Omega 3 fatty acids are essential for good health throughout life. As with vitamins, we cannot make them ourselves so we have to get all of our requirements from the food that we eat or from supplements. There are many food sources of omega 3 fatty acids from both vegetable and animal sources, but the best, most bio-available are from oily fish and seafood.
Is All Fat Bad?
Fat has had a bad press over the years, with the main mantra being to cut it down or cut it out. However, modern nutritional science has discovered that it not just the amount of fat that we eat that impacts our health but, more importantly, the type of fat. Highly saturated fats are solid at room temperature, e.g., butter and lard, whereas unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature, e.g., oils. The body metabolises fat in different ways, and this has different impacts on our health. Diets high in saturated fat raise our blood fat levels and lead to elevated cholesterol levels, both high-risk factors for coronary heart disease. Diets high in unsaturated fat lead to lower levels of blood fats and reduce the risk factors associated with coronary heart disease. The highly unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids are particularly good at reducing risk factors for coronary heart disease, as they have anti-inflammatory properties and they reduce the "stickiness" of blood, reducing clotting risk, according to the British Dietetic Association.
Are All Omega-3 Fats the Same?
Omega-3 fats are found in both vegetable and animal products. But there is a fundamental difference associated with their structure. Omega-3 fats from vegetable origin have shorter fatty acid components than the omega-3 fats from animal or fish origin. The shorter chain fatty acids need to be converted into the longer chain fatty acids before the body can use them. Our bodies are capable of doing this; however, we are only about 10 percent efficient in the conversion, at the most. Therefore it is much more beneficial to eat the longer chain fatty acids from fish, as we can use them directly.
Best Food Sources of Omega-3 Fats
Vegetable sources include flaxseed, walnuts, soya beans, hempseed, rapeseed/canola oil and tofu.
Fish sources include:
Mackerel: fresh, frozen, smoked or canned
Salmon: fresh, frozen, smoked, canned or gravadlax. Wild salmon has a higher omega-3 content than farmed.
Tuna: fresh only. The canning process removes the oil from the tuna, and most of the omega-3 is lost.
Trout: fresh or frozen brown trout, sea trout and smoked trout
Sardines: fresh or canned
Anchovies: fresh, pickled or salted
Brown crab meat: fresh or canned
Herring: fresh, soused, cured, smoked or kippered
Mussels: fresh or canned
Squid: fresh or frozen
Prawns: fresh or frozen
Sea bass: fresh or frozen
Quick Tips
While the best sources of omega-3 fats are seafood, there are lots of different ways to eat it that don't necessarily mean a trip to the fishmonger each week. Buying canned or frozen seafood, with the exception of tuna, is a great way to keep sources close to hand. Try:
Smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels for breakfast
A quick smoked mackerel dip--smoked mackerel, creme fraiche, lemon juice and black pepper
Prawn and 1000 island dressing jacket potato filling
Crab cakes using both white and brown crab meat
Tuna steaks on the BBQ instead of burgers
How Much Omega-3 Should You Be Eating?
The American Heart Association recommends 1g per day, which is the equivalent of eating two portions (150 to 200 g) of oily fish or shellfish per week. The average person, however, is only eating a quarter of this, so we have some way to go. Generally speaking, we should be cutting down on our meat consumption and increasing our vegetable and seafood intake; this would go a long way to balancing out the diet nutritionally.
But What About Toxins?
It is true that certain larger fish, higher up the food chain do have higher levels of toxins and mercury in their flesh. As a rule of thumb, the smaller the fish, the lower the risk of toxins. So long as you eat the recommended amount of two to three portions a week, this should not pose a problem. Particular care should be taken if you are planning a pregnancy or are pregnant. Always seek advice from your health professional if in any doubt.
Benefits of Seafood
Eating more seafood has many benefits aside from the increased intake of omega-fats. It is high in good-quality protein and rich in vitamins A and D and many essential minerals. Eating more seafood automatically means that we cut down on our meat intake, something we should all be doing as we strive to improve our diet and reduce the levels of disease and obesity in the Western world, per the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010.
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