Omega-3 EPA + DHA

Omega-3 research is broad and not uniformly positive. What interested us was the pattern that emerged when we looked at better-designed studies, the populations being studied, the EPA:DHA formulation, and how long people actually took it.

While researching Defragging Your Mind, our working synthesis of the cognitive literature put the EPA effect at approximately d≈0.30. As with the other ingredients, that is an average group-level estimate rather than a prediction of what any one person will experience.

DHA is highly concentrated in the brain and is a major structural fatty acid in neuronal membranes. EPA is less prominent structurally, but EPA-rich formulations have produced some of the more interesting cognitive findings in healthy adults. Together they offered both a biological rationale for longer-term use and a measurable human cognitive signal.

A particularly useful 26-week randomized trial studied 310 healthy adults ages 25 to 49. Participants received an EPA-rich oil, a DHA-rich oil, or placebo.

The EPA-rich formulation contained 900 mg EPA and 360 mg DHA per day and significantly improved global cognitive accuracy and cognitive speed compared with placebo. The between-group changes in standardized scores were approximately 0.14 for accuracy and 0.18 for speed.

Those are modest effects, but this was a six-month trial in healthy working-age adults rather than a study restricted to people who already had cognitive impairment. That makes it particularly relevant to what we are trying to accomplish with Goldmind:Focus.

Goldmind:Focus provides 625 mg EPA and 244 mg DHA, or 869 mg combined EPA + DHA per day.

There is notable heterogeneity in omega-3 studies in total amount, ratio of EPA:DHA, and the form of omega-3 fatty acids delivered. We selected a softgel for the Goldmind:Focus sachet with an EPA:DHA ratio of approximately 2.6:1, closely adhering to the 2.5:1 ratio used in the EPA-rich cognitive trial discussed above.

Our 869 mg combined EPA+DHA dose also sits above the 500 mg/day total n-3 PUFA level where a 2024 dose-response meta-analysis found the executive-function curve beginning to rise. That analysis included 24 randomized trials and 9,660 participants. In the same analysis, the EPA-specific curve reached its maximum around 420 mg/day; at the 625 mg EPA dose used in Goldmind:Focus, the fitted effect remains approximately 0.3 standard deviations, or roughly the difference between the 50th and 62nd percentile at the group level.

The omega-3 in our softgel is in ethyl ester (EE) form.

EE omega-3 is less efficiently absorbed than triglyceride or free-fatty-acid forms under low-fat conditions. In a human absorption study, EPA and DHA from ethyl esters were absorbed at only about one-fifth the level of the free-fatty-acid form when insufficient dietary fat was present.

Meal composition changes that substantially. Lawson and Hughes subsequently found that taking ethyl-ester EPA and DHA with a high-fat meal increased their absorption approximately threefold. Nordøy and colleagues likewise found that, when consumed with an appropriate meal, EPA and DHA delivered as ethyl esters and triglycerides were similarly absorbed.

That is why Goldmind:Focus is directed to be taken with food, ideally with a meal containing some fat. It improves absorption of the EE softgel and is also generally easier on the stomach than taking fish oil without food.

Omega-3s are like an investment with returns further down the road. One sachet will not make an immediate change in cognition, but we believe they contribute to improving the neuronal milieu over time in several ways.

The larger cognitive trials generally run for months or years, not days. In the 2024 dose-response meta-analysis, study durations ranged from three months to three years, with the beneficial executive-function signal increasing during the initial 12 months of supplementation.

Our goal with this product was to create a cognitive-support packet that operated on three distinct levels. Rhodiola provides the earliest signal, PS contributes over the medium term of several weeks, and EPA/DHA provide the longest-horizon component over months of consistent use.

DHA and phosphatidylserine have both mechanistic and human data supporting their concomitant use. Taken together as part of the same daily regimen, they may be more beneficial than either ingredient alone.

We discuss the neuronal-membrane relationship and the human studies combining PS with omega-3 fatty acids in more detail on the phosphatidylserine page.

Read about phosphatidylserine + DHA

These nutrients are subtle, and we expect most people to feel nothing dramatic. It is only with consistent use that signal begins to separate from the noise with omega-3s.

EPA and DHA are generally well tolerated at the amount used in Goldmind:Focus. Fish-oil supplements can occasionally cause gastrointestinal discomfort, reflux, or a fishy aftertaste. Taking the softgel with food, particularly a meal containing some fat, also improves absorption of the ethyl-ester form.

Goldmind:Focus contains fish from anchovy and should not be used by anyone with an allergy to fish or another listed ingredient. People taking medication, particularly medication affecting bleeding, or who have a medical condition, are pregnant, or are nursing should discuss use with a healthcare professional.

The omega-3 literature is frankly mixed. Our reading is that, over a long enough time scale, published evidence supports its use for several cognitive measures. There is also a clear structural role DHA plays in neuronal membranes.

We believe the formulation in Goldmind:Focus, with an EPA:DHA balance very close to one of the more relevant positive trials and a substantial daily EPA dose, offers a solid complement to the other core ingredients.