Omega 3 question

[mtotheb]

I have been a Vegan for nearly 4 months. I'm worried about Omega 3. I take flaxseed and Chai seeds daily plus my multi vitamin tablets... BUT I have been reading a lot of research that states Omega 3 is different in plants (flax etc) and oily fish like mackerel. Apparently the plant Omega 3 is no where near as good for you as eating fish. I have also been reading new emerging reports about mental health and Omega 3. Apparently taking Omega 3 is your insurance policy in the future to help prevent dementia etc..

I'm seriously doubting my vegan diet and I'm really interested if anyone can offers some information about this.

I have also checked the NHS website that states a Mediterranean diet is the healthiest one. I'm seriously thinking of introducing fish into my diet but still not eating chicken etc and not having dairy products... Does this make me a bad person

 

[Erin]

Hi! I'm new to this whole vegan concept but I can provide some insight on Omega 3s. While yes Omega 3 from plants has a very different make up than Omega 3 from fish, you still need Omega 3 from plants in your diet. Omega 3s from fish are a longer carbon chain (if you get into the chemistry of it all) while Omega 3s from plants are a shorter carbon chain. Omega 3s in fish have DHA and EPA which you CANNOT get in Omega 3s from plants (you get ALA instead). DHA and EPA are part of the make up of your cells. If you are worried about future health problems from not getting enough of the Omega 3 in fish, then the best thing for you is exercise! While exercise will not replace the Omega 3s it will help to combat against future mental decline. If you are wavering still about your vegan diet then I would suggest either algae (which can have the Omega 3s that you would find in fish) or fish oil supplements (as a last resort), which means you do not have to directly eat fish. Obviously there is no good answer to your question but I hope I provided at least some insight into your Omega 3 issue.

Here is a link to an article that you might find to be helpful!

http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com...ians-take-supplements-of-EPA-and-DHA-omega-3s

 

[mtotheb]

Thanks so much for the reply. I did eat some fish in order to try and get my Omega 3 BUT afterwards it made me more determined to. Carry on the Vegan track. I kinda feel at the moment that if my body feels fine then what's the problem right?

I exercise a lot and o feel really healthy and strong on a plant based diet...

Once again thanks for getting back to me.
Peace out

 

[Jamie in Chile]

The seeds have ALA Omega 3, but the body also needs others such as DHA. The body can produce them internally using the ALA it eats, but it is unclear if the conversion efficiency makes this less good as eating DHA and others directly in fish.

A good idea is to either blood test your Omega 3 levels, or take a supplement (some of which are vegan), or eat a very large amount of the seeds. Resorting to eating fish is probably not necessary.

Make sure you grind the seeds rather than just throw them onto the food. I learned this myself recently. There was a scientific study that showed that people that ate non-ground seeds were not absorbing the Omega 3s.

 

[mtotheb]

Hi there! I try and have 2 table spoons of milled Flaxseed and one table spoon of Chai seeds (ungrounded) in my porridge once a day... Do you think this would be sufficient? Do I need to grind the Chai seeds?

It's hard to know what news reports to trust since pro meat eaters always want to find ways to scare people into eating meat... I will be honest that even now on my Vegan path I'm still not sure who to trust?!? In terms of moral ethics then it's Vegan all day long! But is a vegan diet healthier than a balanced varied diet such as the Mediterranean diet?

 

[Jamie in Chile]

That sounds like enough to me. Yes, grind the chia seeds.

http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs.../acm.2011.0443 "Plasma α-linolenic acid (N=ALA) increased 58% (interaction effect, p=0.002) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) 39% (p=0.016) in the milled chia seed group (N=14) compared to nonsignificant changes in the whole chia seed (N=16) and placebo (N=26) groups."

The above scientific study found that Omega 3 levels increaesd for people that took milled (i.e. ground) chia seeds, with no difference between eating whole seeds and eating none at all.

 

[Jamie in Chile]

It's difficult to compare a vegan diet with a mediteranean diet but both are thought to be healthy but hard to say which one is healthiest it will depend on the specifics.

 

[mtotheb]

Nice one Jamie. Some good info there and I will but a grinder for my Chai seeds! You have always been very helpful with nutritional info and I appreciate your advice. Peace

 

[Green.Wave]

Take omega 3 algae supplements or algae oil. Make sure that it’s a high quality one.