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EPA

Supplement omega-3 fatty acid heart & metabolicgeneral nutrition
Aka: eicosapentaenoic acid
Brands seen in Singapore: California Gold Nutrition, NOW Foods, Sports Research, Nordic Naturals, Life Extension
Third-party tested: Sports Research, Nordic Naturals certify other products with NSF Certified for Sport, but nothing for epa.Certification is granted per product, so check the tub you actually own. Not being listed is not the same as failing.
Not medical advice. Check with your doctor or pharmacist before you start, stop or change the timing of anything you take.
How to use
What it’s for
Triglyceride levels · heart-event trials are mixed
When to take
No timing rule in the sheet
Take with
No food rule given · side effects are mild, mostly gut
Studied for
Trials ran 12–88 months
Pros & cons
Pros
  • 86 trials: triglycerides down about 15%
  • AHA: ~1 g/day EPA+DHA for existing coronary disease
  • No UL set; EFSA and FDA hold ≤5 g/day as safe
Cons
  • No intake target for EPA — only ALA has one
  • 4 g/day raised atrial fibrillation risk in 2 trials
  • Mild gut effects: reflux, nausea, fishy aftertaste
Sources
  1. NIH ODS — Omega-3 Fatty Acids (Health Professional), sheet dated “Updated: August 22, 2025”; read from a cached full-text copy on disk — Introduction · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “the majority of scientific research focuses on three: alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) … EPA and DHA are considered long-chain (LC) omega-3s”
  2. NIH ODS — Omega-3 Fatty Acids (Health Professional), sheet dated “Updated: August 22, 2025”; read from a cached full-text copy on disk — Recommended Intakes (Table 1 AIs for ALA) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “For age 1 and older, the AIs apply only to ALA because ALA is the only omega-3 that is essential. The IOM did not establish specific intake recommendations for EPA, DHA, or other LC omega-3s”
  3. NIH ODS — Omega-3 Fatty Acids (Health Professional), sheet dated “Updated: August 22, 2025”; read from a cached full-text copy on disk — Sources of Omega-3s: Food (Daily Value note under Table 2) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has established a Daily Value (DV) of 65 g for total fat but not for omega-3s”
  4. NIH ODS — Omega-3 Fatty Acids (Health Professional), sheet dated “Updated: August 22, 2025”; read from a cached full-text copy on disk — Omega-3s and Health: Cardiovascular disease (2020 Cochrane Review) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “0.5 g/day to more than 5 g/day LC omega-3s for 12 to 88 months in a total of 162,796 participants reduced serum triglyceride levels by about 15% … did not affect all-cause mortality, cardiovascular events, stroke, or arrhythmia”
  5. NIH ODS — Omega-3 Fatty Acids (Health Professional), sheet dated “Updated: August 22, 2025”; read from a cached full-text copy on disk — Omega-3s and Health: Recommendations from the American Heart Association · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “For people with existing coronary heart disease … the AHA recommends approximately 1 g/day EPA plus DHA, preferably from oily fish … does not recommend omega-3 supplements for people who do not have a high CVD risk”
  6. NIH ODS — Omega-3 Fatty Acids (Health Professional), sheet dated “Updated: August 22, 2025”; read from a cached full-text copy on disk — Omega-3s and Health: Cardiovascular disease (FDA qualified health claim) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “FDA also specifies that the labels of dietary supplements should not recommend a daily intake of EPA and DHA higher than 2 g”
  7. NIH ODS — Omega-3 Fatty Acids (Health Professional), sheet dated “Updated: August 22, 2025”; read from a cached full-text copy on disk — Health Risks from Excessive Omega-3s (no UL; immune function) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “The IOM did not establish a UL for any omega-3s, although it noted that high doses of DHA and/or EPA (900 mg/day of EPA plus 600 mg/day DHA or more for several weeks) might reduce immune function”
  8. NIH ODS — Omega-3 Fatty Acids (Health Professional), sheet dated “Updated: August 22, 2025”; read from a cached full-text copy on disk — Health Risks from Excessive Omega-3s (EFSA and FDA safety opinions) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “long-term consumption of EPA and DHA supplements at combined doses of up to about 5 g/day appears to be safe … FDA has concluded that dietary supplements providing no more than 5 g/day EPA and DHA are safe”
  9. NIH ODS — Omega-3 Fatty Acids (Health Professional), sheet dated “Updated: August 22, 2025”; read from a cached full-text copy on disk — Health Risks from Excessive Omega-3s (atrial fibrillation) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Two large clinical trials … found that taking 4 g/day of omega-3 supplements for several years slightly increased the risk of atrial fibrillation in people with CVD or at high risk of CVD”
  10. NIH ODS — Omega-3 Fatty Acids (Health Professional), sheet dated “Updated: August 22, 2025”; read from a cached full-text copy on disk — Health Risks from Excessive Omega-3s (side effects) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Commonly reported side effects of omega-3 supplements are usually mild. These include unpleasant taste, bad breath, heartburn, nausea, gastrointestinal discomfort, diarrhea, headache, and odoriferous sweat”
  11. NIH ODS — Omega-3 Fatty Acids (Health Professional), sheet dated “Updated: August 22, 2025”; read from a cached full-text copy on disk — Interactions with Medications (anticoagulant and antiplatelet drugs) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Fish oil might prolong clotting times, as indicated by an elevated international normalized ratio (INR), when it is taken with warfarin … most research indicates that doses of 3–6 g/day fish oil do not significantly affect the anticoagulant status”
  12. HSA Singapore — Health Supplements Guidelines GL-CHPB-3-001 Rev. No. 020 (January 2026), clause 4.8 (Tables 4–5 list vitamins and minerals only; no EPA or fish-oil row) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “HS for use by the general adult population should not contain vitamins and minerals exceeding the stipulated limits stated in Tables 4 and 5”
  13. HSA Singapore — Guidelines on Prohibited and Restricted Ingredients in HS and TM, GL-CHPB-1-012 Rev. 001 (October 2025), clause 1.3; Annexes A and B checked · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “highlight the substances of concern when used in HS and TM and is not meant to be an exhaustive list [EPA, omega-3 and fish oil are not listed in Annex A or B]”
  14. iHerb Singapore — sg.iherb.com/c/epa, which serves the “Fish Oil & Omega-3 Supplements | EPA & DHA” category, default order, 1,064 results · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “California Gold Nutrition, Omega-3 Premium Fish Oil … NOW Foods, Omega-3 Fish Oil … Sports Research, Alaskan Omega-3 Fish Oil … Nordic Naturals, Ultimate Omega® … Life Extension, Super Omega-3”
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Updated 2026-08-30. Every line above traces to a numbered source. Kozen-X is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. It lists what published sources have written down — nothing more. A pair not listed is unrecorded, not cleared. Before you start, stop or re-time anything, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.