Message #24750

[mccoy]

Steve, yes, that's another subject I had to review.
In the past I never considered this aspect but maybe it becomes more important with age.

Vegetarians and vegans ingest their omega 3s in the form of ALAs (alpha-linoleic-acids). These must be converted to the EPA and DHA molecules used by the body. Whereas EPA and DHA are ready in fish.
I've not been eating fish for nearly 40 years, so probably The plant-based ALAs are enough, although if you are a slow converter (you have some particular genetic polymorphism) then you might have problems.

What I'm doing now to ensure an adequate amount of omega 3s in teh form of ALAs?

I'm eating more walnuts and especially I'm eating ground flaxseed. Flaxseed is unexpensive, I buy one pound bags, I grind it finely, put it in the freezer and eat 3 tablespoons a day. That's enough to have more than my RDA of omega3s and to shift the omega3/6 balance to  favourable figures. Kia seeds are another good source of ALAs, although they are more expensive.

Also, I'm careful not to eat sunflower oil and other vegetable oils (except EVOO)  and I am reducing the consumption of sunflower seeds and other seeds rich in omega6. According to the cronometer app, it works. I'm going to post some more erudite elaborations by experts ASAP