Is Fish Oil, Hailed as a Miracle Supplement, Truly Necessary?

When you open social media to search for health products, you can’t avoid this thing – fish oil.

Elders say it can protect blood vessels, parenting circles spread that it can promote brain development, fitness enthusiasts and white-collar workers also say it can anti-inflammatory, help metabolism and they have started eating it.

On one side, there is an overwhelming amount of praise, but on the other side, there are various warnings, many people also say “supplementing in vain”, “excess has risks”, the information is mixed, and ordinary people really find it difficult to discern.

Today, let’s dig into it, how much real material does this fish oil have? Is it really necessary to supplement?

• Fish oil: Refers to the lipids extracted from the tissues of deep-sea fish, which are carriers of nutrients.

  
  

• Omega-3 （n-3/ω-3） : This is the core component of fish oil that really works , belongs to a class of polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are essential for the human body, but the human body can hardly synthesize them on its own and need to be ingested through diet. There are three important members in the Omega-3 family: ALA, DHA, and EPA.

The EPA and DHA in fish oil, as fatty acids needed by the human body, are responsible for many physiological activities of the body, DHA supports brain development and vision, while EPA is responsible for blood lipid reduction, anti-inflammatory, and cardiovascular protection.

However, in a lot of publicity, fish oil has gone from “having a certain effect” to “a panacea that everyone needs”. Let’s see what the evidence and research say:

In addition to the above, increasing the intake of fatty fish also has certain benefits for the eyes (age-related macular degeneration) , metabolism (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, insulin resistance) , anti-aging, and cancer.

First, it is important to clarify that the ultimate goal of taking fish oil is to supplement EPA+DHA in Omega-3.

These components can be obtained by eating deep-sea fish, so food supplementation is preferred!

Specifically, you can refer to the recommendations of our country’s dietary guidelines and FDA:

How to take fish oil? How much?

Different international organizations and national agencies have different recommendations for Omega-3 intake.

The consensus of most agencies is it is recommended that adults consume 250mg or more of EPA+DHA daily, and pregnant and lactating women are usually advised to add an additional 100-200mg of DHA on top of the base amount.

Different agencies also have different safety limits for fish oil intake, but for the general healthy population, a daily intake of 250mg to 1g of fish oil is very safe and sufficient.

Choose raw materials such as mackerel, sardines, or anchovies, which are rich in EPA and DHA, and are small cold water fish products at the bottom of the food chain, accumulating less heavy metals.

You can check if the product has a reliable certification label, such as IFOS certification, TGA certification, USP certification .

• IFOS certification: International Fish Oil Standards. A certification program specifically established for fish oil products. Certified fish oil is guaranteed in quality.

• TGA certification: Therapeutic Goods Administration. It is the Australian government’s drug and medical device regulatory agency, supervising the quality, safety, and efficacy of products.

• USP certification: United States Pharmacopeial Convention. It is an independent non-profit scientific institution. The USP mark indicates that the product has been laboratory verified and its component content is consistent with the label claim.

Of course, as with all nutritional supplements, there are risks if taken in excess, and there will be no problems as long as used according to the normal dosage.

If you want to use fish oil for treatment or targeted prevention of diseases, it is recommended to discuss with a doctor before using as required.