Triglycerides are fats in your blood. Just like cholesterol.
A little bit of triglycerides is normal. But if it gets too high, it’s a red flag for heart health.
Omega-3 in fish oil helps maintain healthy triglyceride levels when combined with a healthy diet and daily exercise plan.*
Clinical research suggests the omega-3 dosage needed to help maintain healthy triglycerides is 2000-3000 mg per day when used as part of healthy diet and exercise regimen.*
Fish Oil and Triglycerides: Supplement Approach*
Clinical research suggests the omega-3 dosage needed to help maintain healthy triglycerides is 2000-3000 mg per day when used as part of healthy diet and exercise regimen. *
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Key points to remember before you buy fish oil:
- Buy only Ultra concentrated fish oil. ‘Ultra Concentrated’ is generally defined as 85% or higher Omega-3 content.
- Make sure the product has at least 85% Omega-3. Very few supplements match this concentration.
- Make sure the product is IFOS certified. International Fish Oil Standards (IFOS) is a 3rd party testing agency that has tighter standards for fish oil than any other health and safety agency. IFOS tests for safety, purity and freshness.
Fish Oil: Consumer Tip
Supplements worth considering |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Product | mg Omega-3 | Ultra-concentrated (>85% Omega-3) |
IFOS Certified |
| PharmaOmega Cardio | 850 mg | Yes | No |
| GNC Triple Strength | 900 mg | No | No |
| RenewLife Super Critical | 1025 mg | Yes | Yes |
| OmegaVia | 1105 mg | Yes | Yes |
| Minami CardiO-3 |
910 mg | Yes | No |
The best supplement, in my opinions, are RenewLife and OmegaVia. Minami CardiO-3 and PharmaOmega Cardio are excellent products as well.
There are other really high quality brands like Nordic Naturals and Omax3 that could also work. But their formulas contain less Omega-3, which means you may have to take 5 of their pills instead of three or four. I have personally tried all the brands mentioned here. I recommend all but the GNC item. GNC Triple Strength uses 60% pure fish oil. I consider that too weak. The others all use 85% or higher purity oils.*
Fish Oil & Triglycerides: Dosage*
In science-speak, triglyceride reduction is ‘dose-dependent.’ This means that the 2000-3000 mg of Omega-3 daily when combined with a healthy diet and exercise is likely to work far better than 500 mg daily.*
Don’t take more than 3000 mg Omega-3 per day without your doctor’s approval and supervision. Fish oil is unlikely to cause side effects at that level, but always remember to start with one pill a day and work up to 3 pills a day.
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Clinical research suggests the omega-3 dosage needed to help maintain healthy triglycerides is 2000-3000 mg per day when used as part of healthy diet and exercise regimen.
Minami Nutrition Omega-3s actually contain MORE Omega-3 than Lovaza per only ONE soft gel. Minami’s CardiO-3 supplement contains 90% Omega-3! (635mg EPA, 194mg DHA, 71mg Other Omega-3s per ONE 1g soft gel!)
If concentrations are a key factor, then you should mention that OmegaVia is only 67% Omega-3 per soft gel (1000mg total Omega-3 per one 1.5g soft gel). This is considerably lower than Lovaza.
Secondly, IFOS is not the best certification for purity of fish oils, as they allow for a 15% label accuracy either way.
Hi Steven – great to have informed, expert feedback!
Thanks for the info on Minami CardiO-3. Minami is an excellent brand of fish oil. That is why I mentioned them. I will update the blog right away.
Regarding concentration, even though OmegaVia label claims 1000 mg Omega-3 per pill, it tests at over 1100 mg. Current batch is actually 1140 mg but the label is conservative. And the softgel is not 1.5 grams. It’s 1.3 grams. That makes this batch almost 88% pure. Typically, it is 85%. As good or better than Lovaza. Look for a copy of certificate of analysis on our website shortly.
As for IFOS, you’re right, the 15% wiggle room may be a bit high, but tight enough to weed out polluted or low-quality products. From a consumer perspective, there are not many other well-known, 3rd party fish oil quality-checkers like IFOS. Until there are better 3rd parties out there, IFOS gives concerned consumers a place to check the facts where there is minimal marketing or self-promotion.
Thanks again for he valuable comments.
Vin
So does this means that each batch has different omega-3 purity percentage?
That’s is not good for me! I need to know what is the minimum guaranteed purity.
I had taken Omax3 in the past and was very happy with it, and Omax3 claimed to
have 91% purity. What makes Omegavia better than Omax3?
Hi Tom – we establish a minimum guaranteed Omega-3 purity of 85%. However, being a natural product, each batch will have slightly different purity. Our purity has always been between 89 and 93%.
Omax3 is a very good product. It has high purity and a small pill size. OmegaVia is enteric-coated, Omax is not. OmegaVia has 1000 mg of Omega-3 per pill while Omax3 has 750 mg. Cost of 1000 mg of delivered Omega-3 is 49 cents for OmegaVia while it is 93 cents for Omax3. OmegaVia’s purity, potency and freshness claims are third-part validated by IFOS (International Fish Oil Standards) while Omax3 does not appear to test at IFOS. Perhaps they do but do not publicly share the data…I don’t know. OmegaVia has complete transparency about source of oil, manufacturing etc. But on the down side, our pills are fairly large.
Also, starting late Spring of 2012, we will launch a new formula with almost 150 mg more Omega-3 per pill without any increase in pill size. The purity will also be higher than the current formula. Hope this helps.
– Vin
Wait… what? “Vin Kutty is […. ] genetically predisposed to High Triglycerides and Foot-in-Mouth Disease.” Deliberate or not, that’s a hilarious typo, considering Foot AND Mouth Disease is usually confined to hoofed animals. Perhaps you meant the human variation: Hand Foot and Mouth Disease?
Well..no hoofs or horns, at least not yet. Given that my fish oil blogs seems to tick people off regularly (not sure why!), foot-in-mouth seemed appropriate.
Cheers,
Vin
My son has diabetes and high triglycerides can he take fish oil.
Thanks Cynthia.
Hi Cynthia – yes, it would be a good idea.
I bought a bottle of pacific coast ultra lab omega 3. I was wanting to know if it was a good supplement and what percentage of omega 3 is in there dosage?
Hi Josh – there is 700 mg of Omega-3 per pill. That makes is 70% Omega-3 potency. Slightly better than average Omega-3 potency. Don’t know if it is a good product – they do not have their products tested at IFOS, so have to believe what they say on the label. I’d pass.
I am 39. 15 years ago doctor told me i have high triglycerides. At that time i didnt take any medicine. couple of months ago my tg level were 1200. i started gempid which reduced my TG but i left just because of its side effects and continue my healthy life style 45 minutes walk and not using any processed sweet. Even then my triglycrieds increased to 750. i have started gnc triple strength omega 1560 epa and dha. 2 capsule a day is that enough dose or should i increase it? second is this product alright?
Hi Ahmar – You will need to increase your Omega-3 dosage to about 3000 mg per day of EPA and DHA. More importantly, you will need to drastically cut back on all grains, wheat, rice, flour and starchy vegetables like potato and even some fruits. Your diet should be mostly non-starchy leafy vegetables, seafood, meats, eggs and nuts.
Can you please explain a bit more about seafood i.e. Can i eat prawns or only fish? And if yes what kind of fish
Second following is my last test
TG 757
HDL 21
LDL 54
VLDL 232
RATIO 11.4
Can i stiil eat eggs with yolks and i dont eat red meat can i go for chicken. milk and the ghee.
what about pulses, lentils???? etc.
I eat barley cooked in milk and honey is it ok?
Hi Ahmar – barley cooked in milk and honey?! All three things will cause dangerous levels of blood glucose and are partially responsible for your dangerous triglycerides levels. That’s a scary combination of dangerous ingredients!
You can eat prawns/shrimp and all fish and oysters etc. generously. Yes, you can (and should) eat egg yolks, chicken and ghee.
Stick with vegetables, meats, seafood, eggs, nuts and some fruits.
Read:
http://www.omegavia.com/cut-triglycerides-in-half-without-lovaza-or-fish-oil-1/
http://www.omegavia.com/how-to-cut-your-triglycerides-in-half-without-lovaza-or-fish-oil-part-2/
Is the 21st century fish oil good ? Thanks
Hi Rodney – their quality is fairly good, but the potency of the oil is very low. Each 1200 mg capsule only has 360 mg of Omega-3. That ranks it near the bottom in terms of Omega-3 potency…and after all, you’re taking fish oil for the Omega-3. There are dozens of other brands that offer more Omega-3. Google IFOS Consumer Reports for a wide selection of third-party tested fish oils.
I have high Tryglycerides 2.2 mmol/L , I’m currently taking :
Fish oil concentrated 1000mg equiv to natural fish oil 2000mg :
Equiv to Omega 3 Marine Tryglyceridies 650mg – 360 epa / 240mg dha ,
4x a day = 2600mg in the evening all at once & I keep them in the container in the fridge .
Is this the right dose & a good line of Fish Oil ?
Thanks Chris .
Hi Chris – if each pill contains 360 mg EPA and 240 mg DHA, you’re taking 600 mg Omega-3 per pill. Four of those is 2400 mg Omega-3 per day. That’s on the lower side of what most people take. US FDA suggests 3000 mg as acceptable high rage for Omega-3. European regulations say you can take up to 5000 mg per day. Lowering triglycerides requires a combination of sugar-elimination, elimination or reduction of refined grains and flours, along with regular exercise. In addition to that, you could add Omega-3 supplementation with your doctor’s approval.