What Foods Are High in Omega-3, 6 and 9? UK Portions in Milligrams

Oily fish is the only everyday food that is high in EPA and DHA, the long-chain omega-3s: a 140 g portion of grilled mackerel supplies about 4 g, farmed salmon about 3 g, herring or kipper 2 to 3.5 g, sardines and trout just under 2 g, and a drained tin of tuna about 0.3 g. Two portions of fish a week, one of them oily, average about 450 mg of EPA and DHA a day, the figure SACN set as the UK target in 2004.^{1, 2, 3} The plant omega-3, ALA, is a different nutrient with different foods: flaxseed, chia, hemp, walnuts and rapeseed oil, and most adults convert only about 5% of it to EPA and under 1% to DHA.⁴ Omega-6 (linoleic acid) is in sunflower, corn and soya oils, nuts and seeds, and omega-9 (oleic acid) in olive and rapeseed oil, avocados and nuts.¹ Figures are approximate, for typical portions, from the UK food composition tables and fish surveys.^{1, 6}

• EPA and DHA: oily fish, in grams per portion; everything else in tens of milligrams
• ALA: two tablespoons of ground flaxseed, a tablespoon of chia, or a small handful of walnuts, each gives 2 g or more
• Omega-6: seed oils, nuts, seeds
• Omega-9: olive and rapeseed oil, avocados, nuts; the body also makes it
• Eggs: about 30 to 35 mg EPA and DHA each; omega-3 eggs several times more, as labelled

Sources checked on 29 October 2026.

Which food is high in omega-3? EPA and DHA per UK portion

The oilier the fish, the more EPA and DHA: the omega-3 sits in the body fat. A survey of 123 fish products found mackerel, herring and trout reliably high, farmed salmon higher than wild because it is fattier, and breaded, pre-fried white fish high in omega-6 from frying oil.⁶ Tinned sardines, mackerel and pilchards keep their omega-3; tinned tuna carries about a tenth as much and does not count as oily fish in the NHS advice.^{1, 2}

What do two portions of fish a week supply?

About 450 mg of EPA and DHA a day, averaged over the week, if one portion is oily and one white; SACN's 2004 report used that pair to set the UK target, which the NHS advice of at least two portions a week, one oily, follows.^{2, 3} One oily portion of 2 to 4 g spread over seven days is 300 to 600 mg a day on its own, above the 250 mg a day at which the register's heart-function claim for EPA and DHA and its brain and vision claims for DHA apply.⁷ When SACN set the target, the population's average intake was about 100 mg a day: that is the gap.³ How much omega 3-6-9 do I need daily has every reference figure.

Which plant foods are high in ALA?

ALA is essential, and these foods meet the 2 g a day at which the authorised claim "ALA contributes to the maintenance of normal blood cholesterol levels" applies.⁷ What they do not do is supply EPA or DHA: conversion is about 5% to EPA and under 1% to DHA, and even large amounts of ALA barely move blood DHA.^{4, 8} Does flaxseed oil contain omega-3, 6 and 9 has the full account.

What foods contain omega-6?

Linoleic acid is in almost every plant fat: about 9 g in a tablespoon of sunflower oil, 7 g in corn or soya oil, 3 g in rapeseed oil and 1 g in olive oil; about 12 g in 30 g of walnuts, 8 g in sunflower seeds, 5 g in two tablespoons of peanut butter and 0.6 to 0.8 g in a medium egg.¹ Pooled cohort data link higher linoleic acid levels to lower rates of heart disease, 15 randomised trials found no rise in inflammatory markers when it was raised, and every health claim built on an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio was rejected as unsubstantiated.^{5, 7, 13} What are the dangers of omega-6 covers inflammation.

What foods contain omega-9?

Oleic acid: about 10 g in a tablespoon of olive oil, 8 g in rapeseed oil, 6 g in half an avocado, 9 to 15 g in a 30 g handful of almonds, hazelnuts or macadamias, and 6 g in two tablespoons of peanut butter.¹ The body makes oleic acid itself, so EFSA set no reference value for it.¹⁴ What are the dangers of omega-9 explains why the answer is none.

Are eggs a good source of omega-3?

A modest one. A standard medium egg carries roughly 30 to 35 mg of EPA and DHA, almost all of it DHA; eggs from hens fed flaxseed or algae carry several times more; the carton states how much.^{1, 9, 12} Two standard eggs therefore give 60 to 70 mg, well short of the 250 mg claim threshold; set the labelled figure of an omega-3 egg against it.⁷

How do I get omega-3 without eating fish?

ALA is easy: a tablespoon of ground flaxseed or chia in porridge covers it for the day. EPA and DHA are harder, because plants do not make them; the sources are omega-3 eggs and algal oil, which supplies the same DHA the fish got from algae and raised vegetarians' and vegans' DHA levels in all six studies that measured it.^{8, 10} A flaxseed-oil capsule supplies ALA with a little linoleic and oleic acid and no EPA or DHA, so set its ALA against the claim's 2 g a day; an algal gummy supplies DHA, so set its figure against 250 mg.⁷ Read the EPA and DHA line on any label against 250 mg; the Wellgard omega-3 guide shows how and How to get enough omega-3 on a vegan diet goes further.

Fish in pregnancy

The NHS advice: eat fish, including up to two portions of oily fish a week; avoid shark, swordfish and marlin; limit tuna to four medium tins or two steaks a week; and avoid fish liver oil supplements such as cod liver oil for their vitamin A. Fish body oil and algal supplements are not fish liver oil.^{2, 11}

What we don't know

How much EPA and DHA a given fish delivers: the UK tables give one mean per fish, and the 123-product survey found wide variation by species, farming and frying, so every portion figure is a midpoint.^{1, 6} How much DHA an omega-3 egg supplies: it depends on the hens' feed; no UK table gives a figure.¹²

Frequently asked questions

What food is highest in omega-3?

Mackerel, for EPA and DHA, at about 4 g per 140 g grilled portion; flaxseed oil, for ALA, at about 7.5 g per tablespoon.^{1, 6}

What fish is highest in omega-3?

Mackerel, then kippers and farmed salmon, then herring, sardines and trout. White fish and prawns carry a tenth or less.^{1, 6}

Are 2 eggs enough omega-3?

About 60 to 70 mg of EPA and DHA, below the 250 mg threshold; two omega-3 enriched eggs may reach it, so check the carton. Boiling kept the omega-3 in enriched eggs; only longer, hotter cooking reduced it.^{1, 9, 12}

What fruit is very high in omega-3?

None. Avocado has about 0.1 g of ALA per 100 g; other fruit, fresh or dried, carries only traces. Walnuts, if nuts count, give about 2.2 g per 30 g.¹

Is olive oil or flaxseed oil healthier?

They do different jobs: olive oil is the cooking fat with the trial evidence, about 72% oleic acid with under a tenth linoleic acid; flaxseed oil is the concentrated ALA source, added cold.¹

Sources

1. Public Health England. Composition of foods integrated dataset (CoFID), 2021, fatty acids per 100 g food. Page last updated 19 March 2021. gov.uk. Seeds, nuts, soya and avocado: USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
2. NHS. Fish and shellfish. Page last reviewed 26 June 2026. nhs.uk.
3. Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition. Advice on fish consumption: benefits and risks. Published 1 December 2004 (paragraphs 1.10 and 2.1). gov.uk.
4. Plourde M, Cunnane SC. Extremely limited synthesis of long chain polyunsaturates in adults. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 2007. Review; funding not stated on PubMed. PubMed 17622276.
5. Marklund M, et al. Biomarkers of dietary omega-6 fatty acids and incident cardiovascular disease and mortality. Circulation, 2019. 30 cohorts, 68,659 people; publicly funded (NIH), two authors with food-manufacturer support. PubMed 30971107.
6. Strobel C, Jahreis G, Kuhnt K. Survey of n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in fish and fish products. Lipids in Health and Disease, 2012. Laboratory survey, 123 products, German market; funding not stated on PubMed. PubMed 23110317.
7. Great Britain nutrition and health claims (NHC) register. Page last updated 19 May 2026. gov.uk.
8. Lane K, et al. Bioavailability and potential uses of vegetarian sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 2014. Systematic review, 10 intervention studies; funding not stated on PubMed. PubMed 24261532.
9. Réhault-Godbert S, Guyot N, Nys Y. The golden egg: nutritional value, bioactivities and emerging benefits. Nutrients, 2019. Review; no conflicts declared. PubMed 30909449.
10. Craddock JC, et al. Algal DHA supplementation in vegetarians: systematic review. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 2017. Systematic review, 4 randomised trials and 2 cohorts; funding not stated on PubMed. PubMed 28417511.
11. NHS. Foods to avoid in pregnancy. Page last reviewed 15 June 2026. nhs.uk.
12. Chen X, et al. Effects of cooking on the nutritional quality of omega-3 enriched eggs. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 2022. Laboratory study; funding not stated on PubMed. PubMed 34893990.
13. Johnson GH, Fritsche K. Dietary linoleic acid and markers of inflammation in healthy persons. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 2012. Systematic review, 15 randomised trials; funding not stated on PubMed. PubMed 22889633.
14. EFSA. Dietary Reference Values for nutrients: summary report, 2017 (fats). efsa.europa.eu.

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This article is general information, not medical advice. If you are pregnant or have been given dietary advice for a medical condition, follow the NHS and your midwife's or dietitian's guidance on fish.