Fish Oil Capsules Are as Good as Fish

New findings indicate that fish oil capsules and fatty fish do an equally good job of enriching the body with healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

For the study, 11 women ate two servings of tuna or salmon each week, while an additional 12 women took in the same amount of omega-3s in capsule form. After 16 weeks, the amount of omega-3 fatty acids in the red blood cells of women in both groups had risen by 40 percent to 50 percent.

The researchers began the project assuming that fish would be better, but, according to the lead researcher, found instead that “whether you get your omega 3 fatty acids from a concentrate in a capsule or in fish ... they have the same effect on enriching the tissues with omega 3.”

Sources:

• Reuters December 28, 2007

• American Journal of Clinical Nutrition December 2007; 86(6):1621-5