Are People Who Take Vegetarian Omega 3 Supplements Getting Enough Essential Fatty Acids?

There are some very important discoveries relating to our health that have been made over the last few decades. Arguably the most important is that most of us are deficient in the Omega 3 fats. These are ALA, DHA and EPA. ALA (alpha linolenic acid), DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) are all beneficial fats known as Omega 3 essential fatty acids.

Generally DHA is the most important of the Omega 3 fatty acids, although EPA is also very important. DHA makes up a large proportion of our brain.

But sadly over the last century there have been significant changes to our diets and we are now eating much less DHA and EPA as these are mainly found in seafood and particularly in oily fish. As we are eating less seafood and therefore taking less omega 3 fats his increases our risk of a wide range of health conditions, and increasing our intake of these essential fatty acids can help protect us against contracting some of these conditions.

But what is ALA Omega 3 fat? DHA and EPA are found in marine sources and in particular oily fish. ALA is an omega 3 fatty acid that is found only in plant based sources. It is not present in fish, and anyone taking fish oil supplements is not getting any ALA in their supplements.

But many people who are vegetarian are taking vegetarian Omega 3 supplements such as flax seed oil supplements. These do contain ALA but do not contain DHA or EPA. Are they getting all the omega 3 fats they need?

The answer is no because DHA and EPA are much more important to your health than ALA. The benefit of ALA is that the body can convert it into DHA and EPA but it is converted at a very poor rate, and the less healthy amongst us convert it less successfully.

The answer is that vegetarian Omega 3 supplements are taken by people who do not wish to take supplements sourced from seafood, and that many of these people are unaware that they are not getting the right Omega 3 fats.

The bottom line is that virtually all of us are deficient in the fish-based Omega 3 fats DHA and EPA. These are what are important to our health and taking an ALA Omega 3 supplement such as a flax seed oil supplement does not address this problem. To find out more about the essential fatty acids DHA and EPA and in particular about where to source high quality fish oil supplements containing these fats visit my website.