α-Linolenic acid

How about omega-3 fatty acids?

Okay, so when it comes to omega-3, we do have omega-3 in the plant kingdom, but they're in the form of ALA, alpha-linolenic acid, which the body then has to convert into EPA and DHA, the long-chain ones.

And the conversion the human body does is, depending on our genes, it changes, and it's not so efficient.

So fish eat algae, which is a plant, and then they have omega-3 in their body.

At the same time, we're paying attention.

So that's called the ALA, the alpha-linolenic acid, the omega-3 present in those seeds and nuts.

So I'm using the salad dressings.

By the way, I'll finish that context.

And the F70 in Venice Health Study showed a 12% increased risk of dementia among the vegans compared to the non-vegans.

And it's borne out by a couple of things here, but mostly the omega-3 index, that as you take out animal products, particularly seafood from the diet, you lower your exposure to preformed DHA and EPA.

And even though the body can make ALA, can make some EPA and DHA from the ALA you get from walnuts and flax seeds and green vegetables, that conversion is very genetically dependent and very inefficient, and you don't get an optimal index to protect brain size with aging as you would if you had chronic exposure to an exogenous source of DHA.

So supplementing with DHA for a vegan can be even more important And they make vegan DHA.

If somebody does not like to eat fish or even take fish supplements because either they have an allergy or there's ethical reasons, if they eat a vegan lifestyle or they're worried about the ecology of fishing practices, then there are plant sources of omega-3.

However, we don't call them EPA, DHA, we call them ALA.

It stands for alpha linoleic acid, and you get this from ground flax seed, chia seed, walnuts, some canola oil, and soybeans.

However, the concern is that the conversion in your body of ALA plant source omega-3 to EPA, DHA is quite low.

It's somewhere around 4 to 8% in the literature.

And so I'll even share in a little bit, I ate a vegan diet strictly for three months and then ate m- largely a whole food plant-based diet for, for several years, and I wasn't sure if I was getting enough omega-3.

Where is it from? What is it? Why does it matter?

Okay, so omega-3 is a type of fatty acid So, um, the, the main types of omega-3 we talk about are ALA, EPA, and DHA.

So most people don't realize that there are even different types of omega-3.

Um, what you'll commonly hear people say is, "I'm taking a fish oil."

Cool.

All right.

Um, [lip smack] so EPA, DHA, ALA.

Mm-hmm.

Because the omega-3s they're measuring are EPA and DHA in almost all of these measurements.

They call it the omega-3 index, usually.

It doesn't include that plant ALA1.

And so they show up as really, really low on that.

And you can correlate the omega-3 index inversely with health really well.

There are a family of different fatty acids, and there are three of them that we usually talk about.

So there is alpha-linolenic acid, ALA.

There is EPA, and it's DHA.

So the ALA, that is a short-chain fatty acid.

that comes from the plant world.

And for

example, flaxseed can have ALA.

And then we have EPA and DHA.

... central nervous system.

And as a parenthesis, I'm eating flax seeds and chia seeds, and my level of ALA was fine.

Yeah.

But apparently the conversion to EPA and DHA is not good.

So not every...

That, that, that, that's the problem, right? So those actually aren't long-chain omega-3 fat- fatty acids.

They're omega-3, and some people do and some people don't convert ALA to, um- To, uh, long-chain omega-3 fatty acids.

So that is a huge issue.

you can also buy it pre-ground, that works too.

flax seeds are so rich in omega-3s that one tablespoon covers your daily needs of ALA, the essential omega-3 we need to get from our diet.

so that's how we grind flax seeds and store them, here's some info on grinding chia seeds and more on omega-3s in general.

see you next time