After much discussion some weeks ago about the importance of omegas, we thought it was time to get down and detailed. How exactly can you get enough omega-3s in your diet? We have some answers. As we mentioned earlier, the balance of omega-6 and omega-3 should partly determine your omega-3 needs, but we recommend 1-3 grams of omega-3 a day.
A big part of the nutritional breakdown relates to the type of omega-3. We’ll look at the three prominent members of the omega-3 group: EPA, DHA, ALA. Many of the food sources we’ve included are what we’d consider good or best sources, but we threw some commonly eaten but less beneficial sources in for comparison sake. The amounts are listed in grams per 100 grams (about 3.5 oz.) of food serving. You can find the full list of omega-3 content on the National Library of Medicine site.
Tagged: ALA , dha , epa , fish oil , omega 3
Posted By: Worker Bee
Here at Mark’s Daily Apple, we advocate the Primal Blueprint Lifestyle, that is, a health philosophy that in large part acts to mimic the diet and physical activity of our pre-agricultural ancestors.
And, while we’ve explained in the past what it means to “Get Primal,” we figured what’s not to love about a bulleted list that reminds us how to incorporate these methods into our everyday lives.
Posted By: Worker Bee
Dear Mark,
In one of last week’s Cheap Meat discussions, you said something about ratios and saturated fats and how saturated fats aren’t really the issue in your mind. I might have been missing something in the conversation. Can you fill me in?
The issue of ratios within animal fat was raised by reader Jaana as she shared Cordain’s discussion of the varying polyunsaturated fat content and corresponding omega ratios in muscle meat versus different organ meats. Cordain compares wild game (that we can assume are comparable to the meats our pre-agricultural ancestors ate) with the domestically raised livestock we eat today. As a general rule, the muscle meat of conventional livestock today has less polyunsaturated fat than wild game does. Conventional domestic meat also has more saturated fat than wild game.
Posted By: Mark Sisson
Here at Mark’s Daily Apple, we’re pretty picky about our oils. We prefer animal fats and fruit oils, but if you are looking for a nut oil walnut oil is a good option.
Of all the nut oils, walnut oil is clearly one of the healthiest. In the olden days, it was used to cure many ailments including stomach and skin problems, tuberculosis (although, admittedly, the jury is out on just how successful that might have been!), hair loss and diabetes.
Today, however, walnut oil is more revered as a healthy source of fat. Walnuts are high in alpha-linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid that is converted to EPA and DHA (long-chain omega-3s) in the body. Furthermore, walnut oil is also a great source of omega-9, which helps maintain artery health, as well as omega-6 (you gotta have some of ‘em), which is important for skin and hair growth as well as maintaining a healthy reproductive system.
Posted By: Worker Bee
The posts involving omega-3s have spurred a lot of discussion and a good number of excellent questions. Thanks to Ed Parsons and company I thought I’d give more time to the topic and see if I can complete the picture a little more. Thank you for your comments and questions.
Dear Mark,
Can you give us some rules of thumb for getting into the 1:1 ratio ballpark? Should I be trying to hit the ratio for every meal, for each day, or by the week, or even over a longer time period?
Just to review, the hailed 1:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids provides your body with the appropriate balance thought to keep inflammation at bay. I would advise making the ratio a priority each day. Targeting the ratio for every meal can get unnecessarily complicated, and longer spans like a week don’t take into account your body’s constant hormonal production, which is influenced by the fatty acids.
Posted By: Mark Sisson
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