The number of stories on fish, fatty acids, inflammation and omega 3 fish oil has been staggering. Is there a connection and is it important?

What is omega 3?

Omega 3's are a group of fatty acids of which the most important are DHA, EPA and ALA. The first two are found in cold water fatty fish and the third, ALA, is found in flax seed or flax seed oil. The health benefits are too numerous to list but they include better heart, brain and joint health.

First, lets address flax seeds.

People take flax seed oil because they are trying to get omega 3s without the risks associated with either the seafood or supplements made from them. Here are the problems:

1] Fish eat where they live and for most of the planet, that includes waters polluted with mercury, arsenic and PCBs. These contaminants find their way into the fats which is also where the nutrients come from.

2] Some manufacturers try to avoid this issue by using farm raised species. Unfortunately, the pellets that are used to feed the little critters pretty much guarantee that there will be no nutrient content in any of them.

Farms also have health issues. The heavy population concentration allows virus and parasites to spread easily. In fact, one of the bigger worries at a farm is not letting the inmates escape into the wild and carry any infections with them.
Back to flax seeds. There is a difficulty here and it is that the body has to convert the flax seeds ALA into DHA which is a complicated process and gets more difficult as we get older.

Omega 3 fish oil cuts out the middle man. What savvy consumers are doing is buying it but only if it has these qualities:

1] It is molecularly distilled which removes many of the impurities. A few manufacturers source their oil from hoki, which is found in the Southern Ocean - one of the least populated places on earth - less traffic = less pollution.

2] Most of the health benefits are tied to DHA rather than EPA. If we have an EPA shortage the body can convert excess DHA into it fairly easily. The reverse doesn't work nearly as well.

In conclusion, we want an omega 3 fish oil supplement that that is sourced correctly, molecularly distilled and has more DHA than EPA - preferably twice as much. This way we get the pure health benefits of omega 3 fish oil that our bodies can absorb - without the risks.