Omega-3 Fatty Acids

I recently read a journal review article about the differences between various Omega-3 fatty acid supplements. Omega-3 fatty acids come from triglycerides. Basically what I learned was that triglycerides (which are mostly derived from fish) goes through a purification process that removes the fatty acids from it’s glycerol backbone. These become free-fatty acids. Then to stabilize these free-fatty acids, they are joined to either “ethanol” (known as ethyl-esters) or back to a “glycerol backbone” (known as re-esterified Triglycerides).

The interesting finding from this article was that they studied the bioavailability of the two different forms of these fish oils (ethyl-esters vs. re-esterified triglycerides). Re-esterified triglycerides showed increased bioavailability in comparison to the ethyl-ester form.

The question then becomes…what form is your fish oil in? Ethyl-ester (EE) or Re-esterified Triglyceride (r-TG)?

So why are so many people taking fish oil supplements? I found an article that gives a brief synopsis of the benefits of fish oil.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids – MSN Health & Fitness

Email me if you want to learn more about your fish oil supplement: mike@akdocmike.com