Omega 3: essential fats of life

What are essential fatty acids?

The two Essential Fatty Acids, the Omega 3s and the Omega 6s are a form of polyunsaturated fats, one of the four basic types of fat that the body derives from food. The others are cholesterol, saturated fat, and monounsaturated fat. Omega 3s, which are found primarily in cold-water fish and Omega 6s, which are found in grains, most plant-based oils, poultry, and eggs cannot be produced by the body and therefore need to be eaten in your diet, in a ratio of 1:1 in order to maintain a good level of health and wellbeing. That’s the optimum ratio – however in reality, the ratio is believed to be nearer to 1:20, because of our low fish/high grain diet. This relative lack of Omega 3 is believed to be at the heart of the high levels of degenerative disease experienced in the Western world. Restoring this ratio can rapidly make a difference to your health.

Do you need to supplement your diet with Omega 3?

So how can you tell whether you are deficient in Omega 3 Essential Fatty Acids? One of the easiest ways is to take this mini-questionnaire, which has been designed to identify the possibility of a deficiency. For each ‘YES’ answer, score yourself with one point.

Do you suffer from dry skin, dandruff or eczema?
Do you suffer from any inflammatory conditions or allergies?
Do you suffer from hormonal imbalance, PMS or breast pain?
Do you suffer from poor memory, low mood or difficulty in concentrating?
Do you suffer from obesity, high cholesterol or blood-sugar problems?
Do you eat less than 3 portions of oily fish a week?

If you score two or more it suggests that you are either experiencing, or at risk of, Omega 3 deficiency related disease and would benefit from supplementing your diet with an Omega 3 Essential Fatty Acid.

Which Omega 3 supplement should you take?

Once upon a time, I would have told you that you could get all of your Omega 3s by eating three servings of oily cold-water fish such as tuna, salmon, and mackerel a week. Unfortunately, research has proven conclusively, that most of the fish we eat is so heavily contaminated with toxins such as dioxin and mercury, that regular consumption of fish is potentially a health hazard. Even the Food Standards Agency has recognised this and now recommend eating no more than 4 servings a week. So what can you do?

My advice is take an Omega 3 rich supplement, which contains a high level of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA). EPA and DHA are the two main active ingredients that are responsible for the health benefits of Omega 3. There are several different supplements that contain Omega 3 fatty acids, such as Omega 3 Fish Oil, Cod Liver Oil and Flaxseed Oil.

Generally, Omega 3 Fish Oil supplements contain the highest concentrations of EPA and DHA, so I would recommend that you choose an Omega 3 Fish Oil supplement to gain maximum benefits.
Take between one and three capsules a day that provide read more