I have mentioned Omega 3 before, but I haven’t said a lot about it. I thought sharing a few things about it would be nice. Omega 3 is an essential fatty acid required by the body. “Essential” means that our body must have it but can’t make it so we need to obtain the nutrient from our diet. Since our cell membranes are made up of fatty acids it makes sense that our body needs fatty acids to function properly. The key is making sure our bodies have the right kind of fat. Omega 3 contains three fatty acids, a-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and is considered a polyunsaturated fat. Polyunsaturated fat, unlike saturated fat, does not harden at room temperature. Wanting a fat that makes up cell membranes that does not harden is another thing that makes sense, right? Nutrients and waste have an easier time passing in and out of a cell membrane with a liquid consistency than one that is solid.
Research has been done in regards to Omega 3 on diseases and ailments with varied results. Studies continue to reveal Omega 3 helps reduce heart disease risk factors such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Omega 3 helps reduce inflammation. We know chronic inflammation is not good because it is linked with or even thought to be the cause of many diseases. Omega 3 could help with autoimmune diseases of which inflammation is present such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and diabetes. With many diseases there is often multiple issues so it makes sense that if something helps with one thing it might help with another if it is a symptom or a result of a disease. For instance, many people with diabetes have high cholesterol so, if Omega 3 helps lower the LDL and raise the HDL, that would be of assistance to someone with diabetes. Science is continuing to discover things about Omega 3 and how each fatty acid has different effects on the body.
Omega 3 is interesting in that one of the three ALA is actually not used by the body until it is converted to the other two. Some foods contain ALA, some contain EPA, and others contain DHA or a combination of them. So as always recommended it is good to eat a variety of foods. Eating a variety of foods containing Omega 3 will help ensure you get what you need. Some of the food Omega 3 can be found in is cold water fish, flax seed, walnuts, and what some are calling “Omega 3 eggs”. At present there is not a Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for Omega 3, but the consensus is that Americans should be eating more.
According to a the World’s Healthiest Foods website: “the National Institutes of Health recommended that people consume at least 2% of their total daily calories as omega-3 fats.”
You might have heard the claim that Canola Oil is a good source of Omega 3, but then you might have also heard the processing the rapeseed plant goes through and the way the oil is made actually burns off the Omega 3 and becomes transfat. This is one of those things you might want to research and decide for yourself. It is your health.
Other foods containing Omega 3: beans, olive oil, hemp seeds, kale, collard greens, spinach, soybeans, cloves, oregano, green beans — yay, not just fish! I am not a fan of fish although, the Omega 3 in fish is hard to beat, so I probably should start eating it.
Like so many nutrients being discovered as being necessary almost everyday it seems as if the best way to get what the body needs is to eat a variety of foods. The less we eat of over-processes and packaged foods the better. Finding a balance is also important. It just really sounds as if, from all the information I have read, Americans consume less Omega 3 than we should, so — to me — it sounds good to add more to my diet. What about you? Are there ways you can add more healthy foods that contain Omega 3 into your diet?
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