Omega 3 fatty acids have anti inflammatory effects, EPA and DHA are crucial to our overall health. I think I’ve seen just about every chronic health condition under the sun linked to omega-3 deficiency. And while this is definitely helpful information to us health nuts, it’s not quite a simple as we are led to believe.
Here is a quick rundown of the fats. You have the 3 main types being saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. The difference between them is their chemical structure of bonds. Unsaturated fats are not saturated to the max with hydrogen molecules like saturated fats would be. And polyunsaturated contain carbon chains with two or more double bonds. Monounsaturated with obviously just the one double bond. Many foods contain 2 or even all 3 of these types of fats to different degrees. The key problem here is that polyunsaturated fats are way more susceptible to oxidation. They are chemically unstable. They are way more vulnerable to be damaged by heat, light, or oxygen. This means they are far more likely to oxidize and go rancid. And constantly consuming these fats could lead to all sorts of chronic health problems like diabetes, obesity, heart disease, hypertension, dementia, autoimmune disorders, and much more. Oxidized fats cause unwanted inflammation.
PUFAs are typically consumed in the form of vegetable oils and these are very high in omega-6. These would be canola, soybean, safflower, sunflower, flax, cottonseed, and rapeseed just to name a few. They also come from fish, seeds, and nuts. Some of these things are touted as being healthy and they probably are in some respect when they are fresh. But that is pretty rare. Most of the vegetable oils we eat have undergone many heat processes and have been exposed to oxygen. If you buy a canola oil off the shelf at your grocery store it’s almost guaranteed to have chemically changed it’s structure to something now harmful to you.
When a restaurant refers to something being butter on their menu it is in fact not real butter, but some combination of vegetable oils and margarine. So if you regularly eat out, you are in fact destroying your health no matter how healthy the foods you choose are.
Have you ever gotten the fish burps from a fish oil supplement you’ve been taking? I have, and I was just told it’s normal or maybe that i’m not digesting them well. Yeah, that was a huge lie. You get the fish burps because the oils have gone rancid. And why wouldn’t they, just think about what these fish oils go through to become a supplement. They are most definitely exposed to heat, light, and oxygen. They sit on shelves for months or even years. By the time you purchase them, the oil is completely different from a freshly caught fish.
Check out what Harvard Medical School has to say about fish oil? They have an article titled Fish Oil: Friend or Foe? They say “The answer is more friend than foe, if the fish oil comes from food sources rather than supplements.” I 100% agree! If you are really concerned about not getting enough omega 3 there are many great ways to do so without consuming the damaged fish oil supplements.
Fresh, wild caught fish is the best source. And the best fish are mackerel and salmon. Other great foods would be things like oysters, spinach and chia seeds. And you are due to get at least a little bit of omega 3 from animal products in general. If you eat a lot of beef like you should, you aren’t likely to get deficient in omegas in the first place. I am not going to promote any particular fish oil product because regardless of how reputable or high quality the supplement is, we just can’t predict how well preserved each bottle stays from manufacture date to purchase.
In the end, the cons outweigh the pros with fish oil supplements. Plus, they just aren’t worth the money. There are plenty of other great supplements you could be spending your money on while you consume your omegas from food sources.
https://www.facebook.com/supplementalsense/
https://twitter.com/SupplementalSe1
