Posts Tagged ‘alpha-linolenic acid’
Flaxseeds: A Food for Life
“Wherever flaxseed becomes a regular food item among the people, there will be better health”, said Mahatma Gandhi. He was right. The true nature of flax as a health food has been known for centuries. In the 8th Century, Charlemagne considered flax so essential for health that he actually passed laws requiring its use. Flax was one of the original medicines, used by Hippocrates himself.
Flaxseeds and flaxseed oil are one of the best sources on the planet for the important omega-3 fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid. Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is considered an essential fatty acid because the body can’t make it — it has to be obtained from the diet. Flaxseed oil can help protect against cardiovascular disease, cancer, arthritis, and many other degenerative diseases. And though it’s primarily a source of omega-3, the oil has the virtue of containing some other fatty acids as well, notably some omega-6’s and some heart healthy omega-9’s, providing a nice fatty acid balance.
There is a caveat on this, however. The ALA found in flax and flax oil is only one of three omega-3 fats, the other two being the long-chain fatty acids known as DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid). The latter two are only found for the most part in animal foods particularly cold water fish like salmon.
Truth be told, they’re the superstars of the omega-3 family, though the ALA in flax has plenty of health benefits as well (such as being anti-inflammatory). The good news is that the body can make DHA and EPA from the ALA in flax; the bad news is that it does a really bad job of it, converting only about 5-10% of the ALA to those longer chain omegas that are found naturally in fish and fish oil.
What to do, what to do? Flaxseed and flaxseed oil are the go-to source for omega-3’s if you’re a vegetarian. And if you want to get the special benefits of EPA and DHA without taking fish oil (or eating fish), just make sure to take at least a tablespoon a day of flaxseed oil. That way, even at the low “conversion” rate you’ll still be getting about a gram or so of the “fish oil” omegas.
