Is it okay to break fish oil pills? Some people have trouble swallowing pills and capsules. They can have problems with almost any pill or capsule.

Here’s the answer, with some tips on what to know about fish oil and how to open capsules and pills.

Why opening a fish oil pill is harmless

The fish oil is inside a soft shell made of gelatin. The jelly is there to contain the oil; you don’t need it any other way. So it’s perfectly fine to open it up and pour the oil on your food or whatever makes it easy to swallow. You can throw away the jelly.

This is very helpful for a person who has trouble swallowing pills.

This is also ideal for small children. Fish oil is by far the best source of omega 3 fatty acids. These essential fatty acids are very important for the healthy development of babies and children. The brain is over 60 percent fat, with the most important fat being DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) which is found in abundance in fish such as mackerel, anchovies, tuna, salmon, and a few others.

So it’s simple and easy to break up the gelatin and pour the valuable omega 3 oil into juice or formula or mix it into a child’s food.

Why this might be a bad idea for other supplements

A fish oil pill is NOT really a pill, it is a capsule, a soft shell to hold the oil. A pill (or a tablet) is actually a small, hard thing, like an aspirin, for example. For most pills, there’s nothing wrong with breaking them into two parts (or even more than two).

If that makes the pill easy to swallow, or if you just want to take half a dose, it may work well.

When is it NOT OK?

Well, there are some great supplements that come in pills that are enteric coated. Enteric-coated pills or tablets are made that way for an important reason. The enteric coating prevents the pill from breaking down in stomach acids.

Why?

Because there are some important nutrients that are destroyed or damaged by stomach acids. Carnosine is an example of a valuable nutrient that is severely damaged by stomach acid. For this reason, no enteric-coated pills should be opened.

But it’s okay to open a fish oil pill.

You get your essential omega 3s, and that’s a great thing for your health.