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omega 3 fatty acids

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Alyx Williams said #1 Jan 4, 2011 at 7:25am

Hello all, hope everyone's doing well. I've been vegan for a close to 4 months. I've been using ground flaxseed for my omega 3's. But I was just told by a good friend that the omegas in flaxseed are not as good or available to your body as omegas from fish. My friend is also vegan, but she recently started eating fish again for her omega 3's. She asked how I'm getting them, cause she can't find a good plant source. She said she read this article with this information, she said she'd email it to me, but I'm getting kind of antsy. So I wondered if anyone had heard/read this as well?


When I put on my "critical thinking" hat, my first question is-where is this info coming from? Who has something to gain? And just what do they have to gain?


I have a really hard time believing there are no plant sources for the essential fatty acid. I'm studying dog/cat nutrition, and there's debate about whether cats can digest flaxseed enough to get something out of it. I know there's a product called Juka, that makes flaxbutter for dogs as a supplement, so it's easier for dogs to get the nutrients-since liquid is generally simpler to digest. I mean, not everyone in the world has access to fish-even omega 3 rich fish. Cause not all fish has it. Where do the fish get their omegas? I've tried searching for this info, but I feep running into pages specifically run by folks that sell fish oil. I really don't want to eat meat again, and I know I could just consume fish oil, but that's still a lot of dead animals. If they're farmed fish-gross living conditions!! And if it's wild-caught, I don't want mercury. Or the by-catch.


I think I just need vegan reassurance. Thank you!

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Dani A said #2 Jan 4, 2011 at 7:37am

I use a vegan Omega-3 supplement by Arbonne. It does have flax oil in it, but it also gets the Omegas from raspberries, kiwis, chia seeds, and many other plant ingredients. I'd definitely check it out.


www.arbonne.com is the website.

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Alyx Williams said #3 Jan 4, 2011 at 2:00pm

Hi Dani A! Yes, I love Arbonne! We'll see what her article says...when she finally sends it...I'll post a link here as well so everyone can read it. Super weird that Alicia posted today that thing about DHA's too. Spooky. :)

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Dani A said #4 Jan 4, 2011 at 2:11pm

Yeah, I thought that was odd she posted about DHA, too! I have used the Arbonne supplement for years, and even if I wasn't vegan, I'm still allergic to fish, so I can't take fish oils anyway. Arbonne does the trick for me!

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Alyx Williams said #5 Jan 20, 2011 at 6:50pm

Here are the links!


http://www.revoptom.com/content/c/20786/


http://www.jacn.org/cgi/reprint/27/2/214


It'll take me some time to read through them, but now I've got them. :)

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powerlifer said #6 Dec 7, 2011 at 4:30am

The omega-3 fatty acid which is found in plant foods is in the form of ALA, the body must convert ALA into EPA then DHA. Vegans have often been found in studies to have lower levels of DHA.


I would personally consume as many different plant based fatty acid sources as possible i.e nuts, seeds(chia, flax, hemp), even some greens contain a little omega-3. Taking a vegan DHA supplement can be beneficial.


Amla & Vegan Blog

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