What are good sources of Vegetarian Omega-3s?
Posted by Evelyn Tribole MS RD at 7/2/2009 9:24 AM 
Categories: EPA, Vegetarian, Supplements, DHA, ALA, Omega-3 Fats
Tags: Vegan supplements Vegetarian DHA EPA Omega-3 Fats
Categories: EPA, Vegetarian, Supplements, DHA, ALA, Omega-3 Fats
Tags: Vegan supplements Vegetarian DHA EPA Omega-3 Fats
Q. I am vegan, (which means I don't eat any fish, dairy, eggs, meats or poultry). I keep hearing how omega-3s are important for health. What are good sources of omega-3?
A. There are many different types of omega-3 fatty acids with different functions (just like there are many different B-vitamins that have different actions in the body).
The plant-based omega-3 , ALA, is rather easy to get in the diet (flax meal, flax oil, walnuts, green leafy vegetables). The marine-based omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, are the key omega-3s associated with health benefits ranging from mood, inflammation and heart disease. International guidelines recommend getting an average of 650 milligrams, daily, of a combination of EPA + DHA.
While ALA can technically be converted to EPA in the body, it's very, very low—so you can't rely on it to meet all of your omega-3 needs [1]. For example, if you eat 1000 milligrams of ALA, it will only make about 27 milligrams of EPA. This means it's important to get direct sources of both EPA and DHA, which for vegans means an algae-based supplement. There are many excellent brands of vegan DHA, but I only know of one brand that contains both EPA and DHA (I don't consult for this company):
[1] J. Thomas J.T. Brenna, Norman Salem, Andrew J. Sinclair, Stephen C. Cunnane, for the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids, ISSFAL. Alpha-Linolenic acid supplementation and conversion to n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in humans. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids - February 2009 (Feb): 85-91. DOI: 10.1016/j.plefa.2009.01.004)
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A. There are many different types of omega-3 fatty acids with different functions (just like there are many different B-vitamins that have different actions in the body).
The plant-based omega-3 , ALA, is rather easy to get in the diet (flax meal, flax oil, walnuts, green leafy vegetables). The marine-based omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, are the key omega-3s associated with health benefits ranging from mood, inflammation and heart disease. International guidelines recommend getting an average of 650 milligrams, daily, of a combination of EPA + DHA.
While ALA can technically be converted to EPA in the body, it's very, very low—so you can't rely on it to meet all of your omega-3 needs [1]. For example, if you eat 1000 milligrams of ALA, it will only make about 27 milligrams of EPA. This means it's important to get direct sources of both EPA and DHA, which for vegans means an algae-based supplement. There are many excellent brands of vegan DHA, but I only know of one brand that contains both EPA and DHA (I don't consult for this company):
- V-Pure is one of the few brands that contains vegan/algae EPA. Two caps provide:
Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) – 50 milligrams
Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) – 350 milligrams
[1] J. Thomas J.T. Brenna, Norman Salem, Andrew J. Sinclair, Stephen C. Cunnane, for the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids, ISSFAL. Alpha-Linolenic acid supplementation and conversion to n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in humans. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids - February 2009 (Feb): 85-91. DOI: 10.1016/j.plefa.2009.01.004)
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