Salmon Oil

What the science says

• Raising omega-3 status Moderate evidence

  A randomised crossover trial in 35 healthy adults compared four products at their label doses and found triglyceride-form salmon oil raised whole-blood omega-3 less than concentrated triglyceride or ethyl-ester fish oil, simply because its label dose supplies less EPA and DHA. A separate trial confirmed salmon oil capsules raise omega-3 index comparably to eating salmon when matched for dose.

• Cardiovascular prevention Moderate evidence

  The 2020 Cochrane review of omega-3 supplementation, covering tens of thousands of participants, concluded that supplemental EPA and DHA have little or no effect on all-cause mortality or cardiovascular events, while consistently lowering triglycerides. Expect a lipid effect, not event prevention.

• Advantage over other fish oils Limited evidence

  There is no trial showing salmon oil outperforms other fish oils on any clinical outcome. Its selling points, natural triglyceride form and accompanying astaxanthin, have not been shown to translate into better results.

Dosage & safety

Scientific references

• A randomized clinical trial to determine the efficacy of manufacturers' recommended doses of omega-3 fatty acids from different sources in facilitating cardiovascular disease risk reduction
  Laidlaw M, Cockerline CA, Rowe WJ — Lipids Health Dis, 2014
• Omega-3 fatty acids for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease
  Abdelhamid AS, Brown TJ, Brainard JS — Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2020
• Consumption of salmon v. salmon oil capsules: effects on n-3 PUFA and selenium status
  Stonehouse W, Pauga MR, Kruger R — Br J Nutr, 2011

Related in Heart & metabolic

• Vitamin B3 (Niacin) Limited evidence
• Vitamin K2 (MK-7) Limited evidence
• Chromium Limited evidence
• Potassium Strong evidence
• Vanadium Limited evidence
• L-Arginine Moderate evidence