Which Fish Oil Gets Into Your Cells Better?
Comparative membrane incorporation of omega-3 fish oil triglyceride preparations differing by degree of re-esterification: A sixteen-week randomized intervention trial
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
This study tested two types of fish oil pills to see which one gets more omega-3s into your blood cells.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 575 / 90
Evidence Score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
This study tested two types of fish oil pills to see which one gets more omega-3s into your blood cells.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 575 / 90
Evidence Score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Publication
Authors
Minton ST, Almada AL, Evans JL, Laidlaw M, Opheim J
Related Content
Claims (6)
Taking high-quality fish oil pills with more of a certain form (called re-esterified triglycerides) leads to higher levels of a healthy fat called DPA in your blood cells after four months, compared to lower-quality ones.
Taking a high-quality omega-3 pill every day for four months improves the balance between anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory fats in your blood cells more than a lower-quality one, even with a similar dose.
If you're a healthy young adult, taking a high-purity fish oil supplement might improve your blood fat levels faster than a lower-purity one — and you could see changes in just four weeks.
Fish oil supplements with over 95% re-esterified triglycerides (a type of fat form) seem to get more omega-3s into your blood cells after 16 weeks than those with less than 70%, so this might be a good sign of a better-quality supplement.
If you're a healthy young adult, taking a high-purity fish oil supplement might help your body absorb more of the good omega-3s (like EPA and DHA) into your red blood cells compared to a lower-purity version—even if the difference in dose is pretty small.