Omega-3 Fish Oil: How Much is Enough?

Researchers with the Mayo Clinic wanted to find out how much Omega-3 it takes to reduce the chances of heart disease, so they conducted a study with 32,000 participants.

A key finding: two meals with fatty fish a week just isn’t enough.  Adding a fish oil supplement to the diet helps reduce cardiovascular events by 19%-45%.

The abstract of the Mayo Clinic study notes that “…secondary prevention patients and those with hypertriglyceridemia [high triglycerides] must use fish oil supplements if they are to reach 1g/d and 3 to 4 g/d of DHA and EPA respectively.”

Another Omega-3 benefit detailed in the Mayo study : lower triglycerides.  People who took an Omega-3 supplement enjoyed a 20%-50% reduction in triglyceride levels.

Dr. Donald Hensrud, Chair of Mayo Clinic’s Division of Preventive Medicine and Associate Professor of Mayo Clinc’s Preventive Medicine and Nutrition says  “The strongest benefit from Omega-3 fatty acid is reducing the risk of sudden cardiac death, which appears to be due to decreased the risk of abnormal heart rhythms.”