Omega-3 Fatty Acids - essential for health

The main sources of omega-3

Omega-3 fatty acids are found in various foods, including:

• ALA is mainly present in plant sources, such as vegetable oils (e.g. linseed oil, walnut oil, perilla oil), dried fruits (walnuts, cashews, pistachios, hazelnuts) and chia seeds or linseeds. Green vegetables, especially leafy greens such as spinach, lettuce or kale, are also rich in ALA.
• EPA and DHA are found in oily fish such as salmon, tuna, herring, mackerel, cod liver, sardines, anchovies, etc. These animal-derived omega-3 fatty acids are absorbed by the body more efficiently than plant-derived omega-3 fatty acids.

The benefits of omega-3

Omega-3 fatty acids are an important component for many functions in the body. These include the following:

• DHA contributes to the maintenance of normal brain function and to the maintenance of normal vision (these positive effects are achieved with a daily intake of 250 mg DHA)
• EPA and DHA contribute to normal heart function (these positive effects are achieved with a daily intake of 250 mg DHA + EPA)
• Replacing saturated fatty acids with mono- and/or polyunsaturated fatty acids in the diet contributes to the maintenance of a normal blood cholesterol level

How to find the right omega-3 product?

There are two effective ways to ensure omega-3 intake: The first way is to consume foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, especially fatty fish. To get enough, however, you should eat fish at least four times a week, which is not always easy to achieve. Bear in mind that farmed salmon is often heavily polluted, and even wild fish such as herring and sardines can contain elevated levels of PCBs. It is therefore advisable to opt for fish from sustainable, organic farming. If it is difficult to reach the recommended amount through diet alone, the second option is to take supplements based on fish oil.

An omega-3 course can be taken from the age of one year. Here are the criteria for choosing the right supplement:

Fish species used: Choose omega-3 preparations from small wild fish such as mackerel, sardines and anchovies, as these contain fewer contaminants compared with larger fish.

Fishing area: Look for products with labels demonstrating that the fish come from sustainable fishing areas. Examples include "Friend of the Sea" or "MSC".

Extraction method: Prefer omega-3 fatty acids that are extracted at low temperatures, as this best preserves the structure of the fish oil.

EPA and DHA content: The concentration of EPA and DHA fatty acids is important. For optimal uptake, it is advisable to choose a concentrated and balanced oil with a ratio of 40% EPA to 30% DHA.

Omega-3 fatty acids are available in two forms: ethyl esters and triglycerides (the natural form). We therefore recommend preferring the natural form to the ethyl ester.

Our range of omega-3 products

We carry many omega-3 products, from fish as well as from algae and krill.
At present (05.2025) we have 33 products, which may seem confusing to some customers.
Therefore, this year we intend to significantly expand our information about omega-3 in the shop. For example, there is an initial comparison list intended to make it clear how the value for money of the products should be assessed.

If you take a day and search through as many information pages on omega-3 fatty acids as possible, including those with study results on PubMed.gov or informational pages from doctors or nutrition institutes, you unfortunately will not find "the" definitive recommendation. Hard for laypeople to get a clear picture, especially if it is already difficult for me as a nutritional scientist.
After five hours of skimming, I am left with the following summary, which agrees about 90% with what you read elsewhere:

• 250 mg–500 mg EPA+DHA is the minimum requirement you must take to stay healthy, i.e. for prevention of heart disease in healthy people.
• 2000–4000 mg is the range in which you can expect real therapeutic effects, e.g. reduction of cholesterol levels or a noticeably better vision.
• From 5000 mg it becomes critical; people should not take more without consulting a doctor. According to Paracelsus, anything healthy can also become a poison. For example, the blood‑thinning properties of omega-3 fatty acids are desirable for health, but it is also conceivable that one could overdo the thinning, which could lead to internal bleeding or mean that bleeds in the body or brain that occur naturally or through minor accidents do not close up quickly enough.

So one could roughly say that someone who wants to stay healthy, is still healthy and does not have pronounced risks such as a family history of frequent heart attacks, is well served with 250–500 mg omega-3 daily. In the form of capsules or, preferably, in the form of fatty fish such as salmon.
Those who are older or have certain health or genetic predispositions should rather take 2000–4000 mg, depending on what they want to achieve.

I invested several hours of work and calculated the value-for-money ratio for all omega-3 products in our range based on 2000 mg EPA and DPA daily. See the graphic for the result.
This was a first attempt; I will further improve the graphic and comments.
It becomes clear that there are considerable differences. However, these are not always to be read absolutely. A product with an orange or red bar is not necessarily "expensive". It also very much depends on what else is in the product. Ubiquinol Omega-2 Aktiv Formula by Biogenial, for example, is deep orange and therefore seemingly expensive, but at 100 mg Q10 per capsule it is extremely cost-effective compared with the costs of a ubiquinol capsule! The same amount of ubiquinol from another brand would cost €94; this product costs €79.90 and is therefore to be regarded as extremely inexpensive and not expensive, as the table might initially suggest. We will improve the information for all products on this in the coming weeks.

Click here for the omega-3 price-check list!