Omega-3 Index Calculator

This recommendation is meant to be a guide for how much EPA+DHA you may need in your diet to reach your Omega-3 Index target, based on research by Walker et al. 2019. Up to 5,000 mg per day of EPA and DHA is considered safe, but 3200 mg is set as the upper limit in the calculator due to data limitations. For our previous Omega-3 Index calculator, please click here. We recommend you retest after 3-4 months to see if your diet changes are working for you. Please consult your healthcare provider before making any major changes to your diet.

Don’t know your DHA level?

Enter the result from your OmegaQuant Prenatal DHA Test. You will need to take a DHA blood test to find out your level.

The Prenatal DHA Test measures the amount of this important nutrient in your blood using a simple finger prick collection method that you can do at home.

add to cart

How do I know my current DHA intake?

Only enter the DHA you are getting through supplements, which you can find on the Nutrient Facts Panel on the back of your supplement. Don’t try to guess how much you are getting through food and sunlight.

Examples

Bob has an Omega-3 Index of 4%, doesn’t eat fish and sometimes takes a multivitamin. The Omega-3 Index Calculator estimates that he should aim to take 2200 mg per day of EPA and DHA from a standard omega-3 supplement. If he finds a phospholipid or triglyceride-based supplement, he should aim for only 1400 mg per day.
Susan has an Omega-3 Index of 6%, and she eats fish once per week and takes around 600 mg per day of EPA and DHA in a standard fish oil supplement. The Omega-3 Index Calculator estimates that she should try to reach 1800 mg per day of EPA and DHA. She could add another serving of fish to her weekly meals in addition to increasing her supplemental intake to 1800 mg of EPA and DHA per day. She could also try to find a triglyceride-base supplement and aim for 1300 mg of EPA and DHA per day.

How Can You Find Out Your Omega-3 blood level?

You will need to take a Omega-3 Blood test to find out your level in order to use the Omega-3 Calculator.

Omega-3 Index Test

The Omega-3 Index Tests measure the amount of EPA and DHA in the blood using a simple finger prick collection method that you can do at home.

learn more >

Dosage Info

The calculator results provide a guide for how much omega-3 you may need to reach a desirable blood level. The best way to know if a supplement or dietary change is working for you is to test and re-test.

The General Recognized as Safe (GRAS) limit of EPA and DHA intake set by the US Food and Drug Administration is 3000 mg per day. Learn more >

European regulatory authorities have set the upper limit at 5000 mg per day of EPA and DHA. Learn more >

What form of omega-3 in supplements is best? It depends!

Triglycerides

Triglycerides are one of the forms that omega-3s are found naturally in fish. Supplements with omega-3s in triglyceride form are usually “reconstituted” to make them more concentrated in EPA and DHA. This form is well absorbed by most people but should still be taken with food.

Ethyl Esters

Omega-3s in the ethyl ester form can be highly concentrated in a supplement. It’s the form that many pharmaceutical omega-3 products are in as well as many high potency omega-3 nutritional supplements. These products are often a good value, but they must be taken with a meal containing fat or the omega-3s may not be well absorbed.

Phospholipid

Phospholipids are one of the forms that omega-3s are found naturally in fish. Supplements with omega-3s in phospholipid form are typically krill oil. They are often a lower dose of EPA and DHA per serving than traditional fish oils. This form is well absorbed by most people but should still be taken with food.

What About Fish?

Eating omega-3-rich fish at least 2 times per week is widely recommended as a part of a healthy diet. Having an Omega-3 Index of >8% is normal in cultures where fish is commonly eaten almost every day.

Fish contains EPA and DHA as phospholipids and triglycerides mainly. Omega-3s are well absorbed when eaten in food.

Is Natural Better?

Ethyl ester omega-3 supplements have been processed from the original fish oil to become more concentrated in EPA and DHA and to remove impurities. To concentrate the omega-3s, the manufacturer has to strip the omega-3s from the phospholipid or triglyceride backbone where they naturally reside to add an ethyl group to the end of the now free omega-3 fatty acids. Learn more…

Highly concentrated triglyceride omega-3 supplements are also processed to concentrate the omega-3s and remove impurities. Using a similar process as above, once the manufacturer gets to the purified and concentrated omega-3 ethyl esters, they then can take on more step of adding more omega-3s back in. Learn more…

Now What?

1

Use this information to make changes to your diet and supplement routine.

2

Confirm your Omega-3 Index level has improved with dietary changes by re-testing in 3 months.

1

Use this information to make changes to your diet and supplement routine.

2

Confirm your Omega-3 Index level has improved with dietary changes by re-testing in 3 months.

In the process of making an ethyl ester omega-3, both the glycerol molecule and other non-omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oils are removed, which allows the product to be much more concentrated in EPA and DHA. This is why they are able to fit more omega-3s in a capsule. The downside to this process is that studies show that ethyl ester omega-3s are not absorbed as well as the more natural forms, especially when taken without food (because they are better absorbed in the presence of fat). However, because the FDA-approved pharmaceutical omega-3 supplements are in ethyl ester form, they have been shown to be both safe and effective.

Instead of putting the ethyl esters in a capsule, manufactures can re-esterify the now pure EPA and DHA molecules back to a fresh glycerol molecule. Now where the original fish oil had about 1 omega-3 per “tri”glyceride molecule, in the re-esterified product there are 3 omega-3s per “tri”glyceride molecule. This product is then referred to as a “re-esterified,” “reconstituted,” or “reconstructed” triglyceride. It is expensive to produce these re-esterified omega-3 triglyceride products, which is why it might be a bit more pricey than other omega-3 supplements.

Compared to the natural fish oils, which are by definition in a triglyceride form — 30% omega-3 by weight — restructured fish oil can be between 65% and 95% omega-3 by weight. So you need to take only 1 capsules instead of 2-3 to get the same dose of EPA + DHA.

How much Omega-3 do I need to reach a desirable blood level?

Sign up for our Newsletter and save 10%*

You have Successfully Subscribed!