Does fish oil (Omega-3) need a high concentration of EPA?

Question:
I use fish oil of an expensive brand. Your product is three times cheaper, but has a lower concentration of Omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA (360 mg versus 650 mg). There is also more EPA in my current product. I heard that that is important. Am I making the right choice when I decide to switch to your product?

Answer:
You can find a lot of fish oil supplements containing a lot of EPA. We have always considered it pretty remarkable that so many producers separate EPA and DHA in several products. But now we see that most of these producers have stopped separating EPA and DHA. Logically because everyone needs both fatty acids. The idea that adults don’t need DHA anymore because DHA would only serve as a building material is outdated. It is even suggested that for adult men DHA would be of the most importance.

A fish oil with a higher concentration is handy when there is a high demand for Omega-3 fatty acids without a blood thinning effect. A very high dosage works blood thinning.

For people who use a normal dosage of EPA and DHA, our fish brand Marinoil is a very logic choice. With 1 capsule you receive the dosage  that is recommended by the Health Council. With two capsules you have even ingested twice the recommended dosage.

A higher content Omega-3 acids than in our product can only be achieved when the acids are chemically separated from glycerol. After separation of EPA and DHA of the unwished other acids, EPA and DHA can be “pasted” to the glycerol molecule again.

Glycerol has 3 positions fatty acids can be tied to. By nature DHA is bound to the beta-position of glycerol. As far as I know, producers are not well capable of putting back DHA on the original position. It is assumed that this has consequences for the way the body processes the DHA.

Our fish oil has about the highest concentration EPA and DHA that can be achieved naturally, without any chemical cut and paste work.