🐟 Fish oil isn’t just “fish oil.” The type of omega-3 matters.

As we close out #LipidAwarenessMonth, a reminder:

🐟 Fish oil isn’t just “fish oil.” The type of omega-3 matters.

The major omega-3s are:

🔹 EPA - eicosapentaenoic acid

🔹 DHA - docosahexaenoic acid

Once you eat EPA and DHA, your body absorbs them and incorporates them into fats carried in the blood and into cell membranes throughout the body.

Their levels can start changing within days, but building up in tissues takes longer and depends on the dose, your starting level, and the tissue involved.

🧬 What do they do?

Think of them as more than just “healthy fats.”

Omega-3s can influence:

• How cell membranes function

• How cells communicate with each other

• How certain genes are switched on and off

• How cells respond to signals

• The production of molecules involved in inflammation and its resolution

⚖️ EPA ≠ DHA

Their biology overlaps, but they are not interchangeable.

DHA is especially important for brain and retinal development, while EPA has distinct effects on lipid metabolism and inflammatory signaling.

Conversion of EPA → DHA is generally limited, although it may vary by sex and physiological state.

💊 And the formulation matters.

Omega-3s can be provided as triglycerides or ethyl esters. Absorption of ethyl esters is influenced more by taking them with a fat-containing meal, although formulation differences don't necessarily translate into different clinical outcomes.

And don't forget DPA (docosapentaenoic acid), another omega-3 with its own biological activity.

Bottom line: “Omega-3” is not one molecule.

EPA, DHA, DPA, dose, formulation, and the clinical indication all matter.

#Omega3 #FishOil #EPA #DHA #Lipidology #Cardiology #Nutrition