Vegetarian alternative to omega fish oils

[noonbear]

Can anyone recommend an alternative to fish oil supplements that isn?t an oil that you have to mix in with food or drinks. I guess what I am looking for is a something in capsule form and covers everything that you would get if you ate oily fish.

I am always worried that my family don?t get enough and I?d be interested to know what other families do/take.

Thanks

I don't think there is anything that covers everything well. And the alternatives to capsules are hard to find.
I give my son flaxseed as well as the oils. I grind flaxseed and add it to his bread and breadcrumbs for cooking. I think most seeds are good for omegas. Hemp oil is good as you can massage it in - it was the earliest omegas i gave DD when she was a babe

actually thinking about it I would probably get aoil blend and massage - more fun anyway

We use Vertese Omegs 3, 6 and 9 which is vegetarian. It is oil in a vegetarian capsule. Available either on line or in some supermarkets - our Tesco and Sainsburys sell it.

I don't think the vegetable oils are quite as good as fish oils but Vertese seems to be one of the best options for vegetarians that we could find.

flaxseed or a mixture- you can get it from health shops.
Udos Oil is one brand- you can get cheaper versions though.

What do you do with the flax seed oil, I bought some once and wasn't sure how to incorporate it into our diet, it seemed very overpowering. I wondered whether I could use it when making bread?

if you heat it it destroys the omega oils.

Algae ones by V Pure I think.....DH just doles them out....will look for link....they taste fishy though, yuk.

vegan`

thanks for all your help and suggestions.

One question, do vegetarian alternatives contain the 'ingredients' for want of a better word, to help with things such as memory and mental ability as fish oils are supposed to.

thanks

anyone???

sainsbury's do omega3 for vegetarians and vegans is that what you mean?
Although, I am vegi but have been taking the non vegi ones while pg as I don't think they will have the DHA stuff in them that I wanted to take, so afaik the answer is no.
And I guess I'm no longer a vegi!

Hello Noonbear

I would agree flax is what you are looking for, a good brand to take is Higher Nature here It's a really good brand (I take their Omega 3 capsules) and they only use highest purity oils. It is expensive but I often buy at discount from online chemists - just search on google.

And here's an interesting article about fats and the brain here

I have tried oils before but found it very hard to incorporate into DS diet and we found it very overpowering.

Those of you that use capsules Winetimeisfinetime and AccidentalMum, from what age are they suitable?

Thanks

Noonbear, are your kids veggies? If not, do they eat fishfingers? Only you can get the Birds Eye ones made from Alaskan pollock which seems to contain omega3.

I also give dh old-fashioned cod liver oil + malt - big jar from the chemists costs not much at all, lasts ages and ds thinks it's a treat called Sticky Stuff.

Don't waste your money on supplements containing 3+6+9 - its the Omega 3s most people in this country need, and it's the balance between the different types that's important - taking more 6 as well as more 3 will cancel out the benefits.

I am vegetarian and take flax oil supplements/sometimes eat bread with flax seeds BUT there is no real way of knowing whether your body is able to convert veggie sources of nutrients into the stuff your body needs. In oily fish it's there in the right form and easily absorbed but from plant sources your own body has to do some work. Some bodies are better at this than others, it appears.

I'm prepared to take the risk for me but wouldn't be happy about going that way for ds (but he's not veggie anyway so not an issue for us).

Yes both DS's are veggie and all this omega business is such a tricky issue. Thanks for the advice on the 3 vs 6 issue.

I know what you mean about taking the risk yourself but getting the balenace between your kids health and welfare and your beliefs is hard.

Everywhere i look i get conflicting advice i am beginning to think it might be better to give DS1 a fish oil supplement which may seem a bit hyocritical but i have always said that when the boys are old enough to make their own decision if they decide to eat meat then i will respect that.

Thanks

noonbear it says from age 6 on the Vertese box. I would think that is mainly because the capsules would be difficult to swallow for younger children.

From the point of view of the vegetarian oils I can only say that when I started taking them I was feeling a bit low and after a few weeks I said to my dh that I was feeling a lot brighter and the only thing I could put it down to was taking Vertese. This was before I'd heard anything about their effects on brain function and help with depression so I sort of dismissed it. Then a week or so later there was an item on the BBC news about how omega oils were being used successfully to treat mild depression so I realised it probably wasn't just my imagination that I felt better taking them.

btw having looked at the Vertese box I see that it is both vegeterian and vegan and contains flaxseed oil, sunflower oil, pumpkinseed oil, wheatgerm oil, vitamin E, evening primrose oil, rosemary oil and rice bran oil. hth

If it helps at all with your thought processes noonbear, I do agree with edam that fish oils are better and I would be happy for my ds to have them as I think the benefit to him would outweigh my concerns about them not being vegetarian but what I really don't like about the fish oil capsules is that the capsules are usually made of gelatine. It is really hard to find a source of fish oils in a non gelatine capsule. I think it all depends on how stridently vegetarian you are.

Like you we gave our ds the choice and as a small child he didn't like meat much when it was offered to him but now he is older he is mainly vegetarian but will also eat meat and fish on occasion with no qualms.

Hemp protein powder. Hemp is a wonder-food. Sprinkle into porridge, soups, smoothies, anything really....

Contains omega3 and 6 EFAs, plus all 10 EEA. Shame though, it is 100% THC-free..

Hi again Noonbear - the Flaxseed link I gave you is for capsules.