What is the best form of omega-3 (triglyceride vs ethyl ester)?

If you only remember one thing when buying fish oil: prefer the triglyceride form. Patrick is the anchor here — she explains that the triglyceride (rTG) form is more bioavailable than the cheaper ethyl ester form that many mass-market fish oils use, and that you should also watch a product's oxidation status.

There's a more advanced layer worth understanding. Omega-3s bound to phospholipids — as in krill oil and, richest of all, salmon roe — are absorbed especially well, and the brain preferentially takes up DHA in that phospholipid form via a transporter called MFSD2A. Salmon roe carries 40-70% of its omega-3s as phospholipids, versus 1-3% in standard fish. But Patrick's *practical* conclusion is still triglyceride fish oil, because most krill oil supplements are low-dose and often rancid, so they don't deliver enough to matter.

At the bottom of the ranking is plant-based ALA (flax, chia, walnuts). Patrick points out that ALA converts inefficiently to the EPA and DHA your body actually uses, so vegetarians are better served by an algal (microalgae) oil than by relying on flax. Notably, Johnson leans on exactly this plant/food ALA route, supplementing EPA/DHA more selectively — a genuine divergence from the others.

Attia and Huberman round out the picture by reframing the question slightly: rather than obsess over triglyceride vs ethyl ester, they emphasize getting *enough* EPA and tracking your omega-3 index. Attia targets roughly a 12% red-blood-cell omega-3 concentration and points to REDUCE-IT, which used 4g of pure EPA. So the complete answer is: triglyceride form, enough EPA, and low oxidation — form is the starting point, dose and index are the finish.