Do you get enough Omega 3?

[twiddlingthumbs69]

Funny question I know but, I've been looking into this recently as it appears I don't.

We don't have oily fish or all the various other things that have it and our bodies can't make it.

Seems a lack of it can cause all sorts of low grade symptoms that can be written off as something else.

I'm now starting on omega 3 pills but just wondering if this is a well known thing or if I'm just late to the party on this one?

I've taken omega 3 for years as I'm vegetarian and don't eat fish. I take sea algae. The benefits have been known for decades.

@username299 crikey! Wish I'd known early, could have avoided a lot of problems.

Feel a bit stupid now really.

Well you know now. I can't sing the praises of Vitamin D enough either.

Omega 3 is great for heart health, depression and inflammation. Watch fish oil because of metals.

Hi @twiddlingthumbs69 I have been aware of it but not doing anything specific about it presently! I know I need to eat a better/more varied diet in general, will have occasional salmon but not really a fan of fish. Sometimes I try to have a few walnuts. Do you mind me asking if you got tested for omega 3 levels or are you just basing it on symptoms?

@CrankyCatz I haven't got any symptoms at all, although I have got dry skin and get headaches and aches and pains so I was looking up general multivitamins.
It suddenly dawned on me that I never eat fish etc so started looking up Omega 3 and had a lightbulb moment.

Had no idea that it came from so few food sources, non of which I eat.

The more I looked into it the more all the little niggles, bad back, insomnia etc, seemed to make sense.

I bought some Seven Seas extra strength yesterday and had one last night (they're huge!!).

Time will tell I suppose. I have stage 3 kidney disease as well so hoping it helps with that too

You ideally want to cut out upf as well as they tend to contain vegetable oils which are high in omega 6 which competes for absorption with the omega 3.

Thanks for replying, I hope they help you 😊

There’s no point taking omega 3 if you’re filling your cells with omega 6.

so you need to cut out things like seed oils and UPFs, and increase omega 3. It can take a while to get the balance right.

I’m vegan but eat walnuts and seeds for omega 3, as well as other foods which contain it. My friend is a dietician and helped me get the right omegas ratio, so hopefully I’m getting what I need. I never really thought about it before I was vegan though.

@flappingsoles I don't eat a lot of UPF's but, I do have some so that's a very good tip, thank you

@LookSerious The conversion rate from ALA to DHA and EPA is anywhere from very low to non existent. Unless you test your Omega 3 index, you have no way of knowing if you have enough DHA and EPA. There are algae sources of DHA and EPA. A good band for vegan DHA and EPA is DEVA.

I started taking omega 3 when I was at university and struggled with chronic fatigue and pain. I had bad seasonal depression at the time and discovered that it really helped. It's been almost 20 years now and the years I haven't consistently taken it the SAD crept back in. When I started TTC it was one of the essential supplements that kept coming up so that's another reason I kept taking it. Vit D3 should be taken with K2 and that helped me, it was prescribed by the NHS because my levels were so low. Methyfolate has made the biggest difference to how I feel.

Have you tied skinned boneless tinned sardines? Good source of omega 3 and not that bad. I sometimes eat a tin for lunch, with just salt and chilli flakes added.

Also, if you fancy it take a look on youtube, a lady there posting under the name of ketogenic women who does omega 3 fasts. Not sure I could do one personally, but it did remind me that I can just eat tinned fish and call it lunch.

I have been thinking about this for a a while and apologies in advance for a possibly daft question but are the supplements all fish oil? Do they repeat on you?! I have had a hideous experience of taking a fish oil based supplement which repeated and made me taste fish all day, it was so horrible!! @emanresu24

The other consideration is what meat you eat. Grass fed meat and wild salmon will be higher in omega 3, grain fed chicken and other meat and farmed fish will be higher in omega 6. Most people on a western diet have omega 6:3 ratios of 15+:1, ideally you want it to be under 4:1.

Vegans will really struggle without a supplement. Most plant based sources of omega 3 are high in omega 6. Walnuts which gave the best ratio of all nuts are still 4:1 omega 6:3.

Yes, I have algae and seaweed products too. I’m not concerned, I feel great, much better than I ever did when I ate meat or was vegetarian. I pay attention to my diet now and eat a healthy plant based diet. I have tests when I go back home every few years as the healthcare is better there and everything has always been good, and importantly, I have no signs of any deficiencies.

Don't get me wrong, I am vegan myself. Also following a whole food diet, nutrient rich and so on, no fakes, only real food, beans, seeds, the whole circus . Eating 35 g of flaxseeds a day, so plenty of ALA.
However DHA and EPA are tricky.
The Omega 3 index is not part of any panel, so unless you test for it specifically, you can't know. I test mine with omegaquant, and I would suggest you test it just once, so you know. Eating seaweed is great for iodine, but I am not sure it is cutting for your DHA-EPA.
I am in Australia and pay $49 for the prick test they send home. You just let a few drops of blood fall on a piece of paper and send it back.
Unless you test for DHA and EPA, you can't know. I convert a big fat nothing when it comes to ALA, and I was eating different types of seaweeds.