Omega 3 fatty acids, anti-inflammatory fats found mainly in fish and fish oil pills, are the most typically prescribed supplement in the world. And for good reason.
Though research results are mixed in a few cases due to an individual’s genetic mutations, diet, medications and daily life and how those factors concern omega-3 advantages, research has shown omega-3s in fish oil may develop triglycerides, inflammation, and brain and heart health.
Our research team reviewed and ranked the best fish oil supplements on the market, and went in-depth on the latest science behind the possible health benefits of fish oil.
1. Omega well by LiveWell Labs
For those who’re serious about ending crippling joint pain, Omegawell by LiveWell Labs is the best you can get.
No other fish oil can fight with the original complex of 800 EPA and 600 DHA.
What does this indicate for a fish oil supplement?
Well, everything.
EPA and DHA are the essential macronutrients inside fish oil that help the heart, joint, brain, organ tissue, and protected system.
From alleviating joint hurt to providing your body more energy and focus, Omegawell is one of the better everyday habits you can have in the supplement space.
No “additives”. All-natural, and made in the USA in an FDA-approved service.
The all-around fish oil winner of 2020.
2. Optima Omega-3 by Nuzena
Nuzena is a new supplement company known for its no-nonsense formulas.
Nuzena’s Optima Omega-3 “formula” stands out like one of improved omega-3 and fish oil formulas. A few of the other fish oils on this list have higher EPA/DHA levels but are twice as costly and/or not as high in quality.
(Nuzena finds their stuff tested monthly for mercury levels, potency, etc)
The result?
Better skin. Better well-being. Improved joint and flexibility.
A no-nonsense top-3 opportunity and one of the cheapest options, too.
3. OmegaXL
OmegaXL truly believes in the adage, “Good things come in small packages.”
Backed by more than 30 years of clinical research, it packs over 30 fatty acids and fish oils into one small, simple-to-swallow, pill.
This sources its fish oil from Green-lipped mussels, sustainably farmed in the Marlborough Sounds in New Zealand. These mussels naturally include an amazing blend of fatty acids that are proven to aid relieve joint pain naturally. Each small pill includes the oil of up to 12 mussels.
This has the added advantage that there is no “fishy” smell or trace as OmeaXL doesn’t find their fish oil from fish.
You’ll be hard-pressed to get more potent and effective fish oil.
4. WHC UnoCardio 1000+
The omega 3 fish oil suggesting from WHC supplies a hefty amount of EPA and DHA—670 and 395 mg per capsule, correspondingly. These fish oils are derived from a combination of sardine, herring, mackerel, and anchovy.
It also includes vitamin D to boost your immune system and overall well-being; most persons in cold climates don’t get enough vitamin D during the wintertime seeing like the only natural way our body can make it is via exposure to direct sunlight.
WHC UnoCardio is also naturally flavored with a basil leaf. These assist mask the fishy smell that causes many people angry when they take fish oil supplements.
Given that it imported from Belgium, its price per serving is higher than average, but it’s fairly pure, with less than 4 parts per billion of mercury and very close to the label-claimed amount of EPA and DHA, since determined by independent lab testing.
Another attractive habit about WHC UnoCardio is that its soft gel capsule is completed from fish gelatin only, making it a good option for pescatarians.
5. Nutrigold Triple Strength Fish Oil
The fish oil pill offered by Nutrigold is one of the best-selling online brands.
While not as powerful as our winner, its popularity is backed up by its quality.
Each soft gel includes 1250 mg of fish oil; 1060 mg of this (88%) is omega 3 fatty acids. Of these, EPA and DHA account for 750 and 250 mg every.
Nutrigold derives its fish oil only from wild-caught whitefish from American waters, which sets it distant from some of its competitors. Though the capsule does contain soy products, the soy protein has been removed, thus if soy protein is a no-go in your diet, you should be okay.
If you have a harsh soy allergy that can’t be pinned to the protein, you may still desire to avoid Nutrigold Triple Strength.
For everybody else, though, it’s a tremendous deal: some of the most concentrated omega 3 fatty acids on the market for a quite good price. Decent minimalist option.
6. Viva Labs Ultra Strength Fish Oil
This very rich omega 3 content does make it a bit pricier than other products, but it’s tough to match when it comes to raw omega 3 content.
If you desire a fish oil supplement that packs a punch, look no further than Via Labs Ultra Strength. Each capsule supplies a full 1000 mg of omega 3 fatty acids, and 705 mg and 245 mg of EPA and DHA, correspondingly. Completely 83% of the fish oil was DHA and EPA.
Unlike other products on the shop, there are no add-in ingredients: Viva Labs Ultra Strength gives no vitamin D3, no other omega fatty acids, and no flavoring. If you’re okay with quite a fishy smell when you open the bottle, it’s a good trade-off. This offering is modest; it does one thing (deliver a lot of omega 3) and it does it very well.
Note that you might also rally Viva Labs’ results under the moniker of “Viva Naturals”; the company freshly rebranded, so if you see a similar offering with this name, don’t be anxious—it’s not a copycat or imitation.
7. The Vitamin Shoppe Omega-3 Fish Oil
The Vitamin Shoppe’s fish oil offering gives over 1000 mg of omega 3 for each soft gel, and of this, 680 mg is EPA and 260 mg are DHA. These unite to make up 76% of the fish oil in the supplement, much richer than many of its competitors.
Would it shock you if you found out that a fish oil supplement made by a brick-and-mortar supplement shop with wide name recognition was both cheap and effective? Well, it’s true!
Its mercury levels are also extremely low, as are its levels of PCB toxins.
The one downside of The Vitamin Shoppe’s fish oil offering is its labeling. While the omega 3, DHA, and EPA contents are rich, the listed amounts on the label don’t fairly correspond to what you get in the supplement.
In this case, you find a little more than you’re paying for, but inaccuracies like this might be a sign that the feature control is not quite what it should be.
As for other ingredients, there are effectively none! Aside from the fish oil, the only things The Vitamin Shoppe Omega 3 Fish Oil supplement includes are gelatin, glycerin, water, and a bit of vitamin E to perform as a preservative.
When it comes to cost and quality, it’s very hard to beat this product.
8. OmegaVia Fish Oil
The fish oil supplement by OmegaVia is best viewed as a premium product. Even its branding provides it an air of precision and pharmaceutical care. Each soft gel gives 1105 mg of omega 3 fatty acids, and of these, almost all of it is EPA and DHA (780 mg and 260 mg, correspondingly). Of the fish oil in the supplement, EPA and DHA account for 86% of the overall.
As you’d expect, the mercury and PCB levels are awfully low; mercury was only at one part per billion, and PCB was below obvious limits as determined by an independent lab.
The label gets pains to point out that the fish oil is derived from wild-caught natural sourced Pollock and Whiting fish from Alaskan waters. The ingredients are similarly easy and high-quality; the only non-fish oil ingredients are the soft gel constituents and a little bit of vitamin E to act as a preservative.
Although the quality is top-notch, other supplements offer a better deal on omega-3s from a cost perspective. However, OmegaVia fish oil is a good choice if you are seeking a top-quality supplement.
9. Dr. Tobias Optimum Omega 3 Fish Oil
Since the top-selling fish oil supplement on Amazon.com, Dr. Tobias Optimum Omega 3 has big-time name recognition. Each soft gel capsule gives 1000 mg of fish oil, counting 400 mg of EPA and 300 mg of DHA.
The fish oil included in the capsules is derived from sardines, and the soft gel is completed of gelatin, glycerin, and food glaze. Vitamin E and a preservative coating round out the relevant elements.
Consistent with analytical testing in an independent lab, Dr. Tobias Optimum Omega 3 includes 2 parts per billion of mercury—the upper limit for safety is 100 parts for each billion, for reference. Of the 1000 mg of fish oil for each capsule, 845 mg of that was omega-3 fat or 85%.
Overall, Dr. Tobias Optimum Omega 3 is just what you’d expect from a top-seller: reliable, reliable, safe, and containing nothing outrageously fancy or costly. It’s a good choice if you want a simple, no-nonsense fish oil supplement, and its quality is good.
10. Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega D3
Nordic Naturals has put lots of effort into name recognition: they take care to point out that their fish oil appears from deep-sea fish (anchovies and sardines), and that each batch is tested for toxin contents. Certainly, the mercury concentration and PCB (an organic pollutant that can accumulate in fish) are pretty low.
The actual interesting comparison is between Nordic Naturals’ own two offerings. Additionally to the “Ultimate Omega D3,” the company also offers a lower-priced product called merely “Nordic Naturals Omega-3 Purified Fish Oil.” The ingredients are mostly the same, but the concentration of omega 3 fatty acids is quite different.
The Ultimate version is the one you want. It contains 685 mg of omega 3 per capsule, and 58% of the whole fish oil in the product is DHA and EPA.
The usual version, in contrast, contains only 325 mg of omega 3 per capsule (below half the Ultimate version!) and the EPA and DHA content makes up only 28% of the total fish oil content. Yet again, the DHA and EPA contents, incomplete amounts, are less than half that of the Ultimate version.
Given that the cost difference is not a factor of two, it’s an easy call to make—get the Ultimate version.
Who should buy fish oil?
In the globe of supplements, fish oil is one of the most widely known; as its name recommends, it is the concentrated and purified form of the fats that are found in oily fish like salmon, mackerel, and herring.
Its health advantages are widely known; some research suggests it may improve triglycerides, pregnancy and heart health, and probably also decrease your likelihood of neurodegenerative sicknesses like Alzheimer’s disease or cognitive decline.
There are three major types of omega-3: ALA, DHA and EPA. ALA is alpha-linoleic acid, found mainly in plants like flaxseed and walnuts. The forms get in fish, seafood and eggs are eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
The body can change ALA to EPA and DHA but it is a slow and inefficient process and different factors can affect that conversion. Most of the research below focuses on the advantages obtained from supplementation with fish oil, which includes both DHA and EPA.
Fish oil has a huge choice of potential applications, but the strongest evidence for its uses lies in three main categories. These are reducing the risk of chronic disease, recovering mental health and cognitive function, and reducing inflammation.
All three of these categories have sturdy scientific evidence supporting their use, and pharmaceutical companies are yet developing prescription drugs based on compounds in fish oil as treatments for people at mostly high risk of cardiovascular disease, one of the biggest possible preventable chronic diseases that fish oil could be useful for.
The cognitive advantages of fish oil are related to the strong importance of the elements DHA and EPA in the brain—these compounds work both independently and interdependently to develop brain plasticity and boost cognitive function.
For this cause, fish oil has been researched heavily for potentially preventing cognitive refuse in older adults, and even as a nootropic for boosting cognitive act in healthy people.
The connection between fish oil and brain health is underscored by the wealth of research on using fish oil like a natural way to reduce anxiety and depression. Fish oil is a huge supplement if you have issues with mental and emotional health, thanks to the promising research on its worth and the excellent safety profile associated with fish oil.
Fish oil is one of the best supplements for individuals who are focused on investing in long-term health throughout their nutrition.
It doesn’t have the fast, short-term effects of something like a thermogenic or a pre-workout supplement, but the increasing effect over weeks and months of taking fish oil can be extensive when it comes to your long-term health and well-being.
Benefits
Fish oil can benefit heart health. Fish oil, and its major constituent, omega-3 fatty acids, first entered the free eye after health researchers and nutritionists noted the influential health benefits of a Mediterranean diet.
Such as, a 1998 scientific study by Michel de Lorgeril, Patricia Salen, and Jean-Louis Martin in France compared the long-term health of individuals with coronary heart disease based on their classic diet.
After controlling for probable confounding factors, like smoking and age, the researchers got that the patients eating a Mediterranean-type diet—one rich in fruits, vegetables, entire grains, olive oil, and fish—was associated with a considerably lower risk of cancer and an increased survival rate from cardiovascular disease.
Keep in mind; that these subjects were people who already had heart problems.
One of the major constituents of the Mediterranean dietary pattern is “healthy” fat, as contained in olive oil and particularly in fish. The fats contained in fish are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, an exacting type of polyunsaturated fat that is thought to have special benefits.
Microbiology research also recommends that fish oil has benefits on the cellular level. In the laboratory, under a microscope and in a Petri dish, omega-3 fatty acids show potent health-promoting effects. For example, in 1996 learn by researchers at the University of Michigan demonstrated that omega-3 fatty acids have an anti-cancer cause on prostate cancer cells (2).
This 20-year-old study has faced hostility from more recent research that observed a connection between higher blood levels of omega-3 and prostate cancer risk. More research is warranted to show causation since these findings may have been related to other factors.
When in vitro studies are executed (studies are done within the glass or in a laboratory) and results are getting, natural scientists and doctors wanted to see if they can replicate these effects in genuine living human beings instead of just in microscopic cells in the lab, also called in vivo studies.
Clinical tests were undertaken; these ranged from small, badly controlled trials to large multi-center interventions.
The best way to measure the success of a major health intervention like this is not to seem at just one study (even if it’s a big one)—it’s to look at meta-analyses, a type of study which pools the effects from many different studies and tries to detect an underlying trend.
In the year 2006 meta-analysis published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition by researchers at a figure of Boston-based medical centers looked at the effects of 46 studies on omega 3 fatty acids.
After pooling the results, the authors finished that increased consumption of omega 3 fatty acids, whether from real fish or a fish oil supplement, reduces the risk of large death, heart attacks, and other “sudden death” occurrences, and may also exert a defensive effect against stroke (the evidence was not definitive on this point).
Fish oil can help decrease blood triglycerides and reduce inflammation. Two of the major mechanisms of action for when health improvements are observed appear to be the capability of omega 3 fatty acids to decrease blood triglycerides and inflammation, both known risk factors for heart and other illnesses.
Although it seems counter-intuitive—how can consuming more fat reduce fat levels in your blood?—this theory is backed up by good evidence. A systematic check of fish oil supplements published by Guy D. Eslick and other researchers at the University of Western Sydney in Australia completed that fish oil supplements produce a statistically important decrease in blood triglycerides, with no apparent cause on cholesterol.
A detach study in 2010 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found a 27% decrease in triglycerides when participants consumed 3.4 grams of omega-3’s via fish oil capsules each day. No other changes in cholesterol, inflammation, or endothelial function were renowned.
Vegans and vegetarians may not find enough omega-3 fatty acids in their diet. Research has exposed vegetarians to lower blood levels of both DHA and EPA, as the diet primarily lacks food sources containing these fatty acids. Vegetarian diets are richer in ALA, an omega-3 precursor, but this is inefficiently and badly converted to DHA and EPA in those with genetic mutations, chronic disease, and in the elderly.
Besides, some research has shown men to be poorer converters of ALA to DHA and EPA. Vegetarians in these categories may need algae-based omega-3 supplements to maintain optimal health. Luckily, there are also vegan omega 3 supplements that can give many of the same benefits.
Fish oil can help cognitive function and may help slow cognitive decline. A 2010 study found that a 900mg everyday dose of DHA over 6 months enhanced recall and learning in those with age-related cognitive decline.
Moreover, emerging evidence indicates that fish oil may help prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s disease as well—a review by the Cochrane Collaboration published in 2009 found that, while there are no high-class clinical trials on fish oil and cognitive decline, circumstantial facts from observational and epidemiological studies indicates that fish oil and omega 3 fatty acids in exacting might have a beneficial effect when it arrives at preserving cognitive function.
And yet more convincing, a 2017 study found that those with the APOE4 gene, the strongest heritable risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s disease, showed higher uptake of DHA, when it was existing, in select brain regions associated with cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s. Additionally, lower serum DHA levels were associated with more brain plaque formation, recognized to advance cognitive decline.
Omega-3 fatty acids may be significant during pregnancy and breastfeeding. DHA plays a therapeutic job in pregnancy outcomes such as birth weight, pregnancy duration, and the neurocognitive function of the baby.
Additionally, research shows DHA’s anti-inflammatory properties can have a protective effect on children born pre-term through maternal supplementation while breastfeeding (DHA transfers breastmilk to the baby) or through DHA-supplemented formula.
Research has found an association between levels of DHA and EPA in breast milk and improved hand-eye coordination in children. Common doses used in these studies range from 400mg to 2000mg for each day, higher than what is available in most prenatal multivitamins.
Side effects
Luckily, for such a powerful supplement, the side effects of fish oil are minor in most. The immunity is for those on blood thinners since omega-3 as well as blood thinners decrease the ability of the body to clot which may lead to excessive bleeding during surgery or damage
Immune-suppression is also a worry in those who are already immune-compromised however these effects have been identified in doses fewer than 5000mg per day.
Along with a study by Chenchen Wang and other researchers, the most common side effect is gentle gastrointestinal symptoms: burping, bloating, gas, etc. Enterically-coated fish oil supplements may decrease the incidence of upper GI symptoms like burping as the product is designed to resist digestion until it reaches the small intestine.
These classically only occur at high doses (over three grams per day of EPA and DHA). Luckily, this is lower than the typical dosage. Half of the three hundred-plus studies reviewed in that Wang et al.’s article reported no difficult effects at all.
FAQ
Q: What is fish oil good for?
A: Fish oil is an extremely potent supplement for improving your long-term health. The advantages of fish oil were first discovered in large-scale studies on a diet when researchers noticed that individuals who ate fish regularly had considerably reduced rates of heart disease.
Nutritional effort into the contents of fish identified omega-3 fatty acids, and in exacting, the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA, as the likely reason for the health advantages associated with fish consumption.
Research in persons and animals has found that fish oil can reduce blood pressure and the attention of triglycerides in the blood, which may explain their potential for reductions in cardiovascular disease risk. Outside heart health, fish oil may also be helpful for cognitive function and mental health.
Fish oil supplements have been effectively used to treat anxiety and may help slow the progress of cognitive refuse in the elderly. These benefits are likely due to the grave usage of EPA and DHA by the brain.
Q: How much fish oil per day should you take?
A: early research focused on modest dosages of fish oil, in the neighborhood of one gram per day. The American Heart Association currently suggests one gram of fish oil per day for an individual who has already had a cardiac event or a heart condition, like an earlier heart attack or heart failure.
The facts for the prevention of heart disease from small to moderate doses of fish oil is not as convincing; though, emerging evidence suggests that higher doses may be necessary, yet in high-risk populations. One drug called Vascepa, which is presently undergoing clinical trials, is nothing more than two grams of pure EPA—and it’s shown notable results in research conducted so far.
Some of the more victorious studies on fish oil have used doses of 1.8 or 2 grams of EPA and DHA per day, which may describe why they are getting better results than lower-dose experiments.
Q: How much fish oil is too much?
A: The American Heart Association suggests not taking more than three grams total of omega 3 fatty acids per day lacking talking to a doctor first.
At very high doses, fish oil can boost the risk of bleeding in some people. Do remember that one gram of fish oil likely contains less than one gram of omega-3 fatty acids.
Check the label of your supplement to be confident, but the three-gram per day suggestion applies to the omega-3 fatty acid content, not the total fish oil content
Q: What is fish oil?
A: Fish oil is a concerted form of the unsaturated fats that are found in fatty fish like salmon and tuna, within other marine oil sources like krill oil.
These unsaturated fats have a strange chemical composition among the kinds of fats found in edible foods; they are very rich in a particular type of unsaturated fat called omega-3 fatty acid. As fish oil is technically just edible oil like olive oil, the health advantages of these omega-3 fatty acids are the source of fish oil’s substantial benefits.
Lots of scientific research has been directed at two specific types of omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA: These two molecules may act as a pivotal role in the health benefits of fish oil.
Q: Does fish oil have helps for your skin?
A: Although the potential cardiovascular and cognitive benefits of fish oil tend to steal attention, fish oil may also have benefits for certain skin conditions.
Fish oil has been used as a clinical treatment for psoriasis since at least the 1980s, with one study demonstrating an important improvement in psoriasis signs after eight weeks of a fish oil supplement. Other research has got that fish oil can enlarge the content of omega-3 fatty acids in your skin cells, which might describe the mechanism of action by which fish oil can improve skin quality.
Q: When should you take fish oil?
A: Fish oil, and its active elements, is quite long-lasting compounds, and they are generally delivered in just one “bolus” dosage per day. as any benefits of fish oil likely have to do with maintaining chronically rich levels of omega-3 fatty acids in your blood, when you take fish oil (like in the morning, afternoon, or evening) is not as significant as taking every day regularly.
Unlike a few supplements like iron, which can interact with other compounds in your diet, fish oil does not need any special biological functions to absorb, but some facts taking fish oil alongside a meal that has a high-fat content can assist boost the absorption of EPA and DHA.
Q: What are EPA and DHA in fish oil?
A: EPA and DHA are contractions for eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid—these two chemicals are exact examples of omega-3 fatty acids. They have been studied in the most features out of the omega-3 fatty acids (there are others, for example alpha-linolenic acid or ALA, which you can find in plentiful quantities in sources like flax oil).
There is also considerable clinical evidence to support the health benefits of EPA and DHA, not the least of which is that rich-dosage forms of these fatty acids are presently under development as prescription medications to reduce the risk of heart disease.
