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Special edition: Omega-3

The varied sources of omega-3

The omega-3 market, recently valued at almost $8 billion (€5.57 billion) by Packaged Facts, is dominated by fish oil.

Eighty percent of the 2010 global market of omega-3 for human consumption comes from fish, said the market researcher, with 75% of this used in dietary supplements. This makes fish oil the gorilla in the room... or should that be the whale shark in the fish tank?

The whale shark in the fish tank

Science supports growth of krill

Algal bloom

Green Lipped Mussels

Flax seed and its ALA omega-3

EPA and DHA from plants?

SDA from soybeans

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4 commentsBy Stephen Daniells, 19-Aug-2011

Related topics: Omega-3, Industry, Omega-3, Nutritional lipids and oils

Omega-3 fatty acids can be obtained from a variety of sources: Fish, krill, algae, plants, mussels. In this gallery we tour the world and look at the sources making waves in the $5 billion omega-3 food, beverage and supplements industry.

4 comments (Comments are now closed)

Vegan Source

Algae based Omega 3 could be the best source in compare of fish based as fishes carries lot of ocean contamination which may harmful for body. I am using v-mega3 which is 100% natural and vegan source of Omega-3 it gives me great results. I also have tried fish based Omega 3 supplements but not really satisfied with their after taste.

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Posted by David Anderson
07 September 2011 | 14h31

EPA and DHA content of phytoplankton

Can someone tell me the DHA and EPA content of phytoplankton (algae)? How does it compare to fish oil and krill? Please provide a link to an independent source so I can confirm this. Thanks!

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Posted by Jim Punkre
23 August 2011 | 18h36

Fish are not any more natural then veg sources

There are serious disadvantages to fish as a source of DHA and Omega 3. It is not sustainable without major negative environmental impacts. Fish, and farmed fish even more so, contain significant amounts of heavy metals, agricultural chemicals, and other undesirables; and the bioavailability of DHA from fish is quite limited. The supply of krill is diminishing rapidly in spite of claims to the contrary by some industry proponents, and Krill are a poor source of digestible EPA and DHA.

There is no such thing as a food that is natural or unnatural for humans to consume. One must evaluate any consumable on the basis of its biochemistry and nutritional value.

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Posted by Hamish McFarland
22 August 2011 | 18h28