Omega 3 Food – Intake of Omega 3 Food
and the Benefits Associated With It
Food containing omega 3 oils is rich in essential fatty acids that cannot be made by our body itself. These essential fatty acids are DHA, EPA and ALA. Omega 3 food includes fish, harp seal, krill, flax seed, walnut, canola oil, pumpkin seed, safflower, peanut, olive, and some other vegetable oils.
Essential fatty acids (EFA’s) are of two types: omega 3 and omega 6. Health experts tell us that the ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acids in our body should not exceed 2:1 that is for every 2 portions of omega 6 fats, there should be 1 portion of omega 3 fats.
Omega 6 fatty acids are readily available from our everyday diet including eggs, meat and some vegetable oils. However, omega 3 food is not consumed by us on a daily basis, and therefore we need dietary supplements to obtain optimal levels of omega 3 fatty acids required to keep our body healthy.
Flax seed oil is the richest known source of a short-chain omega 3 fatty acid known as alpha-linolenic acid or ALA. Other omega 3 food rich in ALA include hempseed oil, sesame oil, spinach, soybean and mustard green. If you are only consuming flax seed oil to obtain your portion of omega 3 fatty acids, then having 1 tablespoon full daily would be enough.
If you are using other vegetable oils for cooking, such as canola, soybean and olive, it is recommended that you avoid hydrogenated versions of these oils.
Oily fish, such as salmon, sardines, mackerel, albacore tuna and anchovies are rich sources of long-chain omega 3 fatty acids – DHA and EPA. It is usually recommended by doctors to include 1 serving of fish twice a week in your omega 3 food.
If fresh or wild fish is not available in your area, then make use of a high-quality fish oil supplement. However, since fish oil does not provide ALA, health experts emphasize the use of flax seed oil on a daily basis.
Krill oil is a relatively unknown source of omega 3 fatty acids. Krill is a shrimp-like, small marine animal. It is ultra rich in essential fatty acids as well as antioxidants. Omega 3 food also contains harp seal oil, cod liver oil and algae oil. Algae are a direct source of DHA and EPA without any trace of impurities and other contaminants found in fish oil.
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