[cbreynoldson]

"It usually descends into absurdities where you are supposed to find this rare unicorn brand that has the proper quality (for now, who knows next year!) then dose it at some exact time before bed time, but avoiding calcium or citric acid or something because that would nullify it etc etc."

The body is a complex system. Just because our minds prefer simplicity doesn't mean our bodies will respond simply. People that are into the minutiae of nutrition and supplementation are obviously willing to do their homework to get the benefits.

"Supposing the supplement even ever worked, it simply is not practically useful with such constraints. I'm not going to get a PHD in fish oil quality in order to achieve some single digit risk reduction of heart disease."

Nobody is asking you to do anything. We live in a society where most foods are fairly processed, most supplements are bogus, most claims are BS, etc. There's an overwhelming amount of data on the benefits of Omega-3s now, and to get the benefits you need to actually take quality Omega-3s. Rancid fish oil won't give much benefit, and most fish oil is likely shit. The supplements industry isn't regulated like medicine.