Is Your Fish Oil Supplement Aggravating Your Health?

Health science suggests that people who eat foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids have more bacterial diversity in the gut, which promotes better overall health. There’s a myriad of support for omega-3 fats as a core buttress for gut health towards which brings tonicity!

Omega-3 fats such as EPA, DHA, and DPA found in fish oil provide anti-inflammatory benefits. They counterbalance the inflammatory effect of omega-6 fats which are abundant in our modern diets. I’m such a fan, that I want to draw your attention to the gut-specific benefits of reducing inflammation, promoting a healthy gut barrier and the corresponding reorganisation of the immune system without suppressing it. Such timely goals to be driving towards in our current immune challenged times. 


My way of health is through food and lifestyle. The body can’t make the essential omega-6 fatty acids (linoleic) and omega-3 fatty acids (ALA, EPA, and DHA); these come from the diet but only if you are including food sources of these. If you’re eating fish, algae, seafood, quality grass-fed animal products and you’re not symptomatic of inflammatory dis-ease, you’re not likely to need to supplementation. If this isn’t you then I would highly suggest that you head towards a quality fish oil supplement. In my own health practice I’m surprised at how desultory omega-3 essential fatty acids are featured in our eating.

Inflammation is a hot topic right now and many of us, including those with auto-immune conditions, are chasing the benefits of the anti-inflammatory compounds found in fish oil.

How they champion their anti-inflammatory status;

✔️ They compete with pro-inflammatory fatty acids for the same conversion enzymes in the body thereby reducing their number

✔️ They decrease the pro-inflammatory cytokines (often active in autoimmune disease TNFa, IL-1, IL-6)

✔️ They may lower the number of CD4+T cells which stimulate an overactive immune response.

✔️ They also have metabolites that help resolve inflammation (chronic inflammation = unresolved inflammation).

✔️ By converting to pro-resolving mediators (PRMs/SPMs), they can clear out pathogens, and heal gut and body tissues. 

✔️ Intake of omega-3 fatty acids promotes the release of intestinal alkaline phosphatase, which regulates the microbial environment of the gut - promoting healthy bacteria and discouraging unwanted flora. 

✔️ EPA & DHA also inhibit platelet aggregation, lowering the risk of blood clots. Omega-6 essential fatty acids often do the opposite – they increase inflammation and increase platelet aggregation.

What to look for in a high-quality fish oil supplement:

🐟 Form: fish oil will either be in the form of an ethyl ester or a triglyceride. Ethyl ester is the first highly concentrated form though the triglyceride form is the more natural form (how it would be present in fish) Triglycerides are more stable and have better bioavailability. Ethyl esters are more likely to oxidized and have a strong fish oil smell indicating rancidity.

🐟 Transparency: you want to know the source of the fish oil. It should be from a sustainable fishery and clean waters.

🐟 Testing: Companies that care about the quality of their supplements test for purity, contaminants, and oxidation. The companies that I support purify using a state-of-the-art patented technology that removes contaminants such as heavy metals, environmental contaminants, dioxins, furans, dioxin-like PBC’s and common plastics found in some fish. You do not want to be spending your valuable dollars on sub-standard fish oils that may be increasing your inflammation as opposed to lowering it.

High-quality supplements are more expensive, but they’re also more effective, as a result you often need to take less to receive the same effect.

Keen to learn more? You’ll find my Fish Oil supplement recommendations on my ‘Favourite Products’ at the bottom of the ‘About Me’ page on this Website ♡