How much omega-3 do you need?

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Omega 3s reduce aggression. Good to know.

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Dr. Stanfield’s recommendation is for 1 g of Omega 3s or less daily. 4 g daily may cause atrial fibrillation.

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I take 400 mg a day in total and going to test Omega-3 levels later.

By the way this means that eating fish or other similar food too much is probably not a good idea if Omega 3 intake is above 1 g or whatever minimum required for optimal tested levels.

Omega-3 from plants except algae oil is fine of course since alpha-linoleic acid has such a low conversion rate.

I was taking 1.25 grams of fish oil, and eating salmon and tuna three times per week. My Omega total was 5.1%. Low risk level is above 5.4%, and optimal is above 8%. EPA was the area that was lowest and my fish oil is high EPA. So, I have been taking 2.5 grams of fish oil now.
This is one study and fish oil has been one of the most commonly used dietary supplements
worldwide.

Studies on fish oil have used varying dosages to investigate its effects on health. Here are some of the highest levels of fish oil used in clinical research:

  1. Cardiovascular Health:
  • A study by GISSI-Prevenzione used 1 gram per day of fish oil (providing approximately 850-882 mg of EPA and DHA) to assess its impact on patients who had experienced a myocardial infarction (heart attack) .
  • Some studies have used up to 4 grams per day of fish oil to investigate its effects on triglyceride levels and cardiovascular health. For example, the Omega-3-Acid Ethyl Esters (Lovaza) prescription often prescribes 4 grams per day for patients with very high triglyceride levels .
  1. Mental Health:
  • Research on the effects of fish oil on mood disorders, such as depression, has utilized doses ranging from 1 to 4 grams per day of EPA and DHA combined .
  • A notable study examining the effect of high-dose omega-3 fatty acids on major depression used 9.6 grams per day of fish oil (providing 6.2 grams of EPA and 3.4 grams of DHA) .
  1. Anti-Inflammatory Effects:
  • Studies investigating the anti-inflammatory effects of fish oil in conditions like rheumatoid arthritis have used doses of up to 3.6 grams of EPA and DHA per day .
  1. Cognitive Function:
  • High doses of fish oil, up to 3 grams per day, have been explored in research on cognitive function and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease .

These high dosages, especially those above 3 grams per day, are generally used under medical supervision due to potential side effects and interactions with other medications.

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Are these dose guidelines referring to the amount of krill (or fish) oil or the amount of omega 3 fatty acid in the oil? Apparently they’re not the same. I take 2000mg krill oil per day but when you look at the fine print, apparently that’s only 120 mg omega 3 fatty acids?



Same deal with these fish oil ones. 2400 mg fish oil has only 720 mg omega 3 fatty acid. So how many can you safely take?

My Omega Index is around 14%. I don’t know if it is related, but I lift very heavy (RPE 9 on most sets), and I never get DOMS anymore.

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@Elros The guidelines refer to the amount of omega-3, not the amount of fish oil/krill oil.

Only a fraction of fish oil/krill oil is omega-3, as you’ve seen on the bottles. And, yes, you should read the labels of supplements carefully to see how much omega-3 you’re actually getting.

Thank you, that’s good to know because I was worried I was taking too much, but apparently I’m not taking enough! I also have a history of A Fib so I’m paranoid about the fish oil giving me a recurrence.

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I am only 40 and no history of atrial fibrillation. YMMV

I’ll bet the amount needed to get a high omega index is individual. I used to take 700mg epa/dha per day plus a lot of walnuts and fish (mostly tuna) everyday. My omega index was 12% a month ago. I don’t bother with fish oil anymore. Maybe work on gut health to get better absorption? (A guess).

This seems like a statement that should be true.

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Did you use ChatGPT or something similar for this?

Yes, you caught me. I remembered seeing studies that were using 8 grams or more, and I thought prescription fish oil levels were 4 grams for people that have had heart attacks.

Okay you should probably write somewhere if you are using it so people know that and put the text in quotes, otherwise Google might think this is a spam site.
At least until they are better.

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Here is Physionics take. He agrees that 840 mg of Omega 3s daily is best.

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That’s the dose of this algae oil supplement for two capsules.
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What are your thoughts on the current healthy Omega-3 Index of 8%-12%? Maybe I am wrong, but I do not see 840 mg getting anyone in that range. Seems the choices would be low Omega levels, higher fish oil, or eating fish most days and mercury concerns.

Well 840 mg seems to be beneficial and 4 g is too much. Soo the sweet spot should be in between somewhere.

I’m going to go with 840 mg. It’s better than nothing and I don’t want to risk negative side effects.

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