In today’s post we will look at Costco’s Fish Oil selection and compare them to my two “gold standard” fish oil supplements. This will be the ultimate cost benefit analysis and will hopefully help you make a better decision about the best fish oil supplement for your needs and budget.
Kirkland Signature™ vs. Nature’s Bounty® vs. Nature Made® vs. Nordic Naturals® vs. Carlson®
Some time ago I changed the way I recommended fish oil. This was mostly based on anecdotal evidence from “those in the know” that certain brands were far superior, not only in taste but in quality and efficacy.
This has been backed up by scant evidence. And the more research I do the more I have began looking again at traditional low cost brands. Especially those from Costco.
I have been sending my patients to Costco for years. Mostly because of availability, quality and their wonderful bulk pricing. Not everyone can afford to fork out $324 (The cost of a 1 year supply of Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega).
This was a fun blog post to write because the results were completely surprising and I will probably change my fish oil as a result.
And the winner is? (Scroll to the bottom to see the results)
Kirkland Signature™
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Omega-3 Fish Oil Concentrate
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Product SitePrice: 8.89 Cost per pill after tax: $0.02 Each fill lasts 122 days Cost over 12 Months: 21.60 Total EPA/DHA per day: 900mg(at dose of 1 tab three times daily) Info Sheet (Click to Enlarge)
Suggested Use: Take one soft gel three times dailywith a full glass of water, preferably after a meal. Supplement Facts: Each Soft gel Contains
Omega 3 Fatty Acids (EPA/DHA and other Omega 3) 300 mg EPA: ? DHA:? |
Nature’s Bounty® |
All Natural Maximum Strength Fish Oil
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Products SitePrice: 19.89 Cost per pill after tax: $0.16 Each fill lasts 130 days Cost over 12 Months: $57.60 Total EPA/DHA per day: 980mg Info Sheet (Click to Enlarge)
Directions: Serving Size: 1 Soft gel
Fish Oil 1,400 mg (1.4 g)
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Nature Made® |
Fish Oil 1200 mgMaximum Strength, 375 Soft gels (not enteric coated) |
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Product SitePrice: 12.99 (sale price) Cost per pill after tax: $0.04 Each fill lasts 94 Cost over 12 Months: $57.60 Total EPA/DHA per day (based on 2 tabs 2x per day): 960mg Info Sheet (Click to Enlarge)
Suggested Use: Serving Size: 2 Soft gelsSupplement Facts
Fish Oil Concentrate 2400 mg Omega-3 (EPA) 360 mg Omega-3 (DHA) 120 mg Other Omega-3 120 mg |
Kirkland Signature™ |
Enteric Coated Omega-3 Fish Oil Concentrate 1200 mgOne Per Day Formulation 180 Soft gels |
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Product SitePrice: 15.29 Cost per pill after tax: $0.09 Each fill lasts 180 Cost over 12 Months: $32.40 Total EPA/DHA per day (based on 2 tabs 2x per day): 684mg If you take 2 pills per day to reach 1368mg of EPA/DHA Cost over 12 Months: $64.80 Info Sheet (Click to enlarge) Suggested Use: Serving Size: 1 soft gel Supplement Facts:
Fish Oil Concentrate 1200 mg Omega 3 EPA 410 mg Omega 3 DHA 274 mg |
Now a Look at the “Premium Brands”
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Ultimate Omega®120 soft gels |
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Product LinkPrice: 49.95 Cost per pill after tax: $0.45 Cost per dose: 0.90 Each fill lasts 60 days Cost over 12 Months: $324.00
Suggested Use: Supplement Info: |
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ELITE OMEGA-3 GEMS90 Soft gels |
 (click to enlarge)  |
Product LinkPrice: 29.90 Cost per pill after tax: $0.36 Cost per dose: 0.36 Each fill lasts 90 days Cost over 12 Months: $129.20 (based on 1 pill per day)
Suggested Use: 1-5 tabs per day Supplement info: per pill Omega 3 from fish oil: 800 |
Fish Oil Cost vs. Dose Comparison
| Kirkland Brand | *Natures Bounty Enteric Coated | Nature Made | *Kirkland Enteric Coated | Nordic Naturals  |
*Carlson Labs Elite Omega-3 Gems |
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| 12 month cost $ | 21.60 | 57.60 | 57.60 | 32.40 (62.80) |
324.00 | 129.20 |
| cost per day $ | 0.06 | 0.16 | 0.16 | .09 (.18) |
0.90 | 0.36 |
| EPA/DHA Total mg. | 900 | 980 | 960 | 684 (1360) |
1280 | 800 |
| Tabs Per Day | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 (2) |
2 | 1 |
* Denotes best of class based on all criteria
Discussion
The Costco Comparison
Based on ease of use (total tabs per day), cost, EPA/DHA ratios, and palatability. Both the Natures Bounty Enteric Coated and the Kirkland Brand Enteric Coated fish oil seem like very good deals.
I have taken the enteric coated Kirkland brand tabs and found that even though they are enteric coated they taste poor and still cause the proverbial “fish burps”. I have yet to try the Natures Bounty brand but I think I will give it a try.
Premium Brands
When it comes to premium brands I currently take Nordic Naturals – Ultimate Omega/Lemon Taste soft gels
Final Thoughts
I will probably continue to dish out the extra dough for a premium fish oil. I say this because I have found since taking the Nordic Naturals I never get a fishy aftertaste and I feel confident in the quality of the fish oil. For the first time I actually look forward to taking my fish oil… Something I used to hate while taking the Costco brand. The end result over the last 9 months is that I have hardly missed a dose. My serum cholesterol levels have been better than ever (not that that probably matters but it is a good metric).
- Triglycerides:36
- HDL:56
- LDL: 46
Some Interesting Food for thought:
Omega 3 Mania
- Doctor Mercola Beating up on Costco
- Evolutionary Psychiatry: Just Eat Fish (Also a truly awesome blog)
- Marks Daily Apple:
Awesome tool to calculate your med costs
No related posts.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
As a frugal health nut this is a great article to see the cost of the different supplements. I have taken the kirkland brand most of last year only because I am cheap. I have been talking about getting the Green Pastures fermented cod liver oil for quite some time and am waiting on my order now.
I think it is important to note the difference between modern fish oil supplements and fermented cod liver oil. Liver and organs are where a lot of the nutrients are located, the fish oil supplements here use the cheapest parts of the fish. There are much more nutrients then just Omega-3s. Also modern fish oils are extracted with heat, which causes a lot of the nutrients to be lost, where pasteurization retains some very important nutrients (most notably vitamin A and D). Some fish oils add synthetic vitamin D back which is NOT the same as a naturally occurring vitamin D, some people believe synthetic vitamin D to be toxic (not me).
Some more info here http://www.cheeseslave.com/why-fermented-cod-liver-oil/
Justin, you are not cheap just extremely practical.
I am glad you mentioned the fermented cod liver oil here. It was in writing my last blog post about testosterone and the Green Pastures product that I too realized how in many ways it was far superior to all of the options listed hear for all the reasons you mentioned… as well as the additional K2. I should have added this in my cost comparison. In fact I may do this and add it in up there because I think it deserves to be mentioned.
I was surprised to see the big differences between EPA/DHA content among the various supplements. This has really helped me guide my patients much better as they shop for fish oil. It is a confusing world of consumer vitamins/supplements and the supplement companies offer little help.
Let me know your feelings on the Green Pastures when you start using it. Or, this would make a great next blog post from http://www.my4hbdiary.com/
Hi Stephen,
I have been doing some research on cancer and I ran into this article http://www.brianpeskin.com/BP.com/publications/Dec.2010-Explore19-6.pdf
It is something you might want to take a look at. Some studies so no benefit to fish oil and some studies even show fish oil can have negative effects.
Here are some other related article
http://chriskresser.com/when-it-comes-to-fish-oil-more-is-not-better
http://rawfoodsos.com/2011/04/29/will-omega-3s-boost-your-risk-of-prostate-cancer/
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/fish-oil-prostate-cancer/#axzz1lOOqEzqo
http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?p=3287
http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?p=3309
I am starting to think that fish oil is much like rapeseed (canola) oil. It needs to be pressed and heated for us to get oil out of it. And we know how bad canola oil is. This is why I am going to stick to real food and/or fermented cod liver oil, which I would still call real food (and so does the FDA).
I am doing as much research about it as I can so let me know if you want more info.
Justin you are absolutely killing me man!
So I am just finishing Gary Taubes’ why we get fat, which has basically disproved everything I was taught about diet and nutrition, and then you send me articles like this. Just after I have spent the last two years optimizing my patients intake of fish oil and vitamin D3. Which of course we have been told will prevent heart disease and reduce their risk of all cause mortality. Many are even on prescription fish oil like Lovaza.
I need to print this article out and do some more research. My question is how does this compare with articles like this:
http://www.aafp.org/afp/2004/0701/p133.html?aafpvlogin=stephenpasquini&aafpvpw=&URL_success=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aafp.org%2Fafp%2F2004%2F0701%2Fp133.html
Studies in which I based my own recommendations for my patients.
Honestly right now my head hurts from the constant influx of recommendations that are constantly changing. Maybe we should just all throw in the towel and go Paleo! Or just screw it and eat, drink and be merry.. for tomorrow we die!
I know, it sucks. The thing is Paleo people recommend fish oil!
http://whole9life.com/2010/03/robb-wolf-fish-oil-calculator/
So I am confused. I sent questions submissions to Chris Kresser, Robb Wolf and Denise Minger (rawfoodsos.com great critique on the China Study you should look into).
Have you started following Chris Kresser at all? Or the ‘Paleo’ types that are actually practicing medicine?
I think this fish oil issue comes down to the process used to refine it. Like I said above it needs to be pressed AND heated. How much does it oxidize when you heat it? Is it as bad as canola (rapeseed) oil?
The article you link to is hard to take seriously because they actually recommend canola oil and other vegetable oils as a good source of omega-3, which I hope most people know it is not, and it is one of the biggest cause of our poor health epidemic.
Read whole food, and/or fermented foods are the way to go.
Right! Yet the AAFP is THE medical Journal! This is how we get our continuing medical education Justin.
Have you ever been to a Family Medicine Conference! You would probably keel over and die… Literally!
I contacted Nordic Naturals this last year and asked them if I could tour their plant and document it on my blog. They called me back once and then I have not been able to get their head of marketing to get back to me. I wonder how their fish oil’s are made? You present some great facts here! The issue here is cost, although really what the article you sent points out is that it would be better to take no fish oil than to take the fish oil that most people take. And yes, you are right, the Paleo people have not commented on this. You are actually the first person I have seen mention this fact about it being heated and pressed.
And you will even be more disgusted to know that I have been recommending Canola oil for quite some time because I was told (obviously erroneously) that this was an extremely healthy alternative.
Oh yeah… and the part about krill oil.. . fascinating!
Just did a search for ‘fish oil oxidation’ and dr eades blog came up first with this post.
http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/uncategorized/oxidized-fish-oil/
That makes sense and I think it would be a good idea to add his suggestions for storage and testing on the top of your post and to your patients.
Maybe all the studies of the negative affects of fish oil are using rancid fish oil and the positive ones are not? Would be nice to be able to see full text of the studies without having to pay.
Thank you so much for sharing this great comparison of the various fish oils.
I have been taking the Kirkland brand for many years and have been generally happy with them. Although seeing as I could take less pills with some of the other brands and still get the same Omega 3 content. I may also switch.
Thanks again.. Great website! I am just getting started with the 4 Hour Body, your cheat sheets have been really helpful.
Nice write up – I have been taking natures bounty for the last 13 months and there have been almost no fish burp.
At the moment I’m looking into krill oil, heard about better absorption of EPA/DHA and even after dropping over 70lbs I still hear my knee’s go snap-crackle-pop when walking up stairs at night. The krill oil with the better absorption is suppose to further reduce inflammation.
Absolutely, I am so glad you mentioned this. In fact I almost included Costco’s krill oil offering in this blog post but I didn’t want to complicate things. Their krill oil is the lowest price I have seen anywhere, especially when compared to places like Whole Foods.
I recommend krill oil to many of my patients, especially to those who are suffering from any type of arthritis. I have had really great results with the combination of Cod Liver oil and Krill oil. I am a big fan of this combo…. and not just for the treatment of arthritis.
Congratulations on dropping 70+ pounds! What an amazing achievement.
Stephen