What is the right fish oil dosage? I constantly see questions about how much fish oil should I take.
How much do you take? What about the recommended dosage for fish oil capsules for someone with preexisting heart disease, do they take more Omega 3 supplements?
The first place to look is the website of the American Heart Association. They recognize the heart benefits of Omega 3 fatty acids, and they deal with the question of what is the proper dosage of fish oil for both people with no preexisting heart problems, and for those who do have preexisting heart conditions.
Lets look at what they recommend.
But first lets talk about where to get your fish oil. Why not just eat a lot of fish? Firstly it's expensive, but there's other problems too.
Fish can be contaminated and for this reason the FDA tell us not to eat too much.
But the best fish oil supplements go through a rigorous decontamination process so they aren't contaminated. But not all fish oil supplements are contamination free.
And the second thing to be aware of is that there are large differences in how much Omega 3 fats you get from different types of fish. Oily fish are better than non oily fish.
The AHA recommendations for people with no known heart health problems is for a minimum of 2 fish meals a week (of the right types of fish). Now of course as stated that doesn't make it easy. What if you want to take fish oil capsules because fish is too expensive?
The AHA recommendation also includes the statement that evidence from prospective secondary prevention studies suggests that taking EPA+DHA ranging from 0.5 to 1.8 grams per day (either as fatty fish or supplements) significantly reduces deaths from heart disease and all causes.
So healthy people should take around half a gram to 1.8 grams of fish oil (EPA and DHA) a day from either eating fish or fish oil supplements.
And for people who have heart disease already:
For those with documented Coronary Heart Disease: 1 gram of EPA and DHA a day. (Note that those with known heart health problems should consult a doctor before starting any supplements).
And for those seeking to lower triglycerides: 2 to 4 grams per day. Again, consult your doctor.
So there's some more specific recommendations. Now lets look at another source.
In a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology on 11th August 2009 the recommendations are at least 500 mg per day for those with no known cardio vascular issues, and 800 to 1000 mg per day for those with known pre existing heart disease problems, of EPA and DHA.
The next question is, what ratio of EPA to DHA? There isn't yet sufficient science to tell us, its still being studied.
What's the conclusion? Firstly, those with known heart disease should take more fish oil than those without.
We don't know what ratio we should aim for between EPA and DHA, but otherwise it's reasonably clear.
A minimum of a half gram a day of EPA and DHA together for healthy people and about double that for those with known heart issues. More for lowering triglycerides.
The best fish oil supplements money can buy have 280 mg of DHA and 120 mg of EPA in them. (Double the amount of DHA than your "average" capsules). So they have a total of 400 mg.
So 2 capsules a day will give you 800 mg in total, around the level proposed by the AHA. And the recommended dosage, (taken from the label), for adults is 2 capsules a day.
So with no known heart issues take 2 capsules a day of the best fish oil capsules, up to double for other "average" fish oil capsules, depending on what is in them.
So if you're wondering how much fish oil should I take we hope this gives you some guidelines. There are no formal exact guidelines, these things are still under study.
But taking the recommendations of the AHA as a basis, we can draw some conclusions about the recommended dosage for fish oil supplements.
And the conclusion, 2 capsules day (of the best fish oil capsules, not all) corresponds with their own recommendations.
Author Resource:-
Want to know more about the Fish Oil Benefits? Or about how to get the right Fish Oil Dosage? Visit Peter's Website Healthy Omega 3 Fish Oil.
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