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Omega 3 Supplements?

IMST

If Charlie Parker Was a Gunslinger, There'd Be a W
IMST
Joined
Jul 5, 2007
Messages
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My mother is insisting that I should be on an Omega 3 Fatty Acid supplement. I think she's most likely wrong (again) about my diet. I've been a vegetarian for the last 11 years (no meat/poultry/fish, dairy and eggs are in). I'm also generally very healthy, rarely sick and athletic. Every year or so there's some new thing Mom comes up with that I'm doing wrong dietarily, usually involving supplements.
Generally I feel that if you eat reasonably well supplements are pretty completely unnecessary, though there's been a lot of positive press for omega 3 lately and, as far as I know, it's only normally available in fish.

So, medical people, do I need to be finding some source for Omega 3 or can I safely ignore this one just like iron, beans and rice together only, and whatever else I haven't listened to?
 
Eggs have Omega 3. The expensive ones have a lot of Omega 3. (if the USDA seal is really a verification of quality, a least.)
I think the amount in "normal" eggs are probably enough, though.
 
I take omega3/fish oil supplements because I can't stand eggs and hate most fish. (I eat chilli salt squid at a certain restaurant but that's about it, fishwise;)!)

I think if you eat a balanced diet, supplements are unneccesary. (I just don't think my diet is so balanced!)
 
Not a medical person, but eating omega 3 fats (and a high omega 3: omega 6 ratio) does seem to have some beneficial effects. For example, in the UK eating oily fish is one of the NICE recommendations for those who have had heart attacks. On the other hand, large populations (e.g. much of India's population) eat a fish-free diet, without any horrific consequences. Getting a reasonable amount of omega 3 fats isn't a bad idea, though...and at least eggs, walnuts etc. are tasty :)

'Normal' eggs are relatively high in omega 6 fats - the omega 3: omega 6 ratio is significant, so those wouldn't be a good source of omega 3 on their own. The 'good' omega 3 eggs contain some DHA iirc (I eat fish, so never really looked that closely at eggs) meaning these may be a good source of that? Flaxseeds (and rapeseed oil, and walnuts) contain omega 3, but in a form that's used by our bodies in a less efficient way than omega 3 from fish/animal sources. If you are considering supplements, I believe you can now get algae and/or plankton pills with EPA and DHA fats in them - so no need to use fish oil, if you're vegetarian for ethical reasons.

If I were vegetarian, without any health problems, I'd try to eat a reasonable amount of omega 3. I'm not sure if I'd bother with pills...
 
rapeseed oil=canola oil right?
Walnuts are very tasty, and I'd happily add Canola oil to my kitchen. I have very little patience for pills and since the vegetarianism is partly ethical I would avoid fish oil.
Thanks, everyone so far.
 
BenBurch said:
BTW, fish oils are a byproduct. You won't cause any more fish to be caught by using it.
Click to expand...

I am aware that this is a good, rational argument. I hope you won't be offended that I reject it entirely. Everyone is entitled to a little harmless irrationality. This is why I refuse to eat shellfish but happily swat mosquitos.
 
sounds sensible enough. If you eat eggs anyway, you might want to try the dha eggs, too...

One more thing - if using canola oil, you may want to check the relative benefits if used for frying as opposed to cold. Probably 'best' in salad dressings etc. - can't remember how much difference heating the stuff makes...
 
I recently (for the last year) have been on a diet intended to reduce my cholesterol, and so have been minimizing my meat consumption. My last lipid panel showed that my cholesterol is now excellent (low LDL, high HDL, cumulatively below whatever the heck level is normal), but my triglyceride level is pretty high. My doctor told me to take fish-oil pills just to reduce my tryglyseride levels.
In cases of specialized diets, there is always a chance of missing something because of a personal quirk (I don't like seafood, and the overall reduction in my meat intake [much less gay than it sounds] left me short of Omega 3's). I would venture that in many cases supplements aren't a bad idea, although a varied and balanced diet is certainly two steps in the right direction.
 
Hemp oil is good for you.

The hempseed is one of the most balanced sources of omega-3 and omega-6 Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs). Studies link many common ailments to an imbalance and deficiency of EFAs in the typical Western diet: too much omega-6 and not enough omega-3. Fish and fish oils are typically recommended because they provide the omega-3 derivatives of SDA, DHA, and EPA, but for some consumers the concern over the contamination of fish by mercury and other environmental toxins (which has led the FDA to warn pregnant women and nursing mothers to restrict their fish intake) hemp’s omega profile is a good alternative to fish. The seeds also provide other phytonutrients, including phytosterols and carotenes as well as Vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, and potassium.

Hemp oil is the richest known source of polyunsaturated essential fatty acids (the "good" fats) and it is also rich in some essential amino acids, including gamma linoleic acid (GLA), a very rare nutrient also found in mother's milk.
Click to expand...
 
Actually all omega-3 is ultimately from plant sources. Cold water fish consume & store a lot through their food chain (some cold water algae or something). Yes - current thinking is that modern diet has remarkably low omeha3:omega-6 ratio and that this should be corrected.
 
if you refuse, irrationally as you say, to eat fish oil then flax oil is your best bet. It has plenty of Omega 3 in it. But it's not EPA. It has ALA which is converted at about 15% efficiency so you have to take a lot more.
 
I take a fish oil supplement but you may not need to.

As near as I can tell, the important thing is not the total Omega 3 you get but the ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6. If you're a confirmed vegitarian, you may not be getting as much Omega 3 as a fish-eater, but you definitely are getting a lot less Omega 6 than a meat-eater.

Get a lipid panel at your next check-up. If your numbers are high, try taking an Omega 3 supplement. How healthy you feel now is no indication of how hyperlipidemia will affect your health in the future.
 
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