. mercury is incredibly toxic and the EPA measures it in parts per billion not million. i recently checked out a lab report from my current fish oil and they listed mercury in terms of ppm. I called the company and now see the page has been removed. i should have taken a screen shot. anyway, what they listed as a threshold for testing was much higher then the EPAs standards for drinking water.
i might have to search out other sources for fatty acids. plant based perhaps, but I hear some people have a hard time converting those to a bio available form. i believe there is a polymorphism that can be detected through genetic testing that accounts for this.
in any case, thanks for the post. : )
How do I apply this to the brand I purchased Wild Fish Oil? 1000mg. It does not state on the bottle label what the EPA and DHA amounts. It’s sea friendly all menhaden fish oil. Can you tell me anything about this brand ?
Hey Joseph, that’s not a brand we’ve reviewed, but we will look into it when we expand the guide.
Have you ever heard of viva naturals. Is there a reason they aren’t on the list.
Hey Jay, no I haven’t heard of that brand. To begin, we went with the fish oils that are most popular.
can you please look into viva naturals fish oil. Thanks!
Hello I’m using the viva naturals as we speak did you ind out anything negative about it? thanks.
Hi there,
Yes, as Amazon has over 1,700 reviews for Viva that are almost all positive, I would love an experts opinion on the brand.
I subscribe to Consumerlabs and they rated Viva very highly.
It is interesting that Carlson come out on top but I for one am very concerned that it comes from Norway. There is a huge scandal currently related to the toxicity of the salmon farms and the related fisheries businesses. Nearly all of the fjords where water runs out to sea are so contaminated that the bed of the fjords is dead and has 15meters of concentrated dead fish and feed pulp laying on it where salmon farming is active which happens to be most of the country’s wester sea board. One female government minister is a Director of the largest processor and as well as holding the post of Agriculture minister. So corruption abounds.
I think if you want Carlson products you need to investigate further.
Thanks. Interesting enough to look into.
There is a good documentary on youtube about this. You can find it if you search “Farmed Norwegian Salmon World’s Most Toxic Food” on youtube. After watching this, I can no longer take my Carlson’s fish oil.
Hi, wonderful article! Any input on Barlean’s Ideal Omega?
Good article! Thanks for the info.
Thanks Josef, glad you found it helpful.
I am looking into the purity aspect of Omega 3 fish oils due to inherited gout. The levels of attack are related to the amount of purines in food (certain fish have very high levels such as anchovies, herring etc.) This corresponds to the amount of uric acid build up acid in the blood. It crystallizes in the joints, with the big toe being the location in half of the cases. One concern with regard to using fish oil for gout is the purine content of fish oil. Some worry that taking fish oil could exacerbate gout. However, fish oil does not usually contain high amounts of purines if it is pure and is processed properly – here is the concern “purity”
One of the major safety concerns about taking fish oil is that fish oil prevents platelets from sticking together. This means if fish oil is taken in large quantities, it can make it hard for the blood to clot properly, which can cause you to bruise or bleed more easily. You should be especially wary of taking fish oil supplements if you take aspirin, warfarin or other medications that thin the blood.
You should buy only fish oil that is pharmaceutical grade and has been molecularly distilled so one of the questions I am asking is who do you trust? After seeing the following report on YouTube, perhaps you could you make a comment as to your thoughts as to what is going on in the industry world wide?
Farmed Norwegian Salmon World’s Most Toxic Food – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYYf8cLUV5E&t=1s
Appreciate you time and help in this important matter
Best regards
Bernie
Hi,
what about Vitabiotics’ product “Ultra Cod Liver Oil Plus Omega-3”? What do you think abou this product?
Thank you.
KInd regards from SLovenia
Jasmina
Nice story. Many so called “fish oils” do not contain fish oil. If the label says ethyl esters, it is not fish oil. See the GOED and all the different pharmacopoeias (USP, Bp, EuP) that describe the definition of fish oil.