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Good News-bad News in a Tin of Sardines

I'm presently touring New Zealand under the blazing summer sun. In the absence of dependable refrigeration, I have been surviving on a tremendous number of tinned sardines, livened up by the occasional can of tuna. I take comfort in imagining how many heart-healthy Omega III fatty acids I am eating. Unfortunately, scientific studies abound to temper my enthusiasm. Yes, the yummy fish oils are great for me, but it's hard to avoid eating whatever else the fish has soaked up. Big, long-lived fish tend to have stored up a fair amount of toxic mercury, but even smaller, less pricey fish carry cancer-causing PCBs, best represented by the infamous pesticide DDT. Most PCBs are now illegal in the U.S.…

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 Do You Really Need to Eat Omega-3s?

The research on the benefits of omega-3s is inconclusive, but eating fatty fish can still be beneficial.

 Omega-3 intake for cardiovascular disease

It is not clear that dietary or supplemental omega 3 fats alter total mortality, combined cardiovascular events or cancers in people with, or at high risk of, cardiovascular disease or in the general population. There is no evidence we should advise people to stop taking rich sources of omega 3 fats, but further high quality trials are needed to confirm suggestions of a protective effect of omega 3 fats on cardiovascular health. There is no clear evidence that omega 3 fats differ in effectiveness according to fish or plant sources, dietary or supplemental sources, dose or presence of placebo.

 Omega-3s are great for your health—but supplements may not be

Fish oil can reduce inflammation and lower cardiovascular disease risk. Yet a growing body of research suggests that supplements may not offer those same benefits.

 The Omega-3 Fats Controversy. An MD PhD Explains

Today, let’s talk about polyunsaturated fats. We’ve been told for years that these are the “healthy” fats. But the scientific community is divided. While some researchers support the benefits of polyunsaturates, others suggest that our rocketing consumption of these fats may be fuelling an epidemic of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and premature deaths. Millions of us take fish oil supplements to boost our omega-3 intake, believing in their health benefits. But recent research suggests that for most of us, these supplements may do more harm than good. So, who should we believe?

Articles of Interest

Can Vegans Get Enough Omega-3 From Plants Alone?

Most people who get enough ALA are able to convert enough of these plant derived fats to get adequate EPA, but DHA is another story. A study performed last year looked at EPA and DHA levels in 19 healthy men who were confirmed to be low levels of these essential fatty acids at the start of the trial. The study authors fed the men a diet high in ALA for 12 weeks. What they discovered was rather shocking. Over the course of the 12 week period, the ALA and EPA levels both increased, but the DHA decreased! 5 Vegans and vegetarians should take note. DHA makes up a significant percentage of our brains.

EPA vs. DHA: Do These Two Omega-3s Actually Do Different Things?

EPA and DHA are structurally different omega-3s with distinct roles. EPA, with 20 carbons and 5 double bonds, dominates anti-inflammatory and cardiovascular pathways — the REDUCE-IT trial showed a 25% relative reduction in major cardiac events with 4 g/day. DHA, with 22 carbons and 6 double bonds, makes up roughly 40% of polyunsaturated fatty acids in neuronal membranes and drives brain structure, cognitive function, and visual health.

Everything You Need to Know About Omega-3s and Omega-6s

Yeah, yeah, you've heard that omega-3s are good for you about a thousand times by now—but did you know that there's another type of omega that's equally important for your health? Probably not. Often-overlooked (but probably in lots of the foods you eat), omega-6s also have a major impact on your body. Here's what you need to know about these sneaky omegas and how to make sure your diet contains the right amount of them.

How to get the right balance of omega-3s and omega-6s in your diet

The idea that the balance of omegas in the food we eat can have an impact on our health is well established. It is also clear that the typical Western diet has become skewed in favour of more omega-6s and fewer omega-3s over the past 50 years, while at the same time we have seen a surge in the incidence of diseases associated with excessive inflammation, including heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Omega-3 and Omega-6 Fatty Acids: The Scoop You Didn’t Know

Omega-3 fatty acids get a lot of attention, and rightly so. Yet, when you pick up your supplements at the local pharmacy or health food store, the label includes omega-3s, omega-6s, omega-9s, and oh-my-mega confusion! What’s the difference between these essential fatty acids? And what’s all this talk about ratios? This blog will help clear up the omega-3 fatty acids versus omega-6 fatty acids confusion.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids: An Essential Contribution

What makes omega-3 fats special? They are needed to build cell membranes throughout the body and affect the function of the cell receptors in these membranes. They also provide the starting point for making hormones that regulate blood clotting, contraction and relaxation of artery walls, and inflammation. In addition, they can bind to receptors in cells that regulate genetic function. Due to these effects, omega-3 fats can help prevent heart disease and stroke, may help control lupus, eczema, and rheumatoid arthritis, and may play protective roles in cancer and other conditions.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids—Science, Efficacy, and Clinical Use in Cardiology

Omega-3 FAs are present as ALA in a few vegetable oils, e.g. flaxseed, canola, and soybeans; green leafy vegetables, e.g. purslane; and nuts, e.g. black walnuts. However, the main dietary source of EPA and DHA is from fish. The marine omega-3 FAs originate in micro-algae such as phytoplankton, which are then ingested by fish as part of their diet.

Questioning the Superpowers of Omega-3 in Diets

What's the bottom line? Does it make sense to consume more omega-3s? "There is no single answer here," says Paul Coates, director of the Office of Dietary Supplements, part of the National Institutes of Health. "Given that there is a potential for benefit, and the harm has not yet been fully explored, at reasonable levels of intake, it's not a bad idea."

The Omega-3, Omega-6 Fatty Acid Controversy; Do They Work?

Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids both appear to have some health benefits. However, when intake of omega-6 far exceeds omega-3, this may be pro-inflammatory and may reverse some of the benefits of the omega-3 anti-inflammatory effects.

The science behind dietary omega-3 fatty acids

Not all dietary fatty acids are created equally. Because humans do not have the enzymatic machinery required to synthesize omega-3 fatty acids, they must be obtained from the diet (termed “essential fatty acids”). Even among dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids, there are different families of compounds, and this is at the heart of the difference between omega-3 fatty acids and other dietary lipids. Omega-3 fatty acids generally account for a small fraction of the total daily consumption of fatty acids in Western societies.

The Science Behind Plant-Based Omega-3 ALA

As plant-forward diets continue to trend as a popular eating pattern,3 a handful of walnuts are a powerful plant-based food to eat on the go, or as an ingredient to include in a snack or meal. Walnuts provide a rich source of essential omega-3 ALA (2.5g/oz) and good plant-based fats and protein.

What are Omega 3s, and should they be part of my diet?

Omega 3s are a group of three unsaturated fatty acids. Two of these acids are found in oily fish (EPA and DHA) and the third is found in plants (ALA). Omega 3s are considered essential to human growth, but the body can’t make them by itself so it needs us to help increase Omega 3 levels via the foods we eat. Our bodies also need all three fatty acids to reap the health benefits, which is why just eating the plant sources, for instance, isn’t sufficient; we need the marine sources too. Seafood also contains Omega 6 fatty acids. This is another essential group that is thought to reduce cholesterol and help control blood sugar. Like Omega 3, we can’t produce it ourselves so we need to get it through the food we eat.

Why omega‑3s may be vital to getting the most out of your daily workouts

Omega-3s have been found to act like “traffic controllers,” helping regulate the body’s inflammatory response to exercise so muscles recover more efficiently. EPA also appears to support better blood flow to muscles after training and enhances the process of muscle protein synthesis (the body’s way of building new muscle tissue). Both of these processes may improve recovery following repeated sessions.

Why the salmon on your plate contains less omega‑3 than it used to – and how the industry can address that

In salmon, omega-3 fatty acids must come from the fish’s diet. For farmed fish, this means fishmeal and fish oil – so–called “marine ingredients” made from ground-up wild fish such as anchovy and fish by-products. But the global supply of omega-3s is severely limited, whether from farmed or wild seafood. Many of the key fisheries supplying marine ingredients reached full exploitation in the mid-1990s. Since the growth of salmon aquaculture, increasing volumes of the limited marine ingredients supply have been taken up by fish farming.

Resources

4 Yummy Ways to Get More Omega-3s (A New Study Shows They Help Preserve Brain Health)

Omega-3 fatty acids have been linked with lower risk of heart disease and maybe even Alzheimer's. A new study just found that older women who consumed the highest levels of omega-3 fatty acids had better preservation of their brain as they got older. And, sure, you can eat servings of fish such as salmon, trout, and tuna to get an infusion of these heart-and-brain-healthy omega-3s. You can pop a fish-oil pill, or slurp it from a spoon (in my own personal experience, this leads to fish-flavored burps later—but that may just be me). But you can also find omega-3s in some non-fish foods too.

6 Vegetarian Sources of Omega-3s

There are plenty of reasons you might be deficient in omega-3s—you’re a vegetarian, you don’t like fish, or you have an allergy—but luckily, there’s an easy fix. Oily fish like salmon aren’t the only source of the essential nutrient, which is important for a healthy brain, heart, eyes, and more. Plant-based foods also contain an omega-3 called ALA.

7 Things To Know About Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Evidence suggests that seafood rich in EPA and DHA should be included in a heart-healthy diet; however, supplements of EPA and DHA have not been shown to protect against heart disease.

8 Plant-Based Omega-3 Sources for When You’re Not Feeling Fish or Seafood

Of all plant-based omega-3 sources, flaxseed oil (also known as linseed oil) is probably the most packed. This particular kind of oil lends itself well to salad dressing, so try adding it to your blend next time you mix up a batch at home. While plant-based sources of DHA and EPA are pretty few and far between, seaweed products “are going to contain some small amounts,” Young says. That will vary by species as well and harvesting time and location, but it’s worth noting that red and brown seaweed varieties are particularly known for their omega-3s.

Omega3Report

This site is dedicated to providing you with the best information regarding Omega-3 and the many benefits it possesses.

OmegaQuant

Our goal is to offer the highest quality fatty acid analytical services to researchers and to provide simple tests of nutritional status to consumers, with the ultimate purpose of advancing the science and use of omega-3 fatty acids to improve health.

MayoClinic

Omega-3 fatty acids are thought to provide a wide range of health benefits, including a lower risk of coronary heart disease and improvement in cholesterol. There have also been promising results from studies looking at omega-3 for cancer, depression, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Due to these potential health benefits, fish oil, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, has become a popular supplement.

MedicineNet

Scientific evidence is mounting that fish oil (predominantly omega-3 fatty acids) can reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death. Some scientists also believe that omega-3 fatty acids can improve one's blood lipid (cholesterol and triglyceride) levels and decrease the risk of coronary heart disease.