Interesting question. How much fish oil should I take? What is the correct fish oil dosage?
That's a good question, what is the right fish oil dosage. For example should you take more fish oil supplements if you already have heart disease?
The first place to look is the website of the American Heart Association. They recognize the heart benefits of Omega 3 fatty acids, and they deal with the question of what is the proper dosage of fish oil for both people with no preexisting heart problems, and for those who do have preexisting heart conditions.
Lets see what they suggest.
First though I'd like to consider where the fish oil you take should come from. Now you could just eat fish. But as well as being expensive there are other problems.
The first problem is that fish can have nasty contaminants in it. The FDA tell us to limit how much fish we eat for this reason.
But the best fish oil supplements go through a rigorous decontamination process so they aren't contaminated. But not all fish oil supplements are contamination free.
The next problem is how much Omega 3 polyunsaturated fats you get from different types of fish. The level varies from one type of fish to another, and its hard to know what you need to eat to get enough. Generally speaking oily fish such as mackerel, herring, sardines, lake trout, albacore tuna and salmon is better than non oily fish.
Now the AHA tells us to eat 2 fish meals a week, but what if you're worried about contamination, or fish is too expensive?
And they say that evidence from prospective secondary prevention studies suggests that taking EPA+DHA ranging from 0.5 to 1.8 grams per day (either as fatty fish or supplements) significantly reduces deaths from heart disease and all causes.
So healthy people should take around half a gram to 1.8 grams of fish oil (EPA and DHA) a day from either eating fish or fish oil supplements.
And for those who already have preexisting heart problems they tell us:
For those with documented Coronary Heart Disease: 1 gram of EPA and DHA a day. (Note that those with known heart health problems should consult a doctor before starting any supplements).
And for those seeking to lower triglycerides: 2 to 4 grams per day. Again, consult your doctor.
So those are more specific. Lets look somewhere else.
There was a new study published just recently in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology that suggests at least 500 mg (half a gram) per day for healthy people and 800 to 1000 mg for those with known cardio vascular issues.
Now next we need to ask what ratio we should look for between EPA and DHA, the 2 major Omega 3 fats. There is no AHA recommendation, it's still under study.
What's the conclusion? Firstly, those with known heart disease should take more fish oil than those without.
And we don't yet know what ration we should look for between EPA and DHA. But otherwise it's relatively clear.
Around a half gram a day minimum of both EPA and DAH together for healthy people, and around a gram a day for those with issues. More to lower triglycerides.
The best fish oil supplements have 400 mg of DHA and EPA combined, being 280 mg of DHA and 120 mg of EPA. That's around double that of your "average" fish oil capsules.
If you take 2 capsules a day that's about right, and the label tells us to take 2 capsules a day.
So if you have no known heart issues take the best fish oil supplements at a fish oil dosage of 2 capsules a day. You need to take up to double that for your "average" fish oil supplements, depending on what is in them.
So if you want to find the right fish oil dosage that may help. There's no exact recommendations, it's being studied.
But there's conclusions we can draw from the recommendations of the AHA and others.
And that conclusion of the right fish oil dosage also corresponds with the dosage recommended by the best fish oil supplements, 2 capsules a day.
Visit my website to find out which are the best Omega 3 supplements giving you around twice as much Omega 3 fats as others.
That's a good question, what is the right fish oil dosage. For example should you take more fish oil supplements if you already have heart disease?
The first place to look is the website of the American Heart Association. They recognize the heart benefits of Omega 3 fatty acids, and they deal with the question of what is the proper dosage of fish oil for both people with no preexisting heart problems, and for those who do have preexisting heart conditions.
Lets see what they suggest.
First though I'd like to consider where the fish oil you take should come from. Now you could just eat fish. But as well as being expensive there are other problems.
The first problem is that fish can have nasty contaminants in it. The FDA tell us to limit how much fish we eat for this reason.
But the best fish oil supplements go through a rigorous decontamination process so they aren't contaminated. But not all fish oil supplements are contamination free.
The next problem is how much Omega 3 polyunsaturated fats you get from different types of fish. The level varies from one type of fish to another, and its hard to know what you need to eat to get enough. Generally speaking oily fish such as mackerel, herring, sardines, lake trout, albacore tuna and salmon is better than non oily fish.
Now the AHA tells us to eat 2 fish meals a week, but what if you're worried about contamination, or fish is too expensive?
And they say that evidence from prospective secondary prevention studies suggests that taking EPA+DHA ranging from 0.5 to 1.8 grams per day (either as fatty fish or supplements) significantly reduces deaths from heart disease and all causes.
So healthy people should take around half a gram to 1.8 grams of fish oil (EPA and DHA) a day from either eating fish or fish oil supplements.
And for those who already have preexisting heart problems they tell us:
For those with documented Coronary Heart Disease: 1 gram of EPA and DHA a day. (Note that those with known heart health problems should consult a doctor before starting any supplements).
And for those seeking to lower triglycerides: 2 to 4 grams per day. Again, consult your doctor.
So those are more specific. Lets look somewhere else.
There was a new study published just recently in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology that suggests at least 500 mg (half a gram) per day for healthy people and 800 to 1000 mg for those with known cardio vascular issues.
Now next we need to ask what ratio we should look for between EPA and DHA, the 2 major Omega 3 fats. There is no AHA recommendation, it's still under study.
What's the conclusion? Firstly, those with known heart disease should take more fish oil than those without.
And we don't yet know what ration we should look for between EPA and DHA. But otherwise it's relatively clear.
Around a half gram a day minimum of both EPA and DAH together for healthy people, and around a gram a day for those with issues. More to lower triglycerides.
The best fish oil supplements have 400 mg of DHA and EPA combined, being 280 mg of DHA and 120 mg of EPA. That's around double that of your "average" fish oil capsules.
If you take 2 capsules a day that's about right, and the label tells us to take 2 capsules a day.
So if you have no known heart issues take the best fish oil supplements at a fish oil dosage of 2 capsules a day. You need to take up to double that for your "average" fish oil supplements, depending on what is in them.
So if you want to find the right fish oil dosage that may help. There's no exact recommendations, it's being studied.
But there's conclusions we can draw from the recommendations of the AHA and others.
And that conclusion of the right fish oil dosage also corresponds with the dosage recommended by the best fish oil supplements, 2 capsules a day.
Visit my website to find out which are the best Omega 3 supplements giving you around twice as much Omega 3 fats as others.
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Want to know more about the Benefits of Fish Oil? Or about how to get the right Fish Oil Dosage? Visit Peter's Website Healthy Omega 3 Fish Oil.
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