Is Fish Oil Vegan?

Last Updated on November 9, 2023 by Fasting Planet

Supplementing your vegan diet is always wise, especially if you’re having a hard time getting certain minerals and nutrients from food. One such supplement you want to start taking is fish oil, but you’re not sure if the capsules are vegan-safe. Are they?

Fish oil supplements typically use bovine gelatin as well as fish byproducts and are not vegan. However, vegans can get their omega-3s without the fishy aftertaste by taking plant-based supplements such as Ora Organics, Nordic Naturals, and NuTru. Many vegan foods contain omega-3s as well.

This article will be your guide to omega-3 fatty acids for vegans. You’ll learn what’s in fish oil, whether the supplements are allowable as a vegan, and how to get more omega-3s without ingesting fish or bovine byproducts. You won’t want to miss it!

What Is Fish Oil?

Are you not sure what you’re ingesting if you take a fish oil supplement? Allow us to explain. Fish oil is an omega-3 fatty acid supplement. Omega-3s, as polyunsaturated fatty acids, are known to influence our physiology and health.

With three types of omega-3s, the benefits of taking fish oil vary. Eicosapentaeonic acid or EPA can insulate your body for less heat loss. EPA also safeguards the organs and prevents your skin from flaking. Docosahexaenoic acid or DHA can influence and improve mood, even if you have depression. This omega-3 keeps your eyes, heart, and brain healthy as well. Alpha-linolenic acid or ALA maintains your nails and hair.

Between the three types of omega-3s, DHA is the hardest to come by in food, which is why so many people turn to fish oil supplements. According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health through the National Institutes of Health or NIH, per 2012 numbers, it’s estimated that 18.8 million United States adults take fish oil supplements. That’s 7.8 percent of that country’s population. Even kids take fish oil, about 1.1 percent of children between the ages of 4 and 17, says NIH.

Fish oils are rich in DHA and EPA but not ALA since this is a plant-based omega-3. To produce fish oil, supplement manufacturers will harvest the fish’s tissue. Oily cold-water fish tend to have more omega-3s, including species such as sardines, anchovies, mackerel, herring, and salmon. Compared to omega-6s in these fish, the rates of omega-3s can be seven times higher.

It’s worth noting that the fish that are used for the production of fish oil supplements do not themselves synthesize omega-3s. Instead, it’s by ingesting prey fish and microalgae that a fish’s accumulation of omega-3s builds up.

According to the USDA, one tablespoon or 13.6 grams of herring fish oil contains:

123 calories
14 grams of total fat (21 percent of your recommended daily value)
9 grams of saturated fat (14 percent of your recommended daily value)
1 grams of polyunsaturated fat
8 grams of monounsaturated fat
104 milligrams of cholesterol (34 percent of your recommended daily value)
0 milligrams of sodium
0 grams of carbs
0 grams of dietary fiber
0 grams of protein

Now that you understand what fish oils are, it should be clear that these supplements are not vegan. Fish oil is an animal byproduct and the way it’s produced is none too pretty, says this 2018 Spanish journal.

The wet pressing method is the primary means of extracting fish oil. Before wet pressing, the fish go into a heated chamber that’s 203 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s unclear if the fish are alive at this point, but by the time they’re done being heated, there’s no way they’d survive. The heating process divides the protein, oil, and water within the fish.

Then the supplement manufacturer will do wet pressing to extract the fish’ liquids, which have minerals, vitamins, dissolved protein, oil, and water. This liquid is also called press liquor. Then the press liquor goes into a centrifuge to pull only the oil from the liquid.

The other liquids are combined with what remains of the fish matter to make fish meal. What is fish meal, you ask? It’s all the parts of the fish you couldn’t and wouldn’t eat compiled into one product that acts as food for some farm animals. The leftover oils go into your fish oil supplement.

Again, we just don’t know at what part of the fish oil production process the fish die or if they’re dead beforehand, but what’s clear is that these fish’ wellbeing isn’t being prioritized. If that wasn’t a convincing enough reason to rethink taking fish oil supplements, we have to talk about the supplements themselves.

Since most people don’t like swallowing a spoonful of fishy liquid, fish oil supplements come in convenient capsules. These rubbery, often translucent capsules are made with gelatin. To produce gelatin, animal parts such as their bones, ligaments, tendons, and skin get boiled down. Pigs and cows are the primary targets.

Although some fish supplement manufacturers take pride in mentioning how they don’t use pig byproducts for their capsules, the same cannot be said for cows. Bovine gelatin is an animal byproduct as well, so taking a fish oil supplement is really a two-for-one that vegans must avoid.

Our Favorite Vegan Omega-3 Supplements

That doesn’t mean all omega-3 supplements are off-limits. As we talked about earlier, AHA is a plant-based omega-3 and is thus totally allowable for vegans. Here are a few vegan omega-3 products with no fishy aftertaste and no cruelty to animals.

Ora Organics

Ora Organics’ omega-3 supplement is a spray. Wait, a supplement spray? That’s right. You just spritz it in your mouth and go. The orange flavor is light and refreshing and this omega-3 supplement is vegan, soy-free, non-GMO, gluten-free, and dairy-free. Lactobacillus Reuteri bacteria is a kid-friendly ingredient in the spray that might lessen instances of eczema in children up to 13 years old as well as colic in newborns.

Garden of Life

Not all Garden of Life omega-3 supplements are vegan, but their Minami algae softgels are. Another orange-flavored supplement, this plant-based product uses Schizochytrium or Minami algae to provide 500 milligrams of DHA per two softgels.

The ingredients are sodium carbonate, natural non-GMO mixed tocopherols as an antioxidant, rosemary extract, astaxanthin concentrate, natural orange flavor, carrageenan, vegetable starch, vegetable glycerin, and algae oil DHA concentrate.

Nordic Naturals

Boost your brain health, immunity, and your heart through Nordic Naturals’ algae omega-3 supplements. The microalgae used for these softgels are sourced sustainably, and Nordic Naturals states that their supplements are vegan-safe, hexane-free, and non-GMO.

The supplements come unflavored in a 60 count, 90 count, or 120 count. The ingredients are carob color, water, sorbitol, carrageenan, glycerin, modified cornstarch, ascorbyl palmitate, natural mixed tocopherols, rosemary extract, high-oleic sunflower oil, and algal oil from Schizochytrium.

NuTru

Our last recommended vegan omega-3 supplement is NuTru. Their O-Mega-Zen3 softgels have more than 150 milligrams of EPA and over 300 milligrams of DHA per capsule. Made with micro-cultured algae, these are vegan omega-3 supplements you can feel good about taking every day.

Vegan Foods You Can Eat for More Omega-3s

If you’d rather skip the supplements altogether, that’s another option. Although fish will always remain the primary source of omega-3s, lots of plant-based foods contain fatty acids as well. Let’s talk more about these foods now.

Soybeans

One serving of soybeans has a whopping 1,241 milligrams of omega-3s. You’ll also load up on potassium, magnesium, vitamin K, folate, riboflavin, protein, and fiber. Almost as high as their omega-3 content is soy’s omega-6s, which can lead to inflammation, which is something to be careful of.

Dry-roasted soybeans can contain up to 1,443 milligrams of omega-3s in a 100-gram or 3.5-ounce serving.

Walnuts

Split walnuts into 14 halves, which is roughly 28 grams, and you’ll consume 2,570 milligrams of omega-3s for every ounce of the nut you ingest. Walnuts have lots of vitamin E, manganese, copper, and fiber too.

Chia Seeds

In a 28-gram serving of chia seeds, you’re consuming an incredible 5,060 milligrams of omega-3s so you never have to eat fish again. With plenty of amino acids and 5 grams of protein, chia seeds should be a regular part of your vegan diet anyway. The seeds also contain magnesium, selenium, and manganese.

Flaxseeds

A smooth spoonful of flax oil has 7,260 milligrams of omega-3s in a 13.6-gram serving, which is a tablespoon. If you’d rather eat the seeds whole, then a 10.3-gram serving has 2,350 milligrams of omega-3 fatty acids, namely ALA. Since they’re so oily, you get more omega-3s from flaxseeds than you do omega-6s. You’ll also ingest magnesium and fiber with every serving.

These plant-based foods might have more omega-3s than even some fish. In a three-ounce or 85-gram serving of the following fish and seafood, here’s their omega-3 content:

Orange roughy – 0.028 grams
Tilefish – 0.9 grams
Mahi mahi – 0.13 grams
Cod – 0.15 to 0.24 grams
Tuna – 0.21 to 1.1 grams
Catfish – 0.22 grams
Snapper – 0.22 grams
Grouper – 0.23 grams
Canned tuna – 0.23 grams
Red snapper – 0.29 grams
Sydney rock oyster – 0.30 grams
Blue eye cod – 0.31 grams
King mackerel – 0.36 grams
Silver gemfish – 0.40 grams
Blue grenadier hoki – 0.41 grams
Pollock – 0.45 grams
Flounder – 0.48 grams
Halibut – 0.60 to 1.12 grams
Shark – 0.83 grams
Greenshell mussels – 0.95 grams
Swordfish – 0.97 grams
Giant tiger prawn – 0.100 grams
Saltwater barramundi – 0.100 grams
Spanish mackerel – 1.1 to 1.7 grams
Salmon – 1.1 to 1.9 grams
Herring – 1.3 to 2 grams
Sardines – 1.3 to 2 grams

In the same serving size, this is the omega-3 content of plant-based foods:

Soybeans – 1.1 grams
Walnuts – 1.7 grams
Hemp seeds – 7.4 grams
Chia seeds – 14.8 grams
Flaxseeds – 19.55 grams

Conclusion

Fish oil has many proven health benefits, yet it’s an animal byproduct that vegans should not ingest. Don’t forget that the capsules are often made of bovine gelatin as well. Vegan-friendly omega-3 supplements have grown in popularity, especially for those who hate a yucky, fishy aftertaste. You can also eat vegan foods such as flaxseeds, walnuts, and soybeans to get your daily dose of omega-3s!