Omega 3s: What You Need to Know

Omega 3s are well known for their health benefits. Evidence shows us that they can help with things like pain, skin health, eye health, mental health and more.

Omega 3s are a healthy fat. Most of the benefits come from EPA, DHA and ALA. These are different types of omega 3s.

When you get your omega 3s from plant based sources (like flax, walnuts, canola oil and chia seeds), you’re mainly taking in ALA. When you get your omega 3s from fish, you’re mainly taking in EPA and DHA. Very little of the plant based omega 3s are converted to the fish oil type of omega 3s so you don’t always get the same benefits from plant based omega 3s and fish oil.

It’s estimated that adults should be getting over 1000 mg of omega 3s daily for general health. Most practitioners who recommended omega 3s for specific conditions will recommend more depending on the case.

Omega 3s are present throughout the body and help various systems of the body stay healthy, like the eyes, brain, heart, blood vessels etc. Their biggest claim to fame is their ability to reduce inflammation in the body.

Generally, the standard North American diet favours fats that increase inflammation so having omega 3s in the diet can help combat that.

Supplements

Plant based omega 3 supplements are usually made from algae. Animal based supplements are usually made from fish. Cod liver oil (an animal based supplement) has additional vitamins like vitamin A because it’s made from cod liver.

The doses available on the market vary widely as well as the amount of ALA, EPA and DHA per supplement. The ratio of EPA to DHA in your supplement matters for things like depression and anxiety.

Certain types of fish oils are more easily absorbed than others. For example, krill oil may be better absorbed but this claim isn’t based on a lot of research. You can likely still get benefit from a variety of different types of fish oil supplements out there.

Sometimes patients are concerned about the mercury in seafood making its way into a fish oil supplement but this not the case.

Side Effects

Side effects are not common with omega 3 supplements but they do happen. If you’ve started taking a supplement and you notice increased diarrhea, heartburn or nausea, you may be experiencing side effects.

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