Omega 3 when there is no oily fish in your diet

By Tom Francis·Updated 2026-09-03·3 sources·Editorial policy

The gap, stated plainly

UK advice is at least one portion of oily fish a week. Average intake across the population falls well short of it, and among club rugby players the honest figure is close to none.

Ask a squad how many ate mackerel, sardines, salmon, trout or herring in the last month and the answer is a small minority. That is the case for a fish oil, and it is a dietary one rather than a performance one, which makes it stronger rather than weaker.

What the food actually provides

A 140g portion of mackerel gives roughly 2.5 to 3 grams of combined EPA and DHA. Salmon gives roughly 1.5 to 2 grams for a similar portion. Sardines sit in between and tinned versions of all three are cheap.

Futuro Labs Omega 3 Fish Oil provides 300mg a day, which is 2.1 grams across a week. So a single weekly portion of mackerel delivers more than seven days of softgels, and costs about the same as three days of them. On cost per gram of omega 3, the fish wins comfortably.

The three versions of the same gap

The club diet: chicken, rice, pasta and whatever is quickest after a nine o'clock finish. Oily fish requires cooking something that smells and that nobody else in the house wants.

The student version: a shared kitchen, a weekly shop chosen on price, and mackerel losing to almost everything else on that basis. And the match week version, where a player eats carefully on Friday and Saturday and pays no attention to the rest of the week, which is where the actual intake happens.

All three produce the same shortfall, and all three are answered either by eating oily fish weekly or by a supplement at 17p a day.

The fish that do not count

Cod, haddock, pollock and tuna in brine are white or lean fish and provide very little EPA and DHA. Tinned tuna is the one that catches people out, because the canning process reduces the omega 3 content substantially compared with fresh tuna.

The oily fish list is mackerel, sardines, salmon, trout, herring, pilchards, kippers and fresh tuna. A player eating tuna sandwiches every day is not covering this, which is worth knowing because a great many think they are.

The honest recommendation

Eat the fish if you will. A tin of mackerel on toast once a week costs about two pounds, covers the intake with room to spare, and is food rather than a supplement.

If you will not, and most club players will not, then Futuro Labs Omega 3 Fish Oil provides 180mg EPA and 120mg DHA in one mini softgel, which is 300mg combined and clears the 250mg threshold for the authorised heart claim at a single capsule for 17p a day. That is the whole argument and it does not need dressing up.

What the claim actually is

EPA and DHA contribute to the normal function of the heart, with the beneficial effect obtained at a daily intake of 250mg of combined EPA and DHA. That is the one claim.

The DHA claims for normal brain function and normal vision each need 250mg of DHA alone and this product carries 120mg, so neither applies. There is no joint claim, no inflammation claim and no soreness claim at any dose.

For players avoiding fish entirely

Futuro Labs Omega 3 Fish Oil is fish oil in a bovine gelatin softgel, so it is unsuitable for vegetarians and vegans on two counts and for anyone with a fish allergy on one.

Plant sources provide ALA, and conversion to EPA is limited and to DHA more limited still, so flax and chia do not substitute. Algal oil is the direct route, since the EPA and DHA in fish originate in algae, and it costs more per gram. This site has no product to sell into that.

Where to go next

• Omega 3 for rugby playersThe claims, the label method and what omega 3 cannot do.
• Omega 3 on a club rugby budgetWhat it costs against the food version.
• Omega 3 for a vegetarian rugby playerWhy plant sources do not substitute.

Questions players ask

Sources

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