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I am being treated for ADHD and BiPolar disorder. My doctor advises me to take Omega 3 supplements.

For about 15 years I have been following vegetarian diet. I found being so I found myself having higher level of mentality and guilt free. Actually, I don't consume any dairy products or fish either so I may have been a vegan.

But if I start to take these Omega 3 pills I can no longer consider myself to be a vegan, right?

If these pills are a product of animal harm, can someone suggest to me how to get this particular nutrient while protecting my morality as a vegan?

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  • I do not get your question. Are you asking whether there are vegan Omega 3 pills? If so, your question does not match that very well and yes there are - Google search may help you buy them. Or are you asking whether you can be considered vegan if you intentionally choose to take non-vegan Omega 3 even though you are able to take vegan ones? In that case, the question could use some rephrasing as well, cause right now it implies you do not have a choice - which you do. Also, your question is rather hard to read and understand at times, would you care to improve it a little?
    – Alexander Rossa
    Commented Mar 5, 2017 at 14:44
  • @AlexanderRossa Hi, sorry for my bad non native English usage. Yes that's what I want to ask. I want to know if there are vegan friendly supplement. Unfortunately the stores I so far looked don't have anything like vegetarian Omega etc. I am not aware of buying medicine online is safe in our custom rules though. But thanks for your answer. :)
    – Dan Jay
    Commented Mar 5, 2017 at 15:07
  • I see. In case that you are reluctant to buying supplements online, then it would be helpful to specify the region you are interested in, in order to help others answer your question. Something as wide as a country should be fine, no need to be city specific. I took the liberty to correct some of the grammatical mistakes in your question, feel free to rollback if you don't agree.
    – Alexander Rossa
    Commented Mar 5, 2017 at 15:42
  • @AlexanderRossa glad u corrected my mistakes. Now its cleaner. I live in Sri Lanka. I'm still hunting supplements locally though. :-)
    – Dan Jay
    Commented Mar 5, 2017 at 16:08
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    There are plant-based sources of omega 3 fatty acids, include flax seeds, so therefore vegan omega 3 pills are possible.
    – President James K. Polk
    Commented Mar 5, 2017 at 21:00

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Vegan omega 3 supplements are widely available. In the UK they can be found in any "health food" type store, for example.

Typically these supplements are flaxseed oil or linseed oil in non-gelatine capsules.

You can also use liquid flaxseed/linseed oil. You get a much higher dose from a teaspoon of oil than a capsule. I find the flavour quite vile, so when I used it, I made it into a smoothie with banana and carob and soya milk to disguise the taste.

Now I use milled flaxseed which tastes quite good to me, when sprinkled onto something else (breakfast oats with soya yogurt in my case). I believe this is better than a supplement, as it provides other nutrients and fibre as well as omega 3 fats. You could check the label and work out how much you need to consume to equal the fish-based supplement.

Check the labelling or ask staff when buying to be sure that it's vegan.

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    Note: flaxseed and linseed are the same thing. Also important to know that flaxseed oil must NOT be heated up and should be taken raw or the oils are transformed. Whole flaxseeds and flaxseed flour, on the other hand, can safely be baked without this happening. And yes, flaxseed oil tastes like what I imagine engine oil would taste like.
    – ecc
    Commented Mar 5, 2017 at 18:25
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    @ecc yeah I know they are the same thing, I mean in terms of labelling you are looking for either one :)
    – Zanna ♦
    Commented Mar 5, 2017 at 18:31
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Nordic Naturals algae oil gelcaps are vegan.

Many assume that omega-3s have to come from fish oil. That is why we created Algae Omega. Nordic Naturals Algae Omega is the ideal vegetarian alternative to fish oil. This omega softgel is certified vegetarian by the American Vegetarian Association. It is also suitable for vegans. It is made from microalgae, the original source of marine omega-3s.

Nordic Naturals product listing

Amazon product listing

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  • There are quite a few companies selling algae-based Omega-3 supplements. The advantages are typically a high DHA content, such as in Vegetology's Omega 3 supplements.
    – Turion
    Commented May 11, 2018 at 15:39
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This kind of questions will always be a bit subjective but I believe one can call themselves vegan if they are doing as much as possible* to avoid animal abuse. For instance, I wouldn't judge for not refusing a pig heart valve to fix your faulty heart valve, but some vegans might.

On the other hand, vegan omega 3/6/9 pills do exist and they might be available where you live or delivered to your from the Internet (be careful when ordering pills online, of course). If you just buy fish oil pills because they are cheaper of because that's what your doctor told you to take, and you never did some research yourself and discussed it with your doctor, then that is "not very vegan". If your doctor tells you you must take those specific oil pills, then that is fishy. I strongly suggest that you find a second opinion with another doctor - your doctor might be getting a nice commission from referring you that brand and you might not need the capsules at all (see Zanna's answer).

[*] By "as much as possible" I really mean doing everything available to you that will not harm you. For instance eating meat in restaurants because your friends only like to go out for BBQ is not vegan, but settling for leather work boots when no other boots are available where you live that meet the legal requirements for your job is fine, because you have no option.

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  • Thanks for the answer. Here you have a good sensible point. I like that. :) Each person's ethical principals are vary and sometimes they get weird too LOL
    – Dan Jay
    Commented Dec 6, 2017 at 9:06

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