Plenty of our customers aren't vegan. If you care about where your fish oil comes from, algae is worth considering regardless of diet.

The commercial fishing industry takes a significant toll on ocean health, and the global demand for omega-3 is only growing. Algae is farmed rather than fished, so it doesn't have that problem.

Whether you're vegetarian, vegan, or neither, the case for algae is the same.

Our Omega-3 softgels capsules should be swallowed whole with water and after a meal (ideally your fattiest meal of the day).

You can also pierce the capsules and squeeze the oil out if administering to young children.

No this does not contain Omega-6. Although Omega-6 is an important fatty acid, the modern diet is very rich in Omega-6. In fact, most people consume far too much, to the point that it is affecting our health.

The ideal ratio of Omega 3 to 6 in the diet is 1:1, while is reality it is closer to 1:20 in the western world.

For this reason, we did not include any Omega-6 in our products as there is little health benefit to supplementing with it.

In most cases, it's far better to increase your Omega-3 and reduce your Omega-6.

Our Omega-3 is free of the most common allergens including fish, wheat, gluten, crustaceans, eggs, nuts, soya, dairy and artificial flavourings and preservatives.

Omvits Omega-3 may be particularly beneficial for:

- Vegetarians, vegans or anyone with very little oily fish in their diet

- People concerned about the sustainability issues around fishing

- Pregnant and breastfeeding women

- People over the age of 50 who are at higher risk of cardiovascular disease, cognitive and visual decline or joint pain

- People with seafood allergies

- People who suffer from dry eyes

- People wanting to improve their concentration levels and memory

- Young children

- People wanting to improve the health of hair, skin and nails

You may think that a supplement which contains Omega 6 and 9 as well as Omega-3 is a better choice than Omega-3 on its own.

However, most of us already get plenty of Omega-6 from the foods we eat. In fact, we are eating so much Omega-6, that it is having a negative effect on our health by causing inflammation.

By taking a supplement with added Omega-6, you could be damaging your health further. As for Omega-9, this is not required in our diet at all. Omega-9 is a “non-essential” fatty acid, as it can be created by the body from other nutrients.

What most people actually need is more Omega-3, not more 6 or 9.

Schizochytrium is a strain of algae found in coastal marine habitats and is naturally rich in Omega-3 DHA.

These algae are cultivated in a sterilised environment and then fermented in vats of purified water.

This keeps the algae free of sea water pollutants and avoids disrupting the marine ecosystem.

During this process, the algae synthesise the DHA-rich oil which is then extracted using a solvent-free process.

The extracted oil is then treated and mixed with Vitamins E and C to prevent oxidation, after which it is ready to be filled into our veggie softgels.

Obviously, there's a lot more to the process, but this provides a basic overview.

There is no official standard for how much Omega-3 we should get each day. However, most health organisations agree that 250–500 mg per day is sufficient to maintain good overall health.

One such organisation is the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), who recommend the following:

Adults:

- 250 mg DHA or EPA per day for normal adults

Pregnant/breastfeeding women:

- 200 mg DHA per day in addition to normal adult requirements (450 mg total).

Children (7-24 months):

- 100 mg DHA per day

Children (2-18 years):

- 250 mg DHA or EPA per day

There is no doubt that fish oil has some health benefits, however, there are also well documented downsides. If you are considering buying a fish oil, here are a few things to bear in mind:

1) Many fish oils are cheap, but you should be aware of what you are paying for. These cheap fish oils are regularly of poor quality and contain relatively small dosages of DHA/EPA. They often have not been properly processed to remove heavy metals and toxins. You'll also find that they have a very strong "fishy" smell or taste. This is because the oil is starting to go rancid as the polyunsaturated fats start to go bad.

2) If you saw how fish oil is made, you probably wouldn't want to put it in your body! Fish scraps are mashed, steamed and squeezed to get the oil out before it goes through further processing.

3) Our seas are more polluted now than they have ever been. Fish often contain harmful levels of contaminants and toxins including heavy metals, PCBs and dioxins. High levels of these substances in your diet can have serious health consequences, particularly for pregnant women.

4) There are major concerns about the impact of overfishing on world fish stocks. According to the United Nations, world fish stocks are expected to collapse by the year 2048 if current practices continue. Algae on the other hand, is fully sustainable and a great alternative to fish oil for vegans and non-vegans alike.

5) Fish is a highly inefficient way of getting Omega-3 in comparison to algae. Pound-for-pound, algae contains approximately twenty times the amount of Omega-3 as fish. In other words, for every 20 kilograms of fish taken out of the ocean, you'd only need 1 kilogram of algae to produce the same amount of Omega-3!

Our algae is grown in a closed system in purified water, not taken from the sea.

That means it's free of ocean-borne contaminants, and it doesn't disrupt the marine ecosystem either.

If you have a question, we'd love to hear from you! You can contact us by clicking here. 

Alternatively, you can email us at hello@omvits.com