• Services are available commercially to determine the O3I. Athletes with a low dietary intake of EPA + DHA may benefit from tracking their improvements associated with the commencement of a supplement. A dry blood spot is collected (fasting state), from a self-conducted finger prick (in the home). The sample is sent via the mail to an internationally accredited pathology centre or university laboratory for analysis. A report is produced that includes a whole blood fatty acid profile, the O3I and the inflammatory ratios omega-6/omega-3 (target <5) and AA/EPA (target <11).

Figure 1: Omega-3 Index (red blood cell EPA + DHA%) with Australian median (estimated) value. The target is to elevate and thenmaintain an O3I >8% (green zone).