Fish oil dosage mystery
June 2, 2020 9:51 AM   Subscribe

Why is the recommended dosage so different for these two bottles of Omega-3 capsules?

I have two bottles of Omega-3 fish oil pills (front photo; side photo). Both purchased in Quebec — left bottle about 4 months ago, right bottle this week.

If you look at the directions, the left bottle recommends taking 3 capsules daily, while the right bottle recommends 1 capsule daily. However, the left capsules contain more of the nutrients listed (EPA and DHA). On the other hand, the right capsules contain "omega-3 fatty acids in thee natural bioactive triglyceride form" -- is that marketing-speak or does it have medical relevance?

Obviously I'm overjoyed to be swallowing one capsule instead of 3, but I don't understand enough about omega-3 nutrition to understand why the recommended dosages are so different. Can anyone clear this up for me? I'm aware that, as with most supplements, there's some debate over the effectiveness of taking daily omega-3 and I'm appropriately skeptical -- mostly just curious about this discrepancy!
posted by mekily to Health & Fitness (4 answers total)
 
Best answer: In the US there is no recommended dietary allowance of Omega-3 fatty acids, I imagine the situation isn't different in Canada. One bottle is saying the recommended dose is 900 mg (three pills) per day. The other is saying the recommended dose is 300 mg (one pill) per day. That's the plain difference.

There is a whole lot about omega-3s in this article from the US National Institute of Health.
posted by muddgirl at 10:11 AM on June 2, 2020


Purely monetary - if they recommend that you to take 3 capsules per day, you'll finish the bottle quicker and buy more.
posted by hydra77 at 10:18 AM on June 2, 2020 [3 favorites]


Best answer: Different people take different doses (total dose as well as the relative EPA/DHA ratio) for different purposes. There are different recommendations for, for example, heart disease versus depression versus prenatal. Those who are trying to treat an active problem tend to take higher doses than those looking for a preventative supplement. One dose can be split into multiple capsules because the capsules can be quite large. Maybe some people spread the capsules out throughout the day to reduce fish burps or something (pro tip: freeze them).

"Bioactive triglyceride form" isn't exactly marketing speak. The production process changes the structure of the fats, and some manufacturers use further processes to changes the structure back into something more like you'd get from just eating fish (that's the triglyceride). The idea is that the fats are more readily used by the body in this form, but the science isn't perfectly clear. I'm not an expert and don't want to make claims I can't support, so I'll just suggest you research something like "triglyceride vs ethyl ester fish oil." I personally am more concerned about making sure the oil isn't rancid.

Just so you know, the dose you are taking is pretty small. I take five times as much as your one-capsule one. Nothing wrong with that if that's what you want, but if you're hoping for a certain benefit and don't see it, consider taking a higher dose.

Source: I have completed numerous retailer trainings for a fish oil company (yes, there is an inherent bias, but it's a well-respected company that's very proud of it's quality and eager to explain and document the science behind it, so I consider them pretty trustworthy).
posted by Comet Bug at 9:29 PM on June 2, 2020 [2 favorites]


I don't think there is much evidence that they actually work, so dose is likely unimportant. And I'm not sure they are regulated to the point that the concept of 'dose' in relation to the number of capsules ingested is meaningful. Not sure about regulation in Canada, though, so it could be different there.
posted by lulu68 at 1:44 AM on June 3, 2020


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