Nutrition · Protocol 7 of 7
Get your omega-3s from fish or oil
1In 30 seconds
Eat fatty sea fish such as sardines or mackerel once or twice a week. The book also suggests about 1,000 mg of EPA a day from fish, krill or algae oil, and some people take 2 to 3 grams. Talk to your doctor first before starting any supplement.
2Picture it
3Why do it
- 1
Your body cannot make omega-3 fats, so you have to get them from food or supplements.
- 2
Omega-3s support heart health and are linked to better memory and thinking.
- 3
In one small trial, 1,000 mg of EPA a day eased depression about as well as a common antidepressant over eight weeks.
4How to do it
- Once or twice a week, eat an oily cold-water fish: sardines, mackerel, herring or skin-on salmon.
- Favour low-mercury fish like sardines and herring, and limit high-mercury fish such as king mackerel, swordfish and bigeye tuna.
- If you use a supplement, the book’s target is about 1,000 mg (1 gram) of EPA a day, with some people benefiting from 2 to 3 grams. Talk to your doctor first.
- Choose a fresh, third-party tested product, and keep liquid fish oil in its dark bottle in the fridge once opened so it does not go rancid.
- If you are vegetarian or vegan, use algae oil, which supplies omega-3 without any fish.
- Ask your doctor whether a prescription purified omega-3 suits you; the one the author takes has 465 mg per capsule and is cleaned of metals.
5Make it work in India
- On the coasts, local sardines (mathi or chaala) and Indian mackerel (bangda) are cheap and excellent. In inland cities like Lucknow, freshwater rohu and katla are good protein but carry much less omega-3, so a supplement matters more.
- Surmai or seer fish is a large mackerel related to king mackerel and may carry more mercury, so enjoy it now and then rather than every week.
- Vegetarians can add alsi (flaxseed), walnuts and chia for plant omega-3, but the body turns very little of it into EPA. Algae oil is the main vegetarian route to EPA.
6The long read: the science2 min read · tap to open
Omega-3s are a family of polyunsaturated fats. Your body can turn spare calories into stored fat, but it cannot build omega-3s from scratch. You have to eat them. They become part of your cell walls, especially in the brain, and help shape metabolism, hormone responses and physical performance.
The modern interest began in 1971. Two Danish researchers noticed that the Inuit of Greenland, who ate large amounts of seal and whale fat, had surprisingly little heart disease and diabetes. They compared blood fats in the Inuit with those of people in Denmark and suspected the unsaturated fats in the Inuit diet were protective. That paper set off decades of research.
Since then, omega-3s have been tied to better memory and thinking, healthier hearts and better outcomes after heart treatment. One of the more striking findings involves mood. In a trial of sixty people with major depression, 1,000 mg of EPA a day worked about as well as 20 mg of fluoxetine, a common antidepressant, over eight weeks. Taking both worked better than either alone. The trial was small, so it is a clue rather than a final answer.
EPA and DHA, the most useful omega-3s, come mainly from oily sea fish and algae. Fish get them by eating algae, which is why algae oil works for vegetarians.
Good evidence Omega-3s reliably lower blood fats called triglycerides and some trials show heart and mood benefits, but results for preventing heart disease are mixed and the depression evidence comes from small studies.
Questions people ask
I don’t like fish. What can I do?
Algae oil is a vegan source of omega-3, and krill oil also works. The author notes that some people get an itchy rash from krill oil, so start carefully.
Can I just eat lots of fish instead?
It is hard and costly to eat enough fish to reach 1 gram of EPA every day, and big predatory fish carry more mercury. Small fish like sardines plus a supplement is the cheapest route.
How do I know if my fish oil has gone off?
A strong rancid or sharply fishy smell is a warning sign. Buy small bottles, keep them in the fridge after opening and finish them quickly.
7Be careful
Talk to your doctor first, especially if you take blood thinners or aspirin, have a bleeding disorder or surgery coming up, or are pregnant or breastfeeding. Never stop or change an antidepressant on your own; omega-3s may support treatment but do not replace it.
8Try it for 7 days
Tap a day each time you got my omega-3s today.
From the book: “Consume Fatty Ocean Fish and/or Consider Omega-3 Supplements” (Nutrition Protocol 7). Evidence rating and India notes are our own.