Hi friends,

So here’s another video. I am enjoying the process and believe they are more informative than the original newsletters. The written take-home points are below as always.

The front of the label is marketing…the back is the TRUTH. That big “1,000 mg fish oil” on the front is the weight of the whole oil, not the part that does the work. Flip the bottle over to the Supplement Facts panel and read three numbers: EPA per serving, DHA per serving, and the serving size (a “serving” may often be 2 capsules, not 1).

Add EPA + DHA. That’s your real dose. Combine the two numbers. Aim for at least ~1 gram (1,000 mg) of combined EPA+DHA per day if you’re generally healthy, and go higher with EPA ratio if you have cardiovascular risk.

Form changes absorption. Triglyceride (or re-esterified triglyceride, “rTG”) and Krill oil forms absorb well with or without food (slightly better with food). Ethyl ester (“EE”) needs a fatty meal to absorb properly. The simplest rule that works for either: take it within an hour of a meal so you never have to think about it.

Third-party testing is non-negotiable. A manufacturer’s own “purity” claim means almost nothing. Look for one of three independent seals: IFOS, USP Verified, or NSF Certified. Red flags: no seal, a strong fishy smell or metallic taste. These signs usually mean the oil is oxidized (rancid), not that fish oil “just tastes like that.”

Fishy burps is normal with fresh non-oxidized fish oil, especially when the dose is high.

Know your number — the Omega-3 Index. A simple finger-prick blood test that measures EPA+DHA as a percentage of your red blood cell fatty acids. Below 4% = higher risk; roughly 8–12% is the sweet spot with the lowest cardiovascular risk. Test before you start, then retest in 3–6 months to confirm your supplement is actually moving the number. Testing can be done at Quest, Labcorp or online through Carlson Labs, OmegaQuant, etc

Fish oil makes the most sense for specific people, not as a universal “everyone should take it” supplement:

If you are a cardiac patient then prescription icosapent ethyl (pure EPA) which has shown to reduce major cardiovascular events by about 25% in the REDUCE-IT trial, can be prescribed and mailed to your house for roughly $23/month at Cost Plus Drugs

Bottom line: Don’t buy fish oil because someone said it’s “healthy.” Buy it because your situation calls for it. About 80% of getting this right is just reading the back of the bottle, matching your dose and form to your goal, and testing to make sure it’s working.

This video is for general education only and isn’t medical advice. Talk to your doctor before starting, stopping, or changing any supplement or medication.

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Dyerberg et al., Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids 2010 | Schuchardt & Hahn, Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids 2013 | Neubronner et al., Eur J Clin Nutr 2011 | Köhler et al., Lipids 2017 | Lawson & Hughes, Biochem Biophys Res Commun 1988 | Davidson et al., J Clin Lipidol 2012 | Harris & von Schacky, Prev Med 2004 (Omega-3 Index original) | von Schacky, Nutrients 2021 | Sheppard et al., JACC Adv 2025 | Bhatt et al., N Engl J Med 2019 (REDUCE-IT) | Yokoyama et al., Lancet 2007 (JELIS) | IFOS testing standards | USP-NF Dietary Supplements