How much omega-3 is in your capsule?

What your result means

1. Less than half the capsule is EPA and DHA: the rest is other fat, so it takes more capsules than the front of the bottle suggests to get a given amount.
2. Your day comes to less than a fish week: two servings of salmon, sardines or trout a week give you as much or more, with the protein.
3. 1,000 mg a day or more: in trials that gave more than 1 g a day, the risk of an irregular heartbeat was about half again higher. Talk to your doctor first.
4. You take it for your heart: in VITAL, 1 g a day didn't prevent major heart events in healthy US adults over 50. The US advice is the fish.

What foods are high in omega-3? has the food route, fish and plants.

How it works

EPA plus DHA per capsule is the two lines added, divided by the capsules in a serving. The share of the capsule is that over the capsule's weight. A week of 8 oz of sardines comes to about 320 mg a day of EPA plus DHA, of farmed salmon about 700 mg (USDA FoodData Central).

What the trials found

In VITAL, 25,871 US adults over 50 took 1 g of fish oil omega-3 or a placebo every day for about five years. Major heart events came out about even: 386 on fish oil, 419 on placebo. Across seven big heart trials, fish oil raised the risk of an irregular heartbeat by about a quarter, and by about half above 1 g a day.

The US advice is fish: at least 8 ounces a week. This check works from your own label and suggests no dose.