Omega-3 Supplements: Do They Have to be So Fishy?

It's no secret that omega-3 fatty acids are good for your heart. These healthy fats, known as DHA and EPA, are usually derived from fish oil, and protect us in several important ways. First, they help prevent life-threatening heart rhythms by stabilizing our heart muscle cells. We can also use omega-3's to lower triglyceride levels and raise good cholesterol. For people with very high levels, we cardiologists often prescribe a drug called Lovaza, which is a highly purified, FDA-regulated product derived from fish oil. Most people will not require this, and can use a supplement for prevention instead.(If you eat fatty fish like salmon 2-3 times a week, you probably can take a pass on supplemental omega-3’s).

So how do you decide what supplement to take? There are literally hundreds of choices. The problem with most supplements is that they are extracted from the bodies of fish that are caught specifically for that purpose. Much of it comes from the Menhaden fish, which is in serious danger of being over-fished. That's why I am so excited about Cardiotabs (www.cardiotabs.com), a product developed by cardiologists at the MidAmerica Heart Institute in Kansas City, Missouri. This supplement is made using calamari that are basically cast-offs from the food industry. That means no overfishing, and a safe, sustainable source of omega-3's. Even better, the product is far more purified than most supplements (meaning less potentially harmful contaminants), and, because it is flavored, it doesn't tend to give that fishy aftertaste so common with many other products.

What if you're a vegetarian? In the past, there were no good options. Flax seed oil is a plant-based omega-3, but our bodies cannot put the oil to use right away. Instead, after we swallow the capsule, flaxseed oil undergoes a complicated and highly inefficient conversion process that transforms the oil into usable DHA and EPA. Ultimately, the amount of DHA and EPA created from this process is about 10% of the starting dose. Recently, an algae-based form of DHA has hit the market. There are a number of different brands, so the best way to choose is to compare the milligrams of DHA per capsule. One example is Spring Valley - ALGAL-900, DHA 900 mg, Fish Free Omega-3, 30 Ct  There is some debate as to whether you are missing out by not getting the EPA as well, but several small studies have shown a similar lowering of triglycerides with DHA as compared to DHA+EPA, and it appears that, nutritionally speaking, algal-oil DHA is basically the same as salmon-oil DHA.