I've recently had the pleasure of being able to listen to the Omega Rx Zone book on my iPhone (purchased it as a Audiobook and listened to it while commuting)!

Previously, I forget which book now...I read previously that someone who is Obese should be taking about 5g of Fish Oil (~8 capsules per day), and that a more "normal" person would use 2.5g of Fish Oil (~4 capsules per day)...

In Omega Rx, Dr. Sears states that if your ratio of Trig/HDL is under 5 (I could be wrong on that number?) that you should take 2.5g of Fish Oil or 4 capsules.

I did have a fasting blood test at the end of April and my Trig/HDL ratio is 1.98, so it's "good," but not "ideal"

Fast forward to my real question, I was looking at my bottle of Dr. Sears' Omega Rx and I'm curious what equals 2.5g? The serving size is listed as 4 Capsules, and that the total amount of Fish Oil Concentrate in a serving is 4000mg - isn't that 4g? Should I be taking 4 capsules, or 2?

Please help, it is much appreciated!

It is the amount of combined EPA/DHA and NOT total Fish Oil - when looking at the recommendations.
One capsule of 1 g (1000mg) = 600mg of combined EPA/DHA.
So 4 capsules = 4 x 600 = 2400 mg of combined EPA/DHA.
Or about 2.5 g.

By-the-way - under 2.0 ratio is very good.
I started at 4.0 about 5 years ago.
Got down to 2.0 in 6 months, and then close to ideal of 1.0 later.

Thanks for the explanation - definitely alleviates my confusion on that! Ha ha...

Now, onto how much should I really be taking...I will admit I haven't yet really taken any of the fish oil yet, so this part is all new to me - should I start off taking only the 2.5g since my Trig/HDL ratio is under 2, or do I take 5g because I am a bit on the plumper side still?

What does Dr. Sears consider "obese" - according to my BMI, I believe I'm "obese" or close to it?

Hi Jenny,

The amount of Omega Rx you'd take daily depends upon your degree of wellness. Regardless of how overweight you are, simply being overweight increases your need for EPA because the excess stored fat creates inflammation. It's explained in TOXIC FAT as follows (grams refer to total amount of EPA and DHA combined).


To maintain wellness, 2.5 g/day (4 caps; 1 teaspoon liquid).

For overweight, obesity, type 2 diabetes, or before starting a diet, 5 g/day (8 caps; 2 teaspoons liquid).

For chronic pain, 7.5 g/day (12 caps; 3 teaspoons liquid).

For existing neurological conditions 10 g/day (16 caps; 4 teaspoons liquid).

I would start slowly, though. Many people have a hard time tolerating high doses of fish oil at first. I would start with the standard dose, see how you do with it, and work up from there.

I believe in one of the books, or podcasts that I was listening to with Dr. Sears he suggested to take the Fish Oil at night? Or maybe I read that somewhere on here?

Any advice on that - is it better absorbed then, or does it work better when resting, or...?

I will start out with maybe just doing the "normal" dose of 2.5g for 30 days, and see how that goes and then maybe adjust my dose.

I've been debating on trying to get the AA/EPA blood test - is that something I can request from my General Physician, or am I going to have to look elsewhere?

It depends...some people do fine with it at night, some people report crazy dreams when taking it at night. I happen to struggle with GI upset when I take it at night or on an empty stomach. So, I usually take it with my morning smoothie.

Some say that it absorbs better if you take Sea Health Plus with it, but I feel that this is a very expensive insurance policy. Its bad enough that we have to spend that much money on fish oil, but then when you have to buy another supplement to make it more digestible, that just doesn't make sense to me :-)

I have also read that dairy products emulsify the fat, so it should go down better with dairy (that is why I do it with the shake).

I have never done the AA/EPA test. Again, comes down to money. You MAY be able to get this ordered by your physician, but it won't be covered by insurance; the test can cost a few hundred $$. To me, if you use other markers of inflammation, you are "in the ballpark" with little to no cost. Sears wrote in one of his previous books that you can adjust your fish oil dose by using the Silent Inflammation Profile, which is a series of questions that you can ask yourself on a periodic basis, and the way you answer the questions depends on how to adjust your FO dose.

Hope that helps!

ALSO, if you find trouble when first starting out with Fish Oil, all at once, you can split your dose.
As it is fat soluable and not water soluable (like vitamins C and E) - it will stay with you.

Hi Jennifer,

Dr. Sears' recommendation to take it with the evening meal is more of a tip. It relates to appetite control; it can help to avoid the munchies after dinner (evening is a tougher time of day for some people re appetite control). In TOXIC FAT Dr. Sears explains the details behind his suggestion to take it with the evening meal. It can be taken at any time of day. It's also recommended to take it together with Sea Health Plus, as was previously mentioned here.

As for AA/EPA testing, there are various methods used for this type of lipid testing, and they're usually only performed by a handful specialized labs. To receive a reading that will be of value for the purposes of the Zone and fish oil dosing, it would be best to have the test done by one of the facilities listed in TOXIC FAT. An alternative would be to wait until the less expensive AA/EPA test kit is available from Zone Labs (also mentioned in TOXIC FAT).

Jennifer, Your Trig/HDL ratio is 1.98 that is good! Supplementing w/ 2.5g OmegaRx would be ideal for you. Dr Sears says after maintaining you insulin by following the Zone Diet if your fasting blood cholesterol TG/HDL ratio is less than 2 supplement w/ 2.5g pharmaceutical grade fish oil. Greater than 2, 5g for 30day test again and most likely you can reduce you dose to 2.5. Your goal is to try to maintain the TG/HDL ration between 1 and 2. http://www.drsears.com/portals/6/Do...Report.doc (copy & past)This is our Eicosanoid Status Report which may help you.

The more research I do regarding Fish Oils, the more amazing things I find out.

A friend just pointed out to me that the OmegaRx through Zone Labs contains Canola Oil as one of the ingredients.

After reading The Great Con-Ola...I was a bit turned off of the idea of Canola Oils.

John, I checked out the RxOmega-3 Natural Factors and it doesn't contain Canola, but Flax seed Oil which I believe I've seen here in the forums is a No-No oil, and I read in a couple of places that Flax Seed Oil Contains Omega-6's. It also has ALA which I guess Dr. Sears is pretty against as well.

Now I'm really experiencing Fish Oil Confusion because it seems like I can't get a Fish Oil that is Ultra-refined, third-party tested, that doesn't contain other strange oils, and states all of this information directly on their web site.

I did actually find one Fish Oil so far that I've been considering which is Arctic Essentials Fish Oil, although it's a bit pricey...But I would at least be willing to try it out because it doesn't seem to contain either of those oils. Anyone know much about it? I've read several web sites saying it's an excellent Fish Oil, and it states on their web site that they do have 3rd party testing of their oils which is something I've failed to find on a lot of different fish oils.

Hi Jennifer, The canola oil in our product is negligeble it's less than 1/10 of 1 percent, it's utilized as an emulfiser for the antioxident blend.

ALA is a short chain O3(found in high concentrations in flaxseed oil),the conversion process to EPA is very inefficient in humans.. ALA inhibits the enzyme that decreases the production of the precursors of both good and bad eicosanoids. It has no ability to inhibit the systhesis of AA, this may be why high intakes have been linked to increases in prostate cancer.

Be sure you have access to the 3rd party reports of the batch of oil you will be consuming

Is there a reason for using the Canola vs. using some other oil in the OmegaRx?

I'd imagine the Flaxseed Oil in Natural Factors is also negligible, for the same reasons.
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"Hi Jennifer, The canola oil in our product is negligeble it's less than 1/10 of 1 percent, it's utilized as an emulfiser for the antioxident blend. ..."