What is a triglyceride, and why does the “TG form” in Better Omega-3 matter?Updated 2 hours ago

A triglyceride is the natural form fat takes in your body and in most foods. Chemically, it's a glycerol backbone with three fatty-acid chains attached to it. It's the storage form of fat in fish, plants, and human fat tissue, and it's the form your digestive system is built to break down efficiently using its own enzymes (lipase).

In omega-3 supplements, “triglyceride form” (often labeled TG) means the EPA and DHA are still attached to that natural glycerol backbone, the same way they exist in algae or fish before processing. Many fish oil supplements instead use an ethyl ester (EE) form, where each fatty acid is stripped off the glycerol and bound to an ethanol molecule. Manufacturers do this because it makes EPA and DHA easier to concentrate and purify during production, but it means your body has to convert the ethyl ester back into a usable form (essentially re-attaching it to glycerol) during digestion before it can absorb it, an extra step it doesn't have to take with triglyceride-form oils.

Better Omega-3 uses the triglyceride form. Several studies have found triglyceride-form omega-3s are absorbed somewhat better than the ethyl ester form, particularly when not taken with a high-fat meal. 

Here’s a link to one of our blog posts that links to several studies you might be interested in exploring: https://organicsocean.com/blogs/news/better-omega-3-why-we-made-it