Fish oil supplements usually contain mackerel, herring, tuna, halibut, salmon, cod liver, whale blubber or seal blubber and often include small amounts of vitamin E to prevent spoilage, MedlinePlus reports. In addition, some supplements combine the fish oil with calcium, iron or vitamins A, B-1, B-2, B-3, C or D. Most of the benefits from fish oils come from two omega-3 acids called docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA for short, and eicosapentaenoic acid, also known as EPA, MayoClinic.com explains.
Benefits
DHA and EPA in fish oil can help lower your triglyceride level, reduce your risk of heart attack, stroke and dangerous abnormal heart rhythms and, if you are suffering from cardiovascular disease, slow down the buildup of plaque that can lead to hardening of the arteries, MayoClinic.com notes. These omega-3 fatty acids can also help lower your blood pressure slightly.
Overdosing
There is a good chance that taking large doses of fish oil -- more than 3 g per day -- may interfere with the ability of your blood to clot and increase the chance of bleeding, MedlinePlus warns. The activity of your body's immune system may also be reduced if you take large doses of fish oil. This is a special concern if you are either elderly or taking medication that suppresses immune system activity. Aside from this, taking too much fish oil can increase your levels of bad cholesterol, so have you blood tested regularly to make sure that blood cholesterol does not become too high.
Dosing
To avoid the risk of bleeding, do not take more than 3 g of omega-3 fatty acids without medical supervision. If you are a healthy adult with no history of heart disease, include fish in your diet at least twice a week, the University of Maryland Medical Center reports. If you have coronary heart disease, you may need at least 1 g of combined EPA and DHA per day. If your cholesterol level is high, you need to take 2 to 4 g daily. Again, do this only under the supervision of a health care provider. There is no established dose for children. Avoid giving fish oil capsules to children except under the direct supervision of a health care provider.
Selecting Good Fish Oil Supplements
Choosing good fish oil supplements is very important to your health as not all supplements are created equal. Avoid products that don't list the source of their omega-3 oils because there is a very good chance that these contain only only alpha-linolenic acid, commonly called ALA for short, an omega-3 oil that is not as healthy as either DHA or EPA, Helpguide.org recommends. Fortified products that claim to be in omega-3 fatty acids are suspect because in reality, the amount of omega-3 fatty acids in these products is actually minuscule. When reading labels, pay attention to the total amount of DHA and EPA which are more important than the amount of fish oil. Lastly, make sure that the supplements you get are mercury-free, pharmaceutical grade and contain both DHA and EPA.
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