Omega 3: How We're Being Deceived

One other pertinent fact...ALA is a short-chain fatty acid that is unusable by the human body. We require the long chain acids EPA and DHA. The body can put ALA through several steps of elongation and desaturation to finally get it to EPA and then further DHA, but this process is HIGHLY inefficient. Only 5-10% of ingested ALA gets converted to the usable forms, hence why I don't recommend supplementation with flax oil.

ALA is what is most likely being added to all of these fake food products...it's cheap and plant-derived rather than being useful animal-derived omega-3s.

Just stick to eating real foods and you'll be A-OK.

Cheers
Scott Kustes
Modern Forager

Nothing wrong with adding a little fresh-ground flax seed meal to your meal, or eating walnuts or salmon.

This whole thing is really just another example of fortifying foods instead of encouraging people to eat the REAL foods that the nutrient comes from. I guess most folks would rather eat a candy bar artificially loaded with vitamins and Omega-3's than eat a salad with walnuts.

Hi Jim..

Many thanks for your post on my book - deeply appreciate your endorsement. I wrote this book for anyone confused by Omega-3s, Omega-6s in foods and the link to inflammation.

EPA and DHA from fish are anti-inflammatory studied extensively. ALA - while some great benefits exist through flaxseed (51% ALA, 17% Omega-6) and other sources, conversion process to EPA is very limited and we cannot convert any DHA. DHA is essential for neural development in fetuses, developing brains of children and for all of us as we age. DHA comes through a fish or algae source.

When we begin to see the extent of Omega-6s oils used in foods for over 50 years and how those oils become inflammatory compounds, I think consumers will be able to grasp the gravity and make better choices.

51% of adults and children are now on prescriptions medications (new record) with inflammatory issues. No one wants to be sick - the question is, how many are lost in confusion from the marketing power of the food industry? Far, far too many.

Many thanks again...

Lois Smithers

So nice to see an intelligent discussion. As a nutrition scientist, I've used the word 'functional' omega-3s in regard to EPA and DHA. Unfortunately, adding a little powdered flax seed to foods - like snack chips, packaged foods - and making omega-3 claims is common practice today, and a disservice to the public. I continue to try to educate the public on differences between plant vs. fish sources of omega-3s and both of you, Lois and J. Foster have done a nice job. I formulate science-based products with EPA and DHA. The next chapter of this story is discerning better fish oil supplements. Many products are very low dose, not very pure and taste bad. Fresh fish oil doesn't taste bad.

Thanks for the post! Very informative!

Thanks Jim for pointing us to Lois' book! I work for Zone Labs, Barry Sears' company. Barry Sears is the author who invented the Zone diet and he's also one of today's most highly respected researchers in the field of Omega 3's and fish oil. I've long been aware of the deception being thrust upon the public in today's market place by hyping foods with a little added ALA (and the additionls omega 6s' usually accompanying it) as the way to a healthy diet. In fact I still read some publications which proactively urge people to liberally add omega 6 fats to their diet! I haven't read Lois' book yet, but thanks to people like Lois, hopefully the public will become more quickly educated about the subject of what Omegas'3, so we can avoid the kind of fiasco with the health of Americans, such as has been created since the food industry went "fat free" some 25 or so yrs ago. They took fats out of foods, replaced them with additional carbs and chemicals to make them palatable without fat, and in the process created today's obesity epidemic!

Great post! I've always been a little leery of foods that have omega-3's added to them because they never disclose exactly what they put in the food...I'm guessing most of the food companies use cheap ALA and then try to justify charging people 100% more money. Most of the time, it would seem like it's just a better idea to take a high quality fish oil supplement and eat a diet rich in natural omega-3s.

Thanks for raising a very important point. Too often consumers are getting no benefit from well-intentioned changes in their diet. I go into more detail about Omega-3s and how you can know you are getting the right ones on my blog.

These posts warm my heart! Thanks Sue and Gretchen.

When a manufacturer puts a dollop of flaxseed in a product that also has 2000 mgs of Omega-6s from soybean, cottonseed, sunflower, or corn, that tiny dollop of flaxseed cannot deliver any benefit over-powered as it is by Omega-6s. Not to mention damage from processing.

Then flaxseed proponents make statements that flaxseed is heart healthy, we don't need fish, supplements taste bad with the answer being, grind flaxseed instead. Flaxseed has great benefits but let's be fair to the consumer and stay with science. I haven't see a clinical study that says flaxseed is heart healthy nor does the FDA.

The Walnut Council of California says walnuts are heart healthy on their website - ALA. I have searched every medical data base and that is not reflected in the studies. And go so far as to say, a handful of walnuts is as healthy for you as a piece of salmon.

On the other hand, science has been accumulating studies piled high around the world of the benefits of EPA and DHA from fish. And that's what we need to stay focused on in light of the epidemic of inflammatory diseases.

It is quite sad that Dr. Jorn Dyerberg's magnificent discovery of EPA and DHA in the 70's is being compromised to such an extent, it's being lost on the consumer who needs it the most. The more we get the message out there, the more we help so many who are lost in confusion.

Someone should write a book :)

Blessings....

Lois Smithers

IFOS is a source of information, but companies pay to be posted so it's selective, based on who wants to pay for it. Today, some fish oil companies are using that site to market and promote products. There are several good products available, including Minami, PharmaOmega and Carlson. Full disclosure: I manage the science division for PharmaOmega, and have seen the independent testing results first hand. I've worked with omega-3s and fish oil for 7 years.

Lois
I met Dr. Dyerberg recently and it was a thrill. A very pleasant man.

IFOS follows the CRN monograph, their standards are not higher than CRN. I can go into more detail with standards of fish oil manufacturing if someone is interested. Gretchen Vannice

The critical issue with omega-3s is that people discern plant (ALA) from fish (EPA and DHA) and that if they buy supplements, that they buy fresh, not oxidized, product. Higher concentrates are generally more pure, too.

Very nice post! I've known about the evils of Omega-6 vs. Omega-3 imbalance for quite some time based on some of the early work of Dr. Andrew Weil. However, I had no idea how often we as consumers are being duped into thinking we are buying the "right" kinds of Omega-3 products (that we pay a premium for), and we really are not getting the Omega-3 health benefits that we think we are.

Kudos to Lois Smithers for bringing this deception to light.

Melanie R. Jordan
Author of "Have Your Cheeseburger And Keep Your Health Too!"

I appreciate that fish is a wonder food and that there are lots of supplements that are unbalanced because they offer too much Omega 6 and not enough usable Omega 3, as y'all are describing. But I can't accept that Omega 3 from plant sources is "therefore" bad -- I keep reading from y'all that the ALA in plant sources is inefficiently absorbed and "therefore" we should all be eating fish and/or swallowing fish oil capsules.

My concerns:

First, there are a lot of people who have fish allergies. Second, humans have for thousands of years developed healthy diets in locations far from any source of fish. Third, humans have developed healthy diets without any animal products at all. Fourth, fish supplies are being depleted and there ain't enough fish in the oceans and rivers and fish farms to feed the entire world.

I cannot believe that everyone who isn't popping these fish oil pills is a heart attack (or insert disease of your choice) waiting to happen. I cannot believe that vegetarians who eat a variety of whole foods are also a (insert disease of your choice) waiting to happen.

I also cannot believe that if a diet is so deficient in any form of Omega 3, a person has only to pop a few fish oil pills and everything will be hunky-dory. A diet that is so deficient in Omega 3 is very unbalanced in a lot of ways, and a supplemental pill ain't going to make everything OK.

I'm sure that this book has a lot of important information about the current state of scientiffic knowledge regarding Omegas, and about how to read between the lines when we come across advertised health claims for a product. I will put the book on my wish list for the next time I order books.

But the real issue here is that our diets are unbalanced NOT because we are buying the wrong fish oil pills, but because we eat processed rather than whole foods, and we raise our food animals on corn and soy and antibiotics, and we raise our plant foods on soils that are depleted of many nutrients.

I am interested in learning about Omega 3. I am not interested in buying a supplement. I prefer Michael Pollan's philosophy: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."