Nutritionists have been telling us for years that we all need to eat more fatty fish, and that doing so has numerous benefits to our health. If you're already substituting salmon steaks for beef steaks once in a while, good for you, that is definitely a step in the right direction. However, you may still need to supplement that fish supper in order to give your body what it needs - specifically Omega-3 EPA/DHA. Here's why:
The biggest thing to know about Omega-3 is that our body needs it, but can't produce it. We have to consume it. Over the past fifty years, our diets have changed drastically. We've gone from eating naturally wholesome foods that gave us pretty much everything we needed to thrive as human beings, to eating a heavily processed diet that is nutritionally lacking. More and more research is showing us that, following the typical North American diet, we aren't consuming enough Omega-3 EPA and DHA, the important fatty acids that have been linked to numerous health benefits.
As to how much we need to consume, the recommendations vary depending on where you are in the world . Canada's Food Guide recommends that we eat fish or seafood twice a week. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recommends 250 mg of EPA/DHA per day for adults. There is an ever-growing body of evidence to suggest that taking higher doses does us a lot of good, especially if we are suffering from certain conditions. For example, the American Heart Association recommends that adults with coronary heart disease take 1000 mg/day of Omega-3 EPA/DHA and adults with high triglycerides take more than 2000 mg/day of Omega-3 EPA/DHA.
So what can you do to make sure you are getting enough omega-3s? First off, eat fish twice a week. If fish isn't for you, check out some of the fortified foods available in supermarkets - from bread to orange juice to spreads (if the packaging carries the MEG-3® little blue fish logo, then they are using EPA/DHA fish oil ingredients from Ocean Nutrition). If you're looking for consistent intake of Omega-3, fish oil supplements are your best bet (again, look for the MEG-3® logo as a guarantee of quality).
Emerging science is suggesting that health benefits may go well beyond the established heart, eyes and brain health benefits associated with Omega-3. New studies suggesting benefits of Omega-3 are published all the time. With all these benefits in mind, it seems sensible to make the effort to get more Omega-3s, in whatever way makes the most sense to your lifestyle.
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