Omega-3 Fish Oil Capsules

Winners Explained

SC Quality Benchmark for Omega-3 Capsules   The standard used is the provision of a minimum of 450mg of EPA/DHA at the recommended daily dose of the product. Additional merit is awarded for products providing this level of EPA/DHA in one capsule.

The main advantage of these Omega-3 fish oil-based capsules over liquid fish oils is that they can offer high concentrations of EPA / DHA with no fishy aftertaste for those who prefer to take capsules. Similarly, fish oil capsules like these tend to contain higher levels of EPA / DHA than Cod Liver Oil capsules do.

Typically, an average one-a-day Cod Liver Oil capsule will deliver 60-250mg EPA / DHA, whereas the Omega-3 fish oil capsules reviewed here typically deliver 200-500mg EPA / DHA. This difference results in these products being generally more expensive than Cod Liver Oil capsules, however, the advantage of this is that (in many situations) higher doses of EPA / DHA produce faster and more consistent results.

Quality

Generally, the quality of the products was not as high as expected, in that most of them (at their one-a-day recommendation) provided less than the minimum recommended daily intake of 450mg EPA / DHA. Indeed, over half of the products reviewed here had exactly the same specification of 300mg EPA / DHA per capsule.

Only products from Aliment, Boots and Nature’s Best provided the minimum 450mg EPA / DHA per single capsule. Others, such as Holland and Barrett, Natures Aid, Igennus, Higher Nature, and Simply Supplements, provided greater than the minimum level by recommending more than one capsule per day.

Most of the other products provided 300mg EPA / DHA per capsule, with a recommendation of one capsule per day

Value range

Value in this category was based upon the price paid per SC Quality benchmark level of 450mg EPA / DHA. The value ranged from £0.06 to £0.32 per 450mg EPA/DHA.