Rhonda currently takes an omega-3 supplement called Norwegian PURE-3, which is touted as being both high quality, and having low levels of total oxidation (TOTOX). Rhonda was previously taking the high DHA version during pregnancy and whilst breastfeeding her son – with the intention that the DHA was important for her child’s developmental process. Since then Rhonda alternates between the high DHA and high EPA version.
On top of her fish oil supplementation she often eats wild salmon roe caviar (from Vital Choice) for its omega-3 phospholipid concentration. More on this further down the page.
Norwegian PURE-3 is currently only available direct from the manufacturer (link), who offer international shipping from their base in Norway. However, Rhonda suggests they should be on Amazon.com in the future.
It is touted as being high quality, with low levels of total oxidation (TOTOX). As omega-3s are exposed to the air they start to become less beneficial to the human body, until at an extreme they become “rancid”. A lower total oxidation is representative of a healthier and more bioavailable omega-3 product. Whilst you need a test to accurately calculate the TOTOX value, you can actually use your taste buds to get an idea of whether a fish oil is oxidized, with less oxidized fish oil tasting “ok”, versus more oxidized fish oil tasting rancid. If the manufacturer adds flavouring, then they can cloak their use of oxidized fish oil – so that’s something to be aware of.
Dosage: 6 capsules/daily of Norwegian Pure-3 DHA
Norwegian PURE-3 Alternative?
On a recent crowd cast Q&A, Rhonda was asked which fish oil would she suggest whilst Norwegian PURE-3 are out of stock?
Her response was to utilize the labdoor.com and the International Fish Oil Standards site to search for a good product. Utilizing both websites’ testing of purity, heavy metals, oxidation and more.
As I also had this problem; needing an alternative whilst NPure-3 were out of stock, I did some digging. The conclusion I came to was that this product looked good – Viva Naturals – Triple Strength. Specifically it has low oxidation levels, low cost per gram of Omega-3, and no flavoring or other unnecessary ingredients.
For deep dive about how I arrived at this conclusion, click to expand the dropdown below.
Firstly, in terms of the two websites; labdoor.com and the International Fish Oil Standards (IFOS), they're slightly different in what they offer. With labdoor they test on a per product basis, and then rank them, so it's quite easy to navigate. With IFOS you need to search by brand first, then look at the individual products within the brand. For some of the products you can access a "batch report" which covers a wide gambit of testing, but for other products reports aren't available. Instead they just say that they're "IFOS certified".
The way I personally analyzed the options was to check what's ranking well in labdoor.com, and then cross-check they're IFOS approved also.
One product that ranks very highly on labdoor.com that I chose to ignore was WHC UnoCardio 1000. This is because WHC add orange flavoring to their products. Flavoring unfortunately breaks one of the tests (para-anisidine) used to find the total oxidation score. See this document for info on why flavoring breaks the para-anisidine test. If it's not possible to get an accurate oxidation score for the WHC product, I'd rather ignore it.
I then narrowed my shortlist down to products made by Viva Naturals and OmegaVia.
They both showed extremely low levels of heavy metals and other impurities, so to differentiate I focused on total oxidation, price per gram of omega-3, (and for pescatarians) what the capsule is made from:
| Viva Naturals - Triple Strength | OmegaVia - Ultra Concentrated | |
| Total Oxidation (2x peroxide + anisidine) | ✅6.71 TOTOX | ❌12.44 TOTOX |
| Price per gram of Omega-3 | ✅~$0.21 per gram | ❌~$0.43 per gram |
| Gelatine capsule | Bovine source | Fish source |
| IFOS link | IFOS link | |
| Labdoor link | Labdoor link |
For the total oxidation values above, I took the average of the last 5 batches tested on the IFOS site. This seemed potentially more reliable than the single score listed on labdoor. (Something worth noting, because it confused me initially, is that Viva Naturals "Triple Strength", used to be called "Ultra Strength" - and on the IFOS site it still calls it Ultra Strength).
So based on the lower total oxidation score, and the cheaper price per gram of omega-3s, the Viva Naturals - Triple Strength looked most interesting to me.
One thing to note is that they are both EPA to DHA heavy (~3:1). Whereas with N-PURE3, there's the option to choose between EPA heavy or DHA heavy. Where the OmegaVia brand looks interesting, is with their high DHA product DHA 600. Unfortunately though it's DHA only, rather than both. It works out to be ~$0.36 per gram of DHA, and it's TOTOX based on the only 2 batches IFOS tested is ~11.
Having taken both Npure-3, and now the Viva Naturals fish oil, I would say the main different I can taste is that the Viva Naturals is ever so slightly more “fishy”. If NPure-3 is a 2/10 for fishy, and cod liver oil is closer to an 8/10 – then Viva Naturals is about a 3/10. So only mildly more. As long as NPure-3 have stock shortages, I’m happy to keep using this as an alternative.
Table of Contents
Omega-3 Phospholipids
Rhonda currently gets her omega-3 phospholipids via wild salmon roe caviar, rather than using supplements. She bulk buys her caviar from Vital Choice, who offer it in 2.2lbs packages that can be frozen, and then defrosted one quarter at a time. Consuming this in addition to her regular omega-3 supplementation.
Prior to this Rhonda was supplementing Omega-3 phospholipids via Nordic Naturals Omega-3 Phospholipids.
Side note – I’ve taken Nordic Naturals Omega-3 Phospholipids as part of my supplement stack, and its worth noting, they’re really “strong” tasting – stronger than regular fish oil. You definitely want to throw them down ahead of a substantial meal, don’t try them on an empty stomach!
Dosage: 4 capsules/daily of Nordic Naturals Omega-3 Phospholipids
Prior to the Nordic Naturals, Rhonda was taking her omega-3 phospholipids via NOW Neptune Krill Oil 1000. However she no longer believes Krill Oil to be an optimal source of omega-3 phospholipids – given the small amounts of EPA & DHA per serving when compared with other sources.
For more information on all of Dr Rhonda Patrick’s supplements, see this post.
Omega-3 Phospholipids & Alzheimer’s Prevention in APOE4 Carriers
In October 2018, Rhonda published an open access paper on a possible mechanism for getting DHA into the brain, as other methods become less efficient. This is of particular interest to those with the APOE4 polymorphism – who become more predisposed to Alzheimer’s due to impaired DHA transport.
To figure out if this is relevant to you or your family; you’d first need to check if you carry the APOE4 allele – it’s estimated that something like 25% of the population do. You can check this by getting a 23andMe test (their cheaper ancestry test is sufficient)- and then exporting the raw data they provide into Rhonda’s genetic report.
One APOE4 allele increases Alzheimer’s disease risk 2-3x, two APOE4 alleles inrease risk up to 15x. However, whilst having APOE4 allele’s is not a guarantee of alzheimer’s disease, it does increase the risk in later life.
Rhonda’s paper proposes that consuming DHA in phospholipid form gets around impaired DHA transport. The reason for this is that phospholipid DHA gets converted to DHA-lysoPC, by a specialized transporter called MFSD2A. This transport system appears to continue to work even when regular DHA transport is impaired.
Once the brain is then getting DHA again (in the DHA-lysoPC form), this may reduce Alzheimer’s disease risk.
According to Rhonda, omega-3 phospholipids are found in fish, and in greatest concentration in fish roe (fish eggs).
Rhonda displaying her freshly published paper on mitigating APOE4 induced Alzheimer’s disease risk.
Omega-3 Benefits
Omega-3 oils, EPA & DHA, are essential fatty acids. Specifically, they are incorporated into cell membranes all over the body, but are particularly concentrated in the brain and eyes (retina). They are also vital to processes that mediate lipids, which can be beneficial in the prevention of several diseases. And are essential for proper fetal development and heathy ageing. Read more on their role here.
If you’re looking for further Rhonda Patrick related content, below are some related posts I’ve written:
- A relatively comprehensive list of supplements that Rhonda has discussed taking, some daily, some for specific use-cases (link)
- A detailed post on Rhonda’s diet – including examples of her breakfast, lunch and dinner (link)
- A post on Rhonda’s approach to exercise + examples of what she does (link)
- Notes on many of the key things Rhonda has discussed about pregnancy, breastfeeding & baby health – based on her journey into motherhood (link)
Hi John, thank you for this great post.
What do you think about the studies showing that algae oil has lower level of Peroxide, Anisdine and Totox?
Hi. If you have a link to the studies you’re referring to I’m happy to take a look.
This is the link
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Peroxide-a-anisidine-b-and-total-oxidation-TOTOX-c-levels-of-over-the-counter_fig2_284078017
Thanks!
Ok, so they’ve taken the average values.
Yeah, I think either route one goes, you want to look at some lab studies of the particular brand to understand their TOTOX values. Even if it’s algae based.
For example the Viva Naturals I linked to is well under the averages of the TOTOX values they listed, in the particular lab analysis I viewed.
You could check Labdoor to see if they’d analyzed some algae based oils.
Hey John. I contacted WHC. It indeed as orange aroma, but not in the fish oil. It is in the gelatine capsule. The p-Anisidine value was thus measured correctly and therefore the TOTOX of 6-8 on average is valid. It is expensive though, but Viva is not available in EU.
I am still not sure what the benefits are for otherwise healthy young individuals if you eat sardines or salmon twice a weak. It’s such an expensive addition when you supplement with 3 to 4 grams of EPA/DHA. like 1 or 2 euro’s.
Hi, good work getting that extra info. However, it’s not clear to me that the orange flavouring being in the capsule, rather than put directly into the oil is proof that the flavouring doesn’t interact with the total oxidation value. From anecdotal experience with flavouring, it tends to permeate quickly through food items when in touching distance. Can we be certain that the flavoring in the capsule doesn’t bleed into the fish oil that gets held inside it for days/weeks/months? To your second point, I would agree, if you’re already eating oily fish 2x or more per week, then the… Read more »
Hi John, great post! I’m trying to figure out what is the best amount to take per day? How many soft gels does Rhonda take and what dosage? At present, I have the brand bulk powders ‘Omega 3 (1000mg)’.
Also is there anyway I can establish what the TOTOX level is before buying online?
Hi Claire. Last time Rhonda discussed her omega-3 supplementation she was taking a high dose. 6 capsules per day, so 6g (6,000mg) total. Regarding the total oxidation, we’re reliant on either the brand publishing that (I haven’t seen any that do), or independent testing. This study (link) is interesting, they tested “171 North American over-the-counter n-3 PUFA nutritional supplements”, and found “Of the products successfully tested, 50% exceeded the voluntary recommended levels for markers of oxidation. Another 18% of products were approaching the limits with 1–3 years before expiration.” Which suggests at least that this is a problem to be… Read more »
Hi,
Im looking for a good quality cod liver oil that contains natural vitamins, any recommendations?
Thank you
From what I understand the more important focus for omega-3 oils is their EPA & DHA quantity, where they’re sourced from (generally smaller fish is better) and their total oxidation (TOTOX) measurement. The lower the TOTOX, the better. Then separately get a good quality multivitamin, rather than conflating the two things (omega-3 and vitamins).
Hi John,
Has Rhonda looked into the Omega 3 concentration of other fish eggs like flying fish roe also known as tobiko? It is considerably less expensive.
Thanks,
Edward
Yes, Rhonda has mentioned them before, and didn’t have any negatives to say regarding flying fish roe. For example see this tweet. Also search this webpage for “flying fish” and you can see the section she talks about it in one of her old podcasts. She just has a personal preference for salmon roe. She has said previously: “Fish roe from salmon, herring, pollock, and flying fish contain approximately 38%-75% of their omega-3 fatty acids in phospholipid form, mostly present in phosphatidylcholine”. Hope that helps.
Thanks. I can’t find the exact percentage of PLs in flying fish roe, but I like it, so I’ll just eat a lot of it.
Is she taking all of these at once? Also, how much of the roe in mgs or ounces is recommended. Thanks
Hi Cameron. When you say all of these – no, not all the products listed above simultaniously. She currently takes Norwegian Pure-3 for fish oils, and consumes the salmon roe as a concentrated source of Omega-3 phospholipids. I listed the other fish oils as previous examples of what she had taken. And as possible alternatives to Norwegian Pure-3 which doesn’t yet ship from the USA (although hopefully that will change).
In terms of quantities of salmon roe, I’ve never heard Rhonda talk about specifics. But from her pictures it appears to be up to 1 tablespoon per serving.
The OMEGA-3 Pure -3 Norwegian capsules say that they’re in TG form. I thought you guys were recommending the phospholipid form?
Rhonda uses both “regular” fish oil in triglyceride form (where she specifically uses N-Pure3 brand currently) and phospholipid omega-3s, which she primarily gets from fish roe. The latter (phospholipid form omega-3) is particularly beneficial to those with APOE4 mutations, because it’s absorbtion in the brain isn’t hindered by the effect of the particular DNA mutation.
Hi,
Trying to find source to purchase supplies of OMEGA-3 Pure -3 Norwegian capsules. in US. Can you direct me please?
Hi Robin. Currently (as far as I know) Npure3 only ship directly from their base in Norway. They don’t have a USA based retailer that I’m aware of – meaning shipping takes a bit longer (and costs more) than it would normally. I emailed them a while back asking when they would sell on Amazon, and was told it’s in the works, but seems to be taking a while.
Your site is a great resource, John. Where did Rhonda say she takes Norwegian pure 3 DHA in the pink packaging? I listened to her Crowdcast but she just mentioned Norwegian Pure 3.
Hi Nadia, thanks for the message. Good question. Here’s a link to the section of Rhonda’s crowdcast where she discusses this… hope that helps.
Listen out for her mentioning “high DHA”.