It seems like these days more and more food manufacturers are advising us that there is omega 3 in their products, while this is a good thing because Omega three contains essential fatty acids that we need to function properly, there are certainly some Omega 3 oils that are better than others.
For instance, most of the foods that have omega 3 in them will contain the ALA fatty acid; this essential fat is found in certain seeds such as flaxseed and nuts like walnuts and while it will help keep your Omega 3--6 balance right, it is not nearly as beneficial for you as the omega 3 oils that are found in fish like tuna, salmon and mackerel.
The fats found in the fish are known as DHA and EPA, and while it is known that the ALA fatty acid that we have already discussed can turn into these other two acids inside the body, you would have to consume vast quantities of it for to be of any use.
The reason for wanting more of these DHA and EPA acids is because scientists have confirmed they have many benefits for the body such as: -
However, to get enough of these omega 3 oils in your diet to have all of the health boosting properties just mentioned, you would ideally need to be consuming fish oil on a daily basis.
The problem with this though, is that these kinds of fish are often found in polluted waters which means the fish contain pollutants such as mercury, lead and PCBs, and if you were to eat them on a daily basis then you would contained these pollutants too.
Of course the obvious answer for this is to take a supplement, however even with supplements you still have to urge caution, because not all companies remove all of the pollutants from their products; and on top of that you can quite often find that their supplements are made with rancid fish as well.
To make sure the Omega 3 oils that you will take as a supplement are not like that then you need to check that firstly the product has been molecularly distilled which is a purification process to get rid of the pollutants, and secondly to check if rancid fish is being used in the product you can quite simply cut the capsule in half and if it has a strong fishy smell then it is rancid.
For instance, most of the foods that have omega 3 in them will contain the ALA fatty acid; this essential fat is found in certain seeds such as flaxseed and nuts like walnuts and while it will help keep your Omega 3--6 balance right, it is not nearly as beneficial for you as the omega 3 oils that are found in fish like tuna, salmon and mackerel.
The fats found in the fish are known as DHA and EPA, and while it is known that the ALA fatty acid that we have already discussed can turn into these other two acids inside the body, you would have to consume vast quantities of it for to be of any use.
The reason for wanting more of these DHA and EPA acids is because scientists have confirmed they have many benefits for the body such as: -
- prevent heart disease
- nourish the brain and can help prevent conditions such as Alzheimer's disease
- protect the eyes from macular degeneration
- combat certain cancers
- fight inflammation
- how protect the bowels
However, to get enough of these omega 3 oils in your diet to have all of the health boosting properties just mentioned, you would ideally need to be consuming fish oil on a daily basis.
The problem with this though, is that these kinds of fish are often found in polluted waters which means the fish contain pollutants such as mercury, lead and PCBs, and if you were to eat them on a daily basis then you would contained these pollutants too.
Of course the obvious answer for this is to take a supplement, however even with supplements you still have to urge caution, because not all companies remove all of the pollutants from their products; and on top of that you can quite often find that their supplements are made with rancid fish as well.
To make sure the Omega 3 oils that you will take as a supplement are not like that then you need to check that firstly the product has been molecularly distilled which is a purification process to get rid of the pollutants, and secondly to check if rancid fish is being used in the product you can quite simply cut the capsule in half and if it has a strong fishy smell then it is rancid.