Omega 3: You're Doing it Wrong

Eat oily fish at least twice a week. Have chia & flax seed puddings. Snack on some walnuts!!! Sound familiar? These days, most people know that they need to get enough Omega-3 fatty acids into their diets but as with many subjects in nutrition, a lot of people are unsure of the best way to do it. Truth be told, most people who think they are getting enough Omega-3 are probably way off the mark.

Just so we’re all on the same page: Fats and oils are made up of molecules called fatty acids. There are many different types of fatty acids and they can differ by their length and by being saturated (like in meat and dairy products), monounsaturated (like in olive oil and avocados) or polyunsaturated (like in some nuts, seeds and fish).

Omega-3s are a particular type of polyunsaturated fatty acid that can be relatively long (most vegetarian sources) or very long (mostly marine/fish sources). And just in case you’ve been living under a rock for the past 20 years, getting enough Omega-3 in your diet is ESSENTIAL to good health. In fact Omega-3s are known as Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) and supplementing them in your diet can have a huge benefit on your health: reducing risk of heart disease {1,2}, reducing risk of diabetes {2,3}, reducing inflammation {4} and even building more muscle and improving muscle mass maintenance {2}. Long story short, you want them in your diet.

As I mentioned earlier you can get Omega-3 fatty acids from both plant and animal sources with some of the best/most common sources being:

Such as Salmon, Tuna, Trout, Mackerel, Sardines, Anchovies etc. {5} which are probably the most common source of long-chain EFAs in a standard diet. You should remember that white fish is so low in fat that it doesn't have enough to be considered a good source or Omega-3.    

From chickens fed a diet with either fish meal or seaweed (which contains long chain Omega-3 fatty acids too {5}.

Such as flaxseeds (linseeds) {6} and chia {7}, which are now incredibly popular in the world of “health foods”.    

Which can be made from any combination of some of the food sources I listed above (fish oil, flax oil, hemp oil) along with some more recent appearances on the market which include krill oil (extracted from tiny sea crustaceans) and omega-3 rich algal oil (extracted from micro-seaweeds which are naturally rich in long-chain omega-3s) {5,8,9}.

Don’t be fooled:

I frequently read on plant-based blogs that foods like pumpkins and leafy greens are great sources or Omega-3 fats. While they may have a good ratio of Omega-3s, unfortunately, these foods are so low in total fat that you couldn’t possible eat enough of them to meet your Omega-3 needs. Don’t believe everything you read on the internet kids (unless you read it on this site).

Well, to decide that, there is something very, very important to know about Omega-3s: the shorter Omega-3s from plant sources (like flax seed and chia) need to be converted to longer, more biologically active Omega-3s, called EPA and DHA in the body. EPA and DHA are already pre-formed in fish oil so it cuts out one of the steps in the process. It’s really important to know that it’s the levels of EPA and DHA (not plant-based Omega-3) in the body that seem to have the best effects on health, such as reducing rates of cardiovascular disease {13,14} and diabetes {3}.

While the human the body has the enzymes to turn the plant Omega-3 (known as ALA or α-Linolenic Acid) into, first, EPA and then DHA, it is a very inefficient process. In fact there is less than 10% conversion to DHA in women {10} and less than 3% in men {11} meaning you need quite a large amount of plant Omega-3 to produce enough EPA and DHA. For example, one trial showed that even 27g/day of flax oil (one of the richest sources of ALA) only moderately increases EPA and has little effect on DHA levels {12}.

Let’s look at that again: 27g of oil, as a supplement that doesn't have much of a benefit??? 27g of oil (about 3 tablespoons) is 243 calories which means getting enough Omega-3 from vegetarian sources is not easy if you’re on a reduced-calorie diet.

On top of that, if you eat the seeds whole (which a lot of people do) they just pass right through your digestive system without you absorbing any of the oil. If you’re going to continue using them, at least grind them up before eating them.

While fatty fish is a good source of pre-formed EPA and DHA, there are concerns about contamination from heavy metals such as mercury {5} which might actually counter act some of the health benefits of the Omega-3s. Also, not everyone likes or wants to eat fish and the last thing I would do is force someone to eat something that would make them gag.

So if fish isn’t the best option and seeds are a poor choice, what’s the best way to get enough Omega-3?

Supplements… yup, you read correctly. The most efficient way to get quality Omega-3 fatty acids into your diet is probably by taking a high quality supplement. You even have 3 options.

• Purified & Concentrated Fish Oil: it’s possible to remove certain heavy metals and other pollutants from fish oil and to concentrate the amount of EPA & DHA in each pill meaning you need to take less {15}.
• Krill Oil: As I mentioned earlier, krill oil is an excellent source of EPA & DHA which may be naturally lower in contaminants due to krill's position, low on the food chain {16}. The only problem is that it’s not suitable for people with a shellfish allergy.
• Marine Algal Supplements: This is by far the best option for vegetarians and vegans as marine algae is the only plant-based supplement to contain the pre-formed long-chain Omega-3, DHA.

While it’s hard to be sure about the best daily intake, my general recommendation, based off of the doses used in many trials {2} is to take a supplement that provides you with 1-3g of combined EPA & DHA/day (not 1-3g of total oil). At that dose, a supplement is by far the easiest and lowest-calorie way to meet your Omega-3 needs.

Eat well, folks.

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Bibliography

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16. Nash SMB, Schlabach M, Nichols PD. A Nutritional-toxicological assessment of antarctic krill oil versus fish oil dietary supplements. Nutrients. 2014;6(9):3382–402.

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