Omega-3 for the brain: why EPA and DHA are the real numbers

Short answer. A fish oil label's headline number is usually the total oil weight, which tells you almost nothing. The figures that matter are EPA and DHA. 30BASE uses 1000 mg of fish oil delivering EPA 400 mg and DHA 300 mg.

An open 30BASE box with a daily sachet and its capsules, including the dark fish-oil softgel

Omega-3 is the structural compound in this stack, and it is the one most often misread on a label.

The number that gets quoted is not the number that matters

Fish oil products advertise the weight of the oil. Research is done on the omega-3 fatty acids inside it, principally EPA and DHA. A 1000 mg fish oil softgel might deliver 300 mg of combined EPA and DHA, or it might deliver 700 mg. Both can print 1000 mg in large type on the front.

The amounts

30BASE uses 1000 mg of fish oil delivering EPA 400 mg and DHA 300 mg, both stated on the label. Calder (Nutrients, 2020) is the reference review.

What it supports

EPA and DHA are structural fats that support long-term brain health. This is the slowest-acting compound in the stack and the least dramatic. It is also the one most cognitive stacks leave out, because it is bulky and does nothing you can feel this week.

What it does not do

It produces no acute effect at all and it is not a treatment for any condition. Take it with a meal containing fat, which is the practical reason the whole sachet is taken after breakfast.

How 30BASE uses it

30BASE Daily Cognitive Stack contains Omega-3 fish oil 1000 mg, with EPA 400 mg and DHA 300 mg, as a softgel. It sits in one pre-portioned daily sachet with six other compounds, eight capsules taken after breakfast, printed in milligrams on the label with no proprietary blend, and third-party tested in every production lot.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.