WHY DO WE NEED OMEGA 3s?

Essential Fatty Acids for your best possible health

The term ‘essential’ in ‘essential fatty acids’ (EFAs) refers to the OMEGA 6 and OMEGA 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids required in the body for the best possible human health. Essental Fatty Acids must be consumed in the diet because they cannot be created in the body through other biological processes. Almost all the polyunsaturated fat in the human diet is from EFA.

DHA and EPA dietary health benefits

DHA and EPA are both considered to have beneficial effects in the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease plus associated risk factors as well as other chronic disorders. Whereas considerable amounts of the plant-derived OMEGA 3 fatty acid known as a-linolenic acid (ALA) is consumed daily in North America
(approximately 1.5 g/day per person), the physiologically important nutrients EPA and DHA are consumed, at much smaller levels (approximately 0.13 g/day per person). Sources of DHA and EPA include oily fish such as Tuna, Makerel, Sardines, Herring and Salmon. For more information about fish oil DHA/EPA, visit Ocean Nutrition's Meg-3 website. (http://www.meg-3.com/)

Another source is algae — a marine plant with a high concentration of DHA. See Martek's life'sDHA™ website (http://www.lifesdha.com/)

ALA abundance will not boost DHA and EPA

The conversion efficiency from ALA to EPA and DHA is very limited and variable in healthy individuals. DHA plus EPA are absent from plant food sources rich in ALA (such as flax, canola oil, and walnuts). Since the metabolic conversion of ALA to DHA/EPA by metabolism is variable and limited in humans, the most direct way of providing DHA plus EPA for the body is via their direct consumption. Flaxseed and other plant-derived oils are totally lacking in DHA/EPA whereas DHA/EPA are found in fish/fish oils which contain very minor amounts of ALA.

Almost all the OMEGA 3 fatty acid found in brain tissue, where it is required for structure-function relationships, is in the form of DHA with other OMEGA 3 fatty acids such as ALA being found only in trace amounts regardless of dietary intakes of ALA.