Recently there’s been a lot of discussion about omega 3 supplements and whether we need
to take them on a plant based diet I think it’s really important we research this topic
thoroughly as omega-3s help to maintain the functioning of every cell membrane in our
body.
They also act as gatekeepers to the cell and regulate the passage of both nutrients and
waste products across the cell membrane.
Omega-3s also promote signaling between cells by providing the structure and connection
to cell membrane receptors.
They are such an important part of our cell’s metabolism that the molecules are consumed
quickly and our cells therefore need a regular supply of omega-3 molecules.
O=omega-3s also balance and neutralize the pro-inflammatory omega-6s that we consume.
Omega-3 is a family of at least 15 different fat molecules.
some of the main ones are EPA, DHA, and ALA.
ALA, Alpha Linolenic Acid, is a short chain omega 3 fatty acid and is found in many plant
foods including flaxseeds.
In theory our body can elongate the short chain ALA from flaxseeds into the longer chain
omega 3’s.
So can we meet all our omega 3 needs from eating just flaxseeds?
Well let’s hear from Dr Michael Greger and Dr Joel Fuhrman.
Links to the original videos are in the description below….[Dr Greger] Can sufficient DHA levels
be achieved through flaxseeds without supplementing?
That is a good question that is an unanswered question.
There are short chain omega 3 fatty acids found in whole healthy plant foods like flaxseeds
and walnuts and a little bit in dark green leafy vegetables and hemp seeds and our body
can take those short chain fatty acids called alpha linolenic acid and elongate them in
to the long chain fatty acids, the so called marine fatty acids like EPA and DHA which
you find in fish fats.
You can make EPA DHA the question is can you make enough for optimal health particularly
if you are pregnant and you’re actually making enough for 2 people.
I am concerned enough about the potential cognitive detriment of having insufficient
DHA particularly later in life particularly in men that I encourage people to consider
supplementing with pre formed EPA DHA, and you can retro convert from DHA to EPA so you
can just take DHA if you want, from pollutant free sources meaning algae or yeast base sources
rather than fish which is too contaminated in terms of mercury and some of the things
you cannot distil out of fish oil, some of the other toxic pollutants.
So then you can get preformed DHA and it’s still good to eat flaxseeds for their cancer
benefits from lignans etc.
So the answer to the questions is maybe but kind of as an insurance policy I encourage
people to get preformed until we know different.
And if you’re like wait a second ‘what evidence do you have to support that?’
I lay it out type in DHA to nutritionfacts.org and then you will know as much as I do.
I have taken that body of research and decided that there is evidence enough for me to do
it and my family to start doing it.
But you can look at that same evidence and be like ‘no way I’m not going to do that
until we have stronger evidence’ and that would be a legitimate conclusion as well.
[Dr Fuhrman] I’m constantly taking this role and I don’t relish this role as being
the contrarian here but I want to make sure that nobody gets messed up as you know as
30 years taking care of this community I have seen too many people get in trouble following
cookbook advice the same advice for each person and they get into trouble and you do blood
work and figure out what’s wrong and try and fix them . Why do they need to get into
trouble once the brain shrinks it doesn’t come back again you can’t then give the
DHA supplement.
DHA and B12 deficiency can result, and even Zinc insufficiency in some vegans can result
in things that are dangerous enough that can be continually harmful to their lives.
First of all when we study vegan populations who are not supplementing with a DHA supplement
the nutritional research foundation funded a study where we had 166 non supplementing
vegans and they were eating relatively healthy diets with walnuts, flaxseeds, green vegetables
and not the use of oils and we found that 67% or two thirds were insufficient in the
omega 3 index and in DHA levels.
We found about 25% had adequate levels and about 25% had extremely dangerously low levels
that would have clearly led to a significant problem, like dementia.
Generally speaking the majority of people who follow a vegan diet don’t have enough
of the conversion enzyme, genetically to ensure DHA adequacy.
You could check that with these blood tests you could do it as standard lab and get an
omega-3 quantitative index level and DHA level and you could get your DHA level and your
Omega 3 index.
Generally you consider that omega 3 index above 5 ok in our study we considered above
4 ok to give people the benefit of the doubt.
Below 4 you know that you’re in trouble because below 3.5 in scientific studies is
associated with clearly brain shrinkage and increased dementia with ageing.
So even though a high nutrient vegan diet decreases the risk of depression and dementia
from the high phytochemical intake, low phytochemical and low micronuturients are just one cause
of dementia.
Even with a high intake of phytochemicals and phytonutrients which can decrease dementia
and depression in the general population still could create dementia and depression in a
population that’s well nourished just because of the deficiency in those fatty acids alone.
So there’s multiple causes of dementia and depression and we can’t just pick the one
cause we want to talk about because we have to make sure that we do all of this.
So yes you can do a blood test you can supplement with these things conservatively and you have
to recommend the responsible supplementation so people on vegan diets or near vegan diets
are not taking chances with developing some problems that could manifest themselves later
on in life.
You can’t really check it once they’re taking the supplement because we find that
almost all people taking the supplement do have adequate levels, so if you want to get
checked you have to do it before you take the supplements or just take the supplements.
It’s really a minority of people that have adequate levels and don’t require anything
so even if they don’t get checked you have to err on the side of caution.