Omega-3 Foods

If you are interested in increasing the amount of omega-3 fatty acids in your current diet, there are several omega-3 foods that you can consider as alternatives to fish oil supplements. In general, fatty fish or wild-caught fish that are high in fat have the highest concentration of omega-3 fatty acids.

But what if you are not keen on fish or want faster, more convenient omega-3 foods?

As omega-3 and fish oil benefits become more and more popular, food manufacturers are catching on. For example, many brands of yogurt are now fortified with DHA, a beneficial, essential fatty acid that makes up omega-3. You can also find omega-3 eggs in many grocery stores. These eggs contain higher amounts of omega-3 due to the special diets eaten by the egg producing hen’s. In addition, many butter spreads and mayonnaise’s are now adding omega-3 to their ingredients- “Smart Balance” is the brand that comes to mind.

Some omega-3 foods that aren’t enriched with omega-3 include various seeds and nuts, particularly flax seed, chia seeds, hemp seeds, walnuts, Persian walnuts and butter nuts. Brown algae oil and acai palm fruit can also have omega-3.

The downfall of all these sources is that they contain mostly ALA, a form of omega-3 that is not as beneficial as EPA or DHA. In my article EPA DHA, I elaborate on the differences between ALA, EPA and DHA and how these fatty acids interact with each other. Unfortunately, while there is some health benefit to eating these omega-3 foods, you will not receive the degree of benefits of eating food that is high in EPA and DHA, particularly fish.

But wait, if you are still not keen on eating fish, there is hope!…

Grass-fed beef, bison and lamb are fair sources of the omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA. The ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 found in grass-fed beef is about 1:2 while corn-fed beef can be 1:4. This makes grass-fed meat a much healthier alternative. Ironically, grass-fed beef and bison is usually more expensive than corn-fed, even though corn-fed beef is more expensive to raise. A big reason for this discrepancy is that grass-fed cattle do not get fat and sickly like corn-fed cattle. Corn-fed cattle end up weighing more at the time of slaughter which in turn, puts more money into the farmers’ pockets.

Grass-fed milk and cheeses can also be sources of omega-3 however, most of this is ALA- much like omega-3 foods such as nuts, seeds and other plant sources.

Make sure not to be fooled by meat products that are labeled “natural” or “natural-fed diet”. The term natural does not have much meaning in the grand scheme of things. Many “natural” beef products are still corn-fed and other grains that alter their omega-3 to omega-6 ratio to unfavorable proportions.

Summary

At the end of the day, fatty fish such wild-caught salmon, mackeral, sardines and herring are the best and most concentrated omega-3 food sources followed by grass-fed beef, lamb and bison. Other sources of omega-3 such as seeds, nuts and grass-fed milk and cheeses are certainly health and should be incorporated in one’s diet, however they may not contain high levels of EPA and DHA needed to reap the many omega-3 benefits.