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Omega-3 is one of the two families of polyunsaturated fatty acids called 'essential' because the body needs them but cannot make them - they must be obtained from the food we eat. The other is the Omega-6 family. An ideal diet should contain the Omega-6 and the Omega-3 fatty acids in a ratio of roughly 2 to 1 (twice as much Omega-6 as Omega-3) but changes to food production and processing and our choice of cooking oils and spreads nowadays mean that in the typical UK diet today, the ratio is more like an unhealthy 8 to 1. Both of these fatty acids are components of nerve cells and cellular membranes and are therefore involved in the every function of the body. When the balance is out of kilter, the whole body is affected. In theory, we should be able to redress the imbalance by cutting down on Omega-6 vegetable oils and spreads and eating more of the foods containing the plant-sourced, or short-chain, Omega-3s: flaxseeds (linseeds), rapeseed (canola) oil, chia seeds, walnuts and walnut oil, the Mediterranean plant purslane, and dark green leafy vegetables. Unfortunately, the amount of Omega-6 in our diet swamps these vegetarian Omega-3s so the body hardly benefits at all. Happily, this is not the case with the fish-sourced, or long-chain, Omega-3s known as EPA and DHA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid and Docosahexaenoic Acid). The body can readily use these long-chain forms. |
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