Some answers to confusion over the best sources of Omega 3

Posted by juliem | November 29, 2008 .

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EFAs or essential fatty acids seem to be one of the big things in nutrition at the moment and the importance of getting enough Omega 3 (there’s also 6 qnd 9) in particular seems to be being flagged up all over the place. A few days ago my Goodness Direct delivery included a free magazine called ‘Veggiehealth’ published by the Vegetarian and Vegan Foundation. I was particularly interested by an article on fish and fish oils, questioning the accepted wisdom that these are the best sources of Omega 3 essential fatty acids. This particularly struck a chord with me because, after having been strictly veggie for around 25 years, I’d recently made the decision to start eating small amounts of oily fish and taking fish oil supplements. My decision, however, wasn’t actually made because of Omega 3 but because I’d decided to go cold turkey on dairy foods, having come to the conclusion that milk and all products made from it are best given a wide berth.

It’s only quite recently that I’ve taken a real interest in Omega 3 and I’ve been a bit confused about it. In case you’re a bit confused as well, here’s what I’ve found out it.

Why we need Omega 3

EFAs aren’t called essential for nothing. They promote your health in a whole load of ways including:

prevention of blood clots
lowering of blood pressure
healthy growh and development, particularly of the brain
central nervous system function
hormone regulation

According to ‘Veggiehealth’ they can have positive health effects in many diseases including heart disease, some cancers, inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis, osteoporosis, mental health, dry eye disease, age related macular degeneration and psoriasis. So whatever age or stage you’re at, you need it.

Fish and fish oils as a source of Omega 3

Fish and fish oils are heavily promoted by doctors and nutritionists as the best source of Omega 3. This is so persuasive that even ardent veggies like me succumb to those little capsules of fish oil. This is because oily fish contain long chain essential fatty acids DHA and EPA, rarley found outside of the fish kingdom. However, this comes at a price. Our rivers and oceans are contaminated by pollutants such as mercury, dioxins and PCBs. The higher up the food chain the fish is, the more polluted it becomes as the toxins accumulate - particularly so in the oily ‘healthy’ fish. Generally speaking, the bigger the fish, the higher level of pollution it is likely to have. Farmed fish are much worse than wild fish having been found to have less omega 3 and higher levels of contaminants.

Whilst searching around for information on EFAs I came across an interesting blogsite called ‘To Your Health.’ the article I landed on not only gives a really good explanation of different types of Omega 3 but also mentions a product called Moxxar - made from green lipped mussels, which I’d never heard of. No good for veggies but may be worth exploring if you’re looking for an alternative to fish or fish oils.

Plant sources of Omega 3

The good news, for veggies and anyone not wanting to risk adding to their toxic load - particularly if you’ve already got a mouthful of mercury in your amalgam fillings like I had (still have some left), is that there are non fish sources of Omega 3. These include:

Flax seeds the same as linseed - it took me a while to get my head round this one), Chia seeds, hemp seeds, walnuts, rapeseeds, soya and the oils made from them. I’ve also found pecans, hazelnuts and canola oil mentioned as well as some species of algae and the supplements made from them.

chia seeds

Of the vegetable sources of Omega 3, flax and chia are recognised as being the best. Chia was the subject of research by Dr Wayne Coates nearly 20 years ago when he was a research professor with the Office of arid Lands Studies at the University of Arizona. Hesaid that Chia (like other vegetable sources of Omega 3) contains ALA, the short chain Omega 3. This is different from the long-chain omega -3s DHA and EPA, found in fish and algae oils. Coates believed it is possible to eat too much DHA and EPA. However, if Omega 3 is taken as ALA as found in vegetable sources it converts into long chain DHA and EPA in the body and the body can get rid of any that it doesn’t need.

Fellow blogger Fran on her site ‘High on Health’ recently posted a really good article on flax and the dangers of excess oestrogen, which you should take a look at. She recommends chia over flax for this reason. I’ve never come across chia before but will certainly be seeking some out.

So what would I recommend?:

If you want to continue eating fish, go for the smaller ones such as sardines, the smaller the better. Limit tuna to once a month. Avoid farmed fish. If you eat salmon wild is best and then organic.
If you want to take a fish oil supplement, check out the brand for purity. Fish flesh oils are better than fish liver oils as the liver is an organ of detoxification. I personally think I’ll be givng this one a miss.
Include seeds and nuts in your diet on a regular basis - particularly the ones in the list above.
Include plenty of fresh green vegetables.

I hope you find this useful, any comments greatly appreciated!

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