What is Omega-3?
Omega-3s are a type of fat or more specifically, a type of good fat. It’s true – not all fats are bad! Good fats are an essential part of a healthy diet and vital to many crucial functions within our bodies.
In the foods we eat, the building blocks of fats are called fatty acids. Depending on their chemical structure, fatty acids are classified as saturated, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated. Omega-3s are polyunsaturated fatty acids.
There are 3 main Omega-3 Fatty Acids:
- Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)
- Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)
- Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA)
DHA and EPA are important structural components of cell membranes throughout our bodies and together they have a vital role in cell membrane function.
When it comes to health benefits, DHA and EPA are the omega-3 superstar nutrients. DHA and EPA have essential parts to play at every stage of life in supporting our optimal health and well-being, especially our brain, heart and eye health.
Sources of omega-3 DHA and EPA
Although the human body can make DHA and EPA from omega-3 ALA (found in some nuts, seeds and plants oils), this only occurs in very limited amounts. Not surprisingly then, for optimal levels of DHA and EPA in our bodies, it is essential that we get these two omega-3s from the foods we eat.
The best dietary source of DHA and EPA is fish, especially cold-water oily fish, such as salmon, mackerel, tuna, trout, herring and sardines.
How much omega-3 DHA and EPA do we need?
Great question and one of the first that most people ask!
To promote adequate intakes of DHA and EPA, various public health authorities have issued recommendations for fish intake.
The Food Safety Authority in Ireland and the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition in the UK, recommend that kids and adults should eat two 140g servings of fish weekly, including one serving of oily fish.
This works out to give an omega-3 intake of approximately 450mg/day. Just one teaspoon of SOMEGA Omega-3 provides the recommended 450mg omega-3/day!
Do We Need Omega-3 Supplements?
In an ideal world, we’d get all the omega-3s we need to keep us healthy by eating oily fish weekly. In reality though, for many of us, this can be quite the challenge. For those of us (and they’re many!) that get less than optimal levels of omega-3s in their diet, supplements can offer an effective and convenient way to bridge the potential nutritional gap.
SOMEGA® Easy Omega-3 is an omega-3 fish oil supplement that makes it easy and tasty for everyone to get their 450mg omega-3/day with just one teaspoon. And most people would agree that SOMEGA Easy Omega-3 is far more appealing than fish oils and capsules!
