Pros
Contains a diverse range of essential fatty acids
Cons
The exact dose of each essential fatty acid used is not listed
Some of the doses are too strong and likely to cause side effecs
Other ingredients are present in doses so small they will have no effect
Features a large number of additives
Omega 3 Fatty Acid Complex (N-3 FA) - 4000 mg
The Animal Omega Omega 3 Fatty Acid Complex consists of a range of fish oils including anchovy oil, cod liver oil, herring oil, mackerel oil, salmon oil, and sardine oil, as well as flaxseed oil.
The ingredients in the fish oil complex seem very good, as the fish oils used are among the best sources of omega 3 fatty acids. Each fish oil used also contains both DHA and EPA omega 3 fatty acids.
DHA omega 3 is beneficial for brain and nerve functions and EPA omega 3 is especially good for cardiovascular health, so the combination of both works to boost your overall health.
This is then supported by flaxseed oil, which is considered the best source of ALA (alpha linoleic acid) omega 3. An essential fatty acid, it encourages growth, protects joints, reduces inflammation, and improves mood and cognitive functions.
The problem is, in their eagerness to include a comprehensive blend of omega 3 sources they've gone overboard. The recommended daily intake of omega 3 is 1,100 mg per day for women and 1,600 mg per day for men (1).
While some athletes sometimes look to double this, that also includes the fatty acids in your food. The use of fish oil also makes the supplement unsuitable for vegans and vegetarians.
With Animal Omega containing 4000 mg of omega 3 per serving, it's simply too much and puts you at risk of experiencing side effects like bad breath, oily skin, abundant and bad smelling sweat, headaches, diarrhoea, nausea, heartburn, and other gastrointestinal issues.
Omega 6 Fatty Acid Complex (N-6 FA) - 2500 mg
The Animal Omega Omega 6 Fatty Acid Complex contains the plant extracts sesamin, borage oil, evening primrose oil, and safflower oil.
While not as popular as omega 3, omega 6 is a polyunsaturated fatty acid that is beneficial for skin and hair growth, bone maintenance. and regulating your metabolism and reproductive system.
Safflower oil is a great source of omega 6, while sesamin is very good at boosting the oxidation of DHA and EPA omega 3 fatty acids. Borage oil and evening primrose oil are good sources of omega 6 and have some similarities to omega 3, yet they are less potent than safflower oil.
The problem here again lies in the dosages. Firstly, the use of a proprietary blend hides the exact dose of each ingredient. This means it could easily consist mainly of the less effective ingredients and you'd have no way of knowing.
Then there's the fact studies show humans should consume a greater dose of omega 6 than omega 3, with the optimal ratio believed to be between 4:1 and 2:1 (2). This means the wildly ineffective ratio present here could throw the nutrition of your body out of alignment.
Omega Absorption Complex - 200 mg
The Animal Omega Absorption Complex contains a range of ingredients included to increase the absorption of the fatty acids found in the supplement. It includes l-carnitine, lecithin, and lipase enzyme.
l-carnitine is an amino acid that's very effective at oxidising essential fatty acids when taken in doses between 500 and 2,000 mg each day (3). With the entire Animal Omega absorption blend weighing just 200 mg, it isn't possible for a useful dose to be present.
Lecithin is a soy extract that can regulate cholesterol levels and is particularly useful in a supplement with a high cholesterol and fatty acid content. The required daily dose to see any benefits is again 500 to 2,000 mg per day though, meaning it's too weak to be effective (4).
Finally, lipase is one of the main digestive enzymes and is specifically focused on fatty acid metabolism. With the proprietary blend already filled with other ingredients that are heavily under dosed though, it's highly unlikely a useful amount will be present (5).
Cholesterol - 15 mg
Cholesterol is often vilified but it has many important roles in the human body, like producing cells and hormones and keeping your metabolism running smoothly. The reason people get confused is because there is both "good" HDL cholesterol and "bad" LDL cholesterol (6).
While it's extremely likely the cholesterol in Animal Omega is the "good" kind, they provide no other information on it. This makes it impossible to determine just how useful its inclusion in the supplement is.
Vitamin A - 600 mcg
Vitamin a consists of many smaller vitamins and plays a variety of roles in the human body. It helps optimise your skin health, vision, immune functions, and the production of genes. For these effects to be seen though, 700 to 900 mcg must be consumed each day (7).
With Animal Omega containing just 600 mcg of vitamin a per serving, it isn't strong enough to have an optimal effect.
Vitamin D - 2.5 mcg
Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin that helps the digestive system break down and absorb micronutrients, prevents fat storage, boosts protein synthesis, improves your energy levels, and enhances the general health of your body.
Unfortunately, 10 mcg of vitamin D is the minimum needed each day to have any effect. With Animal Omega boasting just a quarter of that at 2.5 mcg per serving, it's simply of no use (8).
Other Ingredients
Beyond the main ingredients of Animal Omega, each supplement pack lists a range of "other ingredients", most of which are for colour and stability. While most supplements contain some additives, the list present here is unusually long and likely takes up too much space.
It includes gelatin, glycerin, purified water, maltodextrin, dicalcium phosphate, magnesium stearate, silicon dioxide, di-alpha tocopherol acetate, titanium dioxide, mixed tocopherols, and various colours.
It also contains l-carnitine fumarate, although the amount present is likely so minimal it is of no use.