With all the press they are getting lately, omega-3s look to be among the superheroes of nutrition. This month, a study showed they appear to slow mental decline in those who have mild Alzheimer’s disease, and Spanish researchers found that eating walnuts, rich in omega-3s, might be better for arteries than olive oil.
Though they have long been one of the darlings of health-food-supplement stores, omega-3 essential fatty acids still raise questions in consumers, such as what they provide or how to add them to their diets.
“Most people think of fat as a bad thing because of trans-fats and saturated fats,” says Dr. Ken Kronhaus of Lake Cardiology in Mount Dora. However, omega-3s — along with closely related omega-6s — are considered to be good fats.
Because the body lacks the enzymes to make both omegas, they are considered essential parts of our diet, says Tara Gidus, Central Florida spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.
Omega-3s are found primarily in leafy greens, cold-water fish and flaxseed, while omega-6s are prevalent in meat, poultry, cereal, whole-grain breads and a variety of vegetable oils, seeds and nuts. In the body, both families are broken into alphabet soup of fatty acids that reign over numerous body processes.
Studies indicate that omega-3s can reduce inflammation associated with heart disease, fibromyalgia and arthritis; lower cholesterol and blood pressure; stabilize moods; calm attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; and reduce the symptoms of menopause.
Balancing the omegas in the American diet, however, is something of a high-wire act. The National Institutes of Health last year found that, in the typical American diet, omega-6s outnumbered omega-3s 10-to-1. That ratio should be closer to 3-to-1, writes Dr. Andrew Weil in his book Eating Well for Optimum Health.
The imbalance probably was caused when doctors and nutritionists in the 1950s began recommending foods rich in omega-6s as alternatives to saturated fats. Though omega-6s helped lower cholesterol, their heavier consumption also promoted inflammation and blood clotting, Weil writes.
Adding omega-3s safely
So how do we belly up to the omega-3s bar?
It’s as simple as tweaking what’s on your plate, says Dr. Jay Kenney, nutritional research director at Pritikin Longevity Center & Spa in Aventura. “Americans don’t realize how bad the American diet is for their health and longevity.”
Lake Cardiology’s Kronhaus, also an American Heart Association spokesman, recommends that his patients eat fatty fish twice a week or more, depending on their conditions. The list includes albacore tuna, lake trout, herring, mackerel, salmon, and sardines. Such fish feed on algae containing omega-3 fatty acids, then store them in their fat.
The Environmental Protection Agency warns that children and pregnant women should avoid shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish because of possible mercury content. Instead, substitute light canned tuna (not albacore or white), salmon, pollock or catfish. Also, they should limit intake of fish caught in Florida’s coastal waters. (For a list of species and safe consumption amounts, go to the Florida Department of Health Web site, doh.state.fl.us/environ ment/community/fishconsumptionadviso ries/MEFG.htm.)
If you don’t like fish or are wary of mercury, you can try a fish-oil supplement, Gidus says. “You don’t need any more than 1,000 mg a day, and less than that is fine, but more is not necessarily good.”
Those who take two or more grams a day should only do so under a physician’s supervision, Kronhaus says. “It’s a weak blood-thinner, but when you increase the dose, you have to be concerned.” Prescription blood thinners and aspirin “all interact with omega-3s to increase the risk of bleeding.”
Sue Zimmerman of Oviedo has included omega-3 capsules in her dietary regime for a decade. “I’m 63 years old. I’m very active, not sick. My heart is great; my blood pressure is great.” Her cholesterol, she says, is “genetically high, but it stays right there.”
If you want chicken and beef, choose free-range or grass-fed varieties that are more likely to have fed on sources rich in omega-3s rather than on omega-6 grains. Free-range chickens, as well as birds eating feed with omega-3 added, produce eggs with more essential fatty acids. Choose wild salmon over farm-raised, unless the latter was fed omega-3-rich foods, Kenney says.
Flax — seeds or oil — is the best omega-3 plant source, Kenney says. Others include walnuts, green leafy vegetables, canola oil and soybean oil, which contain omega-3s and omega-6s.
