But they do have the advantage of being, you know, food, and not just a bottle of oil. And you can't live on a bottle of oil. You'll still need to buy the food.
Yes, but where I live, in the middle of a continent, not on some sea coast, I can buy food that contains all nutrients, except omega-3 fatty acids, for a price at least 10 to 20 times less than if I would buy food of marine origin.
Adding to that food 10 milliliter of cod liver oil per day, which provides 2 grams of DHA+EPA, requires only the equivalent of 40 US cents per day.
With most capsules, one would need 5 or more capsules for this amount of oil, which would increase the price a lot. To create the sensation of a higher content of DHA+EPA, on many capsule boxes the quantity that is written is for a pair of capsules, not for one capsule. Therefore I consider capsules as more like a scam for increasing oil price than as a useful method of delivery, which is why I have stopped using them many years ago.
Looking right now on Amazon.com, it seems that the US prices for omega-3 oils are significantly higher than in Europe, at least double, the cheapest being labeled as dog food.
I wonder whether there is any difference in quality between those labeled as dog food and those labeled as human food, e.g. if the "dog food" oils are also tested for contaminants. Otherwise, the "dog food" oils seemed not only cheaper, but also better, being pure and unflavored, while the "human food" oils suggested by Amazon were either flavored or in capsules. Here in Europe, I see such pure oils advertised for children and pregnant women, instead of as dog food.
Omega-3 fatty acids are found in a wide variety of food. Having some is good. Do you need as much as the supplement merchants want you to believe you need? Probably not.
