Omega 3s for vegetarians
Posted by kathryn in Fats & oils and Vegan
I’ve written before about how important Omega 3 essential fatty acids are to our health.
One of the biggest Omega 3 containing food groups is fish, particularly the oily fish like sardines and mackerel. Although of course it’s a more tricky problem if you try to choose a sustainable source.
But what about vegetarians?
It is harder for vegetarians to get adequate quantities of Omega 3s.
While there are quite a few vegetarian sources which I’ve listed here, most non-fish foods are high in the ALA Omega 3s, rather than the EPA and DHA which is found in fish.
While ALA is important to our health, it’s not as well studied as the EPA and DHA Omega 3s. As I’ve discussed in the comments section of this post it’s unclear how valuable this ALA actually is. Much of what we know about the importance of Omega 3s is based on studies of fish consumption and it’s not at all certain that vegetarian sources give the same benefits.
Algae oil does seem to be emerging as a useful DHA and EPA supplement for vegetarians. While it has been approved for some food uses, algae oil is not yet available in Australia as a supplement.
Advice to vegetarians:
- Continue to eat from a wide variety of food sources – to ensure you’re getting the best nutrition possible.
- Include regular quantities of the vegetarian sources – try to eat these foods several times a week, if not daily.
- Try to eat the various sea vegetables and seaweeds regularly. Snip up sheets of nori and scatter them on soups and salads or make nori chips. Alternatively make Lucy’s gorgeous brown rice with shiitakes and arame.
- If you can purchase it, think about supplementing your food sources with some algae oil.
Resources
- There’s another list of vegetarian Omega 3 sources on the NHS’s website. Thanks to Sophie for letting me know about this resource.
- For vegans, there’s quite a good article on pages 22 – 26 of this publication (pdf download).
- There’s a bit more about algae oil on The Vegan Dietician blog. Thanks to Elaine for the last two resources.
- Mark Wahlqvist’s site has more information on Omega 3s from plants. Warning – it’s quite technical, but the theory into practice section at the end is useful.
How do you get your Omega 3s?
Photograph by Maproom System under the terms of a creative commons license.
01 December, 2009
Comments
Thanks for the post! I didn’t know that about the different sorts of Omega 3. I only knew about the difference between Omega 3 and Omega 6.
Excellent post, Kathryn. Once again you’ve pulled together info from reliable sources into a succinct, practical post. I’m bookmarking this one as my “go-to” response when I’m asked about omega 3s for vegetarians & vegans.
(Also happy to see you found two of my trusted veg-n sources helpful. I love the synergy of blogging about similar topics.)
Hmmmm, I think I’m going to make ALA today’s new Topikality topic.
Interesting post Kathryn. I’m always wishing there was a good veggie EPA / DHA source to recommend to my cardiac patients but for now we have to work with what we’ve got.
I like the idea of promoting ALA sources that are easy to incorporate on a daily basis like using rapeseed oil for cooking and salad dressings (I bought some ‘posh’ cold pressed rapeseed oil on holiday but am yet to try it out).
Yes, well with the seas in the state they are, we’d all better get cracking on vego Omega-3’s I reckon.
Hey, I’ve been reading lately that purslane – stuff that grows as a weed – has tiny but workable amounts of Omega 3, too. Is that right?
I didn’t realise rapeseed/canola had omega 3s, so that’s good news. I don’t eat a lot of fish or seaweed though, so I should try some more seaweedy soups.
Caitlin: thanks for your original question, which set me off on the Omega 3 story trail!. The Harvard School of Public Health has a good round up of the different Omega 3s.
Elaine: thank you. The vegan / vegetarian resources are immensely helpful. I particularly like the Vegan Dietician’s no-nonsense style and approach.
Sophie: “posh” rapeseed oil sounds fab. Is there a big taste difference? I’ve been meaning to ask you if there’s much talk of algae oil in the UK? Over here it’s very marginal and hard to find.
Lucy: I don’t know the answer to your purslane question. I’ve checked both the Australian and US food databases. It’s not listed in the Aust one and the US doesn’t give a fat breakdown. I can tell you raw purslane is about 10% fat but as to how much of that is Omega 3 . . . not sure.
Arwen: I find I do have to make an effort with seaweed. It’s still not a natural part of my cooking routines. I have to really think about using it. But Lucy’s recipe is a good place to start.
Chia is an excellent source of Omega3s. There is a lot of hype about it but sweep that aside and it appears to be a suitable source. It’s easy to prepare and incorporate in the simplest of diets. http://www.eatchia.com/
Also the book, Rediscovering a Forgotten Crop of the Aztecs by Richard Ayerza, Jr.; Wayne Coates
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