Fish oil helps lower your risk of developing heart disease and other forms of chronic illness. Fish oil is healthy because it contains omega-3 fatty acids. If you are a vegetarian and you want to include omega-3 fatty acids in your diet, you can take the plant form of omega-3 fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Omega-3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fats essential to your diet. Your body uses omega-3 fats in your cell membranes, and your body must get them through the foods you eat.
Plant Sources of Omega-3 Fatty Acids
ALA is commonly found in vegetable oils, nuts, flaxseeds, flaxseed oil and leafy vegetables. If your diet includes fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, seeds and nuts, you will get some ALA in the foods you eat. Good sources of ALA are walnuts and walnut oil, canola oil, soybeans and soybean oil, pumpkin seeds and pumpkin seed oil, perilla seed oil, and tofu.
Health Benefits
Omega-3 fatty acids provide health benefits in addition to the essential function that they provide your cells. Omega-3 fatty acids seem to help reduce inflammation and may help prevent chronic diseases, such as heart disease and arthritis. Omega-3 fatty acids help with proper brain function and may lower your blood pressure. Omega-3s have been used in treating menstrual pain, depression, inflammatory bowel disease, asthma and high cholesterol, as well as in breast cancer prevention.
Considerations
Your body needs fat to function, and unsaturated fat from ALA is a heart-healthy form. Two types of omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, are found in cold-water fish like salmon and tuna. The Harvard School of Public Health states that EPA and DHA's wide-ranging health benefits go beyond ALA's. It further states that some limited conversion of ALA to EPA and DHA does occur in the body; therefore, a vegetarian diet that includes ALA food sources will provide some health benefits related to the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil.
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