Fish Oil Actually Comes from Algae

Fish oil is not my favorite but I take three capsules a day upon the recommendation of my doctor in hopes of lowering my cholesterol. I can tell you that I have had the rather unpleasant fishy aftertaste too so the idea that fish oil actually originates in algae makes me wonder what an algae aftertaste might be like. The omega-3 fatty acid fish oil (that I buy in fish oil capsules) that was produced by grinding up fish caught in the wild actually comes from algae. It gets into the flesh of oily fish through the food chain as they eat smaller fish that have eaten the algae containing the omega-3 fatty acids. The algae are in fact the only organisms that make EPA and DHA in appreciable amounts and approximately a million tons of it that’s extracted from fish is a supply that’s limited and unsustainable, especially if people follow the World Health Organization’s recommended daily intake. Some research colleagues in the UK have created an alternative source of EPA and DHA by taking 7 genes that algae use to produce the fatty acids and inserting them into the genome of another plant. If all goes according to plan the plant oil (with EPA and DHA like fish oil) could be available in about ten years. It could then begin to take pressure off the fish and make it possible for more people to have access to the recommended daily amounts EPA and DHA. I just hope they substitute the fishy aftertaste for some other plant aftertaste, maybe like… garlic?