What are the daily recommendations for EPA and DHA?

By Tom Francis·Updated 2026-09-03·2 sources·Editorial policy

The figures and their standing

250mg of combined EPA and DHA is the intake at which the authorised heart claim applies, which makes it the figure with regulatory standing. It is a flat figure for all adults with no adjustment for body mass, training or sport.

250mg of DHA alone is the threshold for the brain and vision claims, which is a much higher bar since it excludes EPA entirely. Futuro Labs Omega 3 Fish Oil provides 180mg EPA and 120mg DHA, so it clears the first and not the second.

Where the food advice sits

UK advice is at least one portion of oily fish a week. A 140g portion of mackerel provides roughly 2.5 to 3 grams of combined EPA and DHA, which averaged across a week is well above the 250mg daily threshold.

So a player eating oily fish weekly has covered it comfortably. Average UK intake falls well short of that advice, and among club rugby squads the honest figure is close to none, which is the gap a supplement closes at 17p a day.

The higher numbers you will see quoted

Sports nutrition content routinely quotes one to three grams a day for athletes. Those figures come from research protocols investigating outcomes that have not produced an authorised claim.

That is a legitimate thing for research to do and it is not a recommendation. Anyone considering intakes at that level, particularly on anticoagulant medication, should raise it with a GP rather than a supplement page.

The full version

• Omega 3 dose for a rugby playerThe threshold and how to check a product against it.
• Omega 3 when there is no oily fish in your dietHow the food and supplement routes compare.

Questions players ask

Sources

• EFSA register of nutrition and health claims
• National Diet and Nutrition Survey, gov.uk