What is Omega-3 and How does it Benefit Your Body?
Omega-3 is a necessary type of fat acid that plays a significant role in your body and provides health benefits.
Omega-3 is beneficial to your body from the following aspects:
- It can fight depression and anxiety.
- It can improve eye health.
- It can promote brain health during pregnancy and early life.
- It can lower the risk of heart disease.
- It can reduce symptoms of ADHD in children.
- It can reduce symptoms of metabolic syndrome.
- It can fight inflammation and autoimmune diseases.
- It can improve mental disorders.
- It can help prevent cancer.
And the list goes on and on and on…
What are Types of Omega-3 Fat Acids?
Three types of Omega-3 fat acids are alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
ALA is such an essential fatty acid that your body fails to generate it. Therefore, you must get it from the foods and beverages you consume. Your body is able to convert some ALA into EPA and then into DHA but in very small amounts. So, it’s the optimal way to get EPA and DHA from the foods you eat.
How Much Omega-3 do You Need Every Day?
Experts haven’t reached a conclusion on how much Omega-3 fatty acid is recommended to be taken in except for ALA. The daily recommended intake of ALA is shown in the table below, depending on your age and gender.
What Foods Provide High Omega-3?
Since your body can’t generate it, you have to acquire it from foods.
Top 10. Walnuts
Walnuts are nutritious and rich in fiber and proteins like cuprum, manganese, vitamin E and phytochemicals. Walnuts contain 2570mg Omega-3 fatty acid per ounce, about 14 walnuts.
Top 9. Chia Seeds
Chia seeds are so nutritious that they are rich in manganese, selenium, magnesium and other nutrients. A standard 1-ounce chia seeds contain 5g protein including 8 types of necessary amino acids. Chia seeds contain 5060mg Omega-3 per ounce.
Top 8. Flax Seeds
Up to now, flax seeds provide the most Omega-3 fatty acid, ALA specifically. Moreover, flax seeds are also a good source of fiber, magnesium, and other nutrients. A tablespoon of flax seeds contains 2350mg of Omega-3 or 7260 per 13.6g.
Top 7. Caviar
Regarded as a luxurious food, Caviar is made from fish eggs or roes. Caviar is a good source of choline and Omega-3 fatty acid. Each tablespoon of caviar contains 1086mg of Omega-3 or 6786mg per 3.5 ounce.
Top 6. Sardines
Sardines are a type of small fatty fish that are rich in nutrients beneficial to humans.
Sardines provide rich vitamin B12, vitamin D, and selenium. Each cup of sardines can contain 2205mg Omega-3 or 1480mg per 3.5 ounces.
Top 5. Oysters
Oysters are one of the most common foods that are nutritious on the earth.
In fact, oysters contain the most zinc. Just 6 eastern oysters contain 293% more than recommended zinc, 70% more than copper and 575% more than vitamin B12.
370mg Omega-3 can be acquired from 6 eastern oysters or 435mg per 3.5 ounce.
Top 4. Herring
Herring is a type of medium-sized fatty fish. It is usually eaten as breakfast with egg in the UK. Herring is rich in vitamin D and selenium. In terms of its Omega-3 content, 946mg can be acquired per middle-sized herring fillet or 2366mg per 3.5 ounce.
Top 3. Cod liver oil
As the name indicates, cod liver oil is a type of oil acquired from the liver of codfish.
Cod liver fish is rich in Omega-3 fatty acid and contains rich vitamin D and vitamin A. A tablespoon of cod liver oil contains 2683mg Omega-3.
Top 2. Salmon
Salmon is one of the most nutritious foods on the earth. Salmon is rich in high-quality protein and numerous nutrients including vitamin D, selenium, vitamin Bs.
The content of Omega-3 in salmon is 4123mg per half slice of farmed Atlantic salmon or 2260mg per 3.5 ounce.
Top 1. Mackerel
Mackerel is a type of small and fatty fish that is usually eaten by a whole fillet after being smoked in western countries.
Mackerel is so nutritious that it is rich in vitamin B12 and selenium. When it comes to Omega-3 content, a slice of mackerel contains about 4107mg of Omega-3 or 5134mg per 3.5 ounces.
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