Expert Position
Functional-medicine physician and author
Mark Hyman lists omega-3 alongside vitamin D and magnesium as a foundational supplement almost everyone needs. He says 90% of Americans miss the recommended intake, and calls one serving of fatty fish twice a week "a bare minimum" - naming sardines, herring, mackerel, anchovies and wild salmon rather than large fish.
The deficiency figure he leads with
“90% of Americans are not meeting the recommendations for omega-3 intake which is one serving of fatty fish at least two times a week and I think that's a bare minimum”
Mark Hyman · Sep 2024 · watch @ 11:33 →
The reason he gives for prioritising it
“most of our brain is fat about 60% of our brain is fat and 30% is omega-3 fats”
Mark Hyman · Sep 2024 · watch @ 19:26 →
All 4 other experts also take a positive position on Omega-3.
He anchors on food first - at least two servings of fatty fish a week, which he calls a bare minimum - and lists omega-3 among the foundational supplements he thinks most people should take alongside a multivitamin, vitamin D3, magnesium and probiotics.
Small fatty fish: sardines, herring, mackerel, anchovies, and some wild salmon. The size matters - smaller fish carry a lower mercury burden than large predatory species.
He attributes it to the shift away from the wild and sea-based foods humans historically ate, combined with a sharp drop in wild fish intake on a modern industrial diet.