Are All Omega-3′s the Same? What’s the Fish Story…

The Facts on Omega-3\’sBy now you’ve probably heard that omega-3 fatty acids are good for you.

The buzz is that omega-3s reduce inflammation and inflammatory diseases, lower the risk of heart disease, reduce triglycerides and help prevent metabolic syndrome, help prevent migraines and slow the rate of cognitive decline as we age.

There are a lot more clinical studies to be done, but in the case of the omega-3s most of the buzz appears to be true. So if you’re like most people, you’ve made the decision to increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids.  But, if you’re like most people, you’re a bit leery of relying on fish as your source of omega-3s.   That’s because most fish in US restaurants and markets are farm raised, and farm raised fish are high in PCBs and other contaminants.

In fact the Environmental Protection Agency recommends that we eat farm raised salmon no more than once a month (if it was raised in farms located near Washington state or Chile) to no more than once a year (if it was raised in farms near Scotland or the Faroe Islands).  That’s a far cry from the two to three times per week that most health experts are recommending.  Of course, wherever there is a problem like that the American food industry is more than willing to step in. So you can go onto your favorite supermarket and purchase all sorts of foods and food supplements fortified with omega-3s.

Problem solved, you might think. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.To understand why, you need to know a few things.

1) Omega-3 fatty acids are fats. They are macronutrients, not micronutrients. Thus, a fairly large amount is required to provide health benefits. For example, the American Heart Association recommends 500-1,000 mg/day to reduce the risk of heart disease.  Clinical studies showing that omega-3 supplementation reduces the pain and inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis often use 2,000 to 3,000 mg/day.

2) Not all omega-3s are equal. It is the long chain omega-3s, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), that exert the health benefits. The shorter chain omega-3, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) has to be converted to EPA or DHA to exert its beneficial effects.

3) The conversion of ALA to EPA and DHA is only about 10% efficient. That means we need to consume 1,000 mg of ALA to get 100 mg of EPA + DHA.  So you need to read the labels carefully. Look at the mgs of omega-3s provided and make sure that most of the omega-3s are EPA & DHA. If they don’t tell you which omega-3s the food or supplement contains, check the ingredient list.

If fish oil is listed as the primary ingredient, the omega-3s are primarily EPA & DHA. If canola or soy oil is the primary ingredient, the omega-3 is primarily the low potency ALA.

Finally, if you are using a fish oil supplemental source of omega-3s, make sure that the supplement uses only the highest purity, triple distilled sources of EPA and DHA because even ocean fish can be contaminated with PCBs, pesticides and heavy metals.