http://www.care2.com/greenliving/how-to-increase-omega-3s-in-your-diet.html
How to Increase Omega 3s in Your Diet
By Dr. Gabe Mirkin, Intent.com
Due to their supposed ability to boost brain power, fight fat and clear skin, there are many reasons why you should increase your intake of Omega 3s, but what’s the best way to do so? Cold-water fish, like mackerel and salmon, are popular sources, but what if you prefer a plant-based diet?
If you are trying to increase the amount of omega-3 essential fatty acids in your diet, flax seeds are a good choice. Flax seeds are the richest commonly available seed source of alpha-linolenic acid (plant-source omega-3’s). If you eat whole flax seed rather than flax seed oil, you get the whole seed package: protein, fiber, minerals and phytochemicals along with the omega-3s.
100 grams of flax seeds yields about:
35 grams of fat (60% omega-3 polyunsaturated, 18% monounsaturated, 10% saturated)
26 grams of protein
26 grams of fiber (14 grams insoluble, 12 grams soluble)
4 grams of minerals
9 grams of water
Flax seeds are also probably the best food source of the phytochemical lignan, (not to be confused with lignins, a type of fiber.) Flax contains 100 times the concentration of lignan as wheat bran, the next best source. This phytochemical is believed to have anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral and anti-cancer properties.
Unless you do something to break the hard outer coating of the flax seeds, they may pass through undigested. You can whirl them in a blender for a few seconds to break them into rough pieces, or mash them with a mortar and pestle. Or grind them into a meal with a coffee mill or spice grinder.
Omega-3s are the least stable of the fatty acids, so the oil turns rancid quickly if it is exposed to heat, light or air. Grind the seeds shortly before you eat them, and store any surplus in the refrigerator. Sprinkle your seeds on cereal, into salads or any other food. They have very little flavor and just a bit of crunch. If they taste unpleasant, they’re rancid and you need a new batch. (Rancid flax seeds or flax seed oil will smell like paint thinner).
Caution: Do not eat more than three or four tablespoons of raw flax seeds a day (we think one or two is plenty). They contain cyanogen which is harmless in small amounts, but in large amounts could act to keep your thyroid from absorbing enough iodine. Cyanogen is rendered inactive by cooking. Add some flax seeds to a healthy diet full of vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains and other seeds. Don’t go overboard and eat them by the cupful! That applies to all foods — don’t eat huge amounts of any single food, no matter how beneficial it’s supposed to be. A healthful diet is a varied diet.
Information found in Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill by Udo Erasumus, Alive Books, 1993, and The Omega Diet by Artemis P. Simopoulos, Harper Perennial, 1999.
Intent.com provides content and community for who you aspire to be–personally, socially and globally.
More from Megan, selected from Intent.com (31 articles available)
related stories
-
(6 comments)
-
(20 comments)
-
(2 comments)
Robyn
Melissa
Deepak
Eric
Dave
Dr. Brent
Isha
Susan
Delia
Michelle
Wendy
Megan
Hilary
Ann
Judi
Ronnie
Kelly
Lily
Terri
Betsy
Cait
Andrew
Jana
Annie B.
Veronica
17 comments
add your comment »Thanks.
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
Flax seed Omega3 is primarily linolenic acid- the body need EPA and DHA (animal omega 3) We need adequate levels of the delta 6 desaturase ezyme to make the conversion and many things inhibit the availablilty of this enzyme (Udo Erasmus knows this very well). Also we have no idea how much of the LNA is absorbed and how much passes through with the fibre of the falx seed. Although flax seed has many benefits - it should not be the primary source of omega 3 .
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
i like dr mercola's website. he has some really good information. i feel sorry for the naysayers who don't like him.
o well. each to their own.
anyway, for omega 3 i eat a lot of salmon. it works best for me.
flax seeds give me horrible stomach pains. ditto for trying to take them in capsules.
be well everyone.
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
I seem to have an allergic reaction to most sources of Omega 3's that I have tried --flax, chia, fish oil capsules. I feel great when I eat Alaskan salmon so I try to eat it at least once a week and I also get eggs from a local farmer whose chickens run around and eat what chickens are supposed to eat--thus the eggs have a beautiful dark yolks which are high in Omega 3's. I do eat purslane in the summer and as long as I only have a small amount no more than twice a week I am ok--more and i start having allergic reactions. It is a very good green to add to salads or to lightly stir fry.
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
Mercola? what a joker, I somehow used to get emails through from him and yeah he's super pro meat industry. he always seems to give you this 'advice' and at the end of it, there's usually a miracle product that you can buy exclusively from him that'll combat whatever he's just warned you about. I notice on his website at the moment he's got a feature titled "7 Reasons to Eat More Saturated Fat".... wise words doctor (sic)
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
I have been taking flaxseed for about 6 years now, in the easier but perhaps less beneficial form of oil/vegan capsules - I have experienced improvement in PTSD symptoms through this which includes mood and concentration, and also have a theory it helps with flexibility!
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
I grind our flaxseed in a little coffee grinder right before using so they don't loose their nutritional potency, except for when I am using them as an egg substitute. Leave them to soak in some water in a jar in the fridge, and they get gelatinous ...a perfect binder in baked goods!
We throw ours in the blender with our morning green smoothie, which makes it easy to start the day topped up with our omega 3 hit for the day!
Just add a cup and a half of water to a bunch of spinach, a frozen banana, a couple of cpred apples, a handfull of frozen berries to your two T. of flax seed, and voila! No better way to start the day!
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
Mercola is a flak for the dairy industry, paid to attack vegetarian foods that effect dairy sales like soy milk (his claims about soy are refuted by many independent studies). Now he appears to be branching out to other veg foods like flax seed.
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
You can get flaxseed oil capsules at a very reasonable price at many stores, including Walmart, etc.
One of the problems with fish oil is that some of the companies that produce it use fine nets that scoop up virtually everything that swims, and use it for cat food, oil, and fertilizer. It's knocking the bottom out of the food chain. Also, remember that toxic substances like mercury (in our environment from coal-fired power plants) accumulate in body fats in every species.
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
But Edy - won't consuming those make one sprout long, green hairs?
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
Facebook account: