General Information
     To begin with we must distinguish between the two polyunsaturated fatty acids which are termed essential because they can not be made in the body and therefore must be present in the diet.
All three omega 3 fats have been shown to offer numerous physiological benefits, notably their anti-inflamatory properties and their ability to offer cardioprotective effects especially in people with pre-existing cardiovascular problems, though EPA and DHA are more potent than simple ALA.
     The two basic categories of Essential Fatty Acids (EFA) are composed of two fatty acids - omega-3/alpha-linoleic acid (ALA) and omega-6/which include linoleic acid (LA) and gamma-linoleic acid - with linoleic acid (LA) being the most complete fatty acid. Being labeled essential simply means that the body cannot manufacture it from other nutrients; it must be present in the diet for good health to be achieved.
The body is not capable of manufacturing essential fatty acids, while the fatty acid arachidonic acid can be synthesized in the body from linoleic acid.
     Linoleic acid (LA), an omega 6 fat, which is widely available in a vegetarian diet, being present in large quantities in most oils and other vegetable based fatty foods, and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an omega 3 fat, which is not so widely available in a vegetarian diet, and is (of course) generally believed and marketed to be the "more beneficial" of the two EFAs.
     Alpha-linolenic acid is a precursor of the longer chain omega 3 fats eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) - ie EPA and to a lesser extent DHA can be made in the body from ALA.
     These two fatty acids are the ones available in significant amounts in oily fish, and fish oil supplements, along with a whole host of harmful bacteria and environmental contaminants ranging from heavy metals to human made chemicals/carcinogens that are known to be detrimental to both humans as well as nonhumans.
     The fishing industry is heavily promoting the "Mediterranean" diet, or atleast their version of it, and telling everyone to consume large quantities of fish to "avoid" health problems. The vegetarian diet is widely recognised as being protective against heart disease, the main ailment that the advice is aimed at, so vegetarians have a head start already, and of course the general population doesn’t exactly eat much oily fish, or indeed offal, the other so-called “good” source of omega 3 fats.

Required For
     Fatty acids are needed for normal growth and behavior and help with healthy cell membranes, a well balanced hormone level and properly working immune system.
     They are essential for the synthesis of tissue lipids, play an important role in the regulation of cholesterol levels, and are precursors of prostaglandins, hormone like compounds producing various metabolic effects in tissues.
     To the skin, it brings suppleness and a youthful appearance and hair becomes more shiny and healthy when in good supply. It also seems important in the manufacture of sex and adrenal hormones. Fatty acids also stimulate the growth of the beneficial intestinal bacteria. Edema has also been reported with fatty acids in short supply.
     Arthritis is said to benefit from these fatty acids and they also aid in the transmission of nerve impulses and a shortage may lead to learning disabilities and a problem with recalling information.

Deficiency
     Hair loss and eczema may be indicated when deficient in "Vitamin F" and may cause damage to the kidneys, heart and liver. Behavioral disturbances are also noted when deficient. The immune system can become less efficient with resultant slow healing and susceptibility to infections. Tear glands can also not work effectively and may dry up. Blood pressure and cholesterol levels may be higher when deficient and blood more likely to form clots.

RDA
     To prevent deficiency the required intake of essential fatty acids lies within the range of 1 to 2 percent of total calories . Taking an overview of the various fatty acids intake recommendations worldwide, and the confounding factors surrounding the common vegetarian diet, leads to a conclusion that an ALA intake of 1.5% of total energy is optimum for vegetarians - or roughly 4g a day. This should provide enough of the parent omega 3 fat to ensure significant amounts of EPA and DHA are formed by the body (conversion rates are around 5-10% for EPA and 2-5% for DHA). However it is also important for vegetarians to ensure that their intake of LA is not too high compared with ALA since a higher intake of LA interferes with the process in which the human body converts ALA into the even more beneficial EPA and DHA, so a LA to ALA ratio of around 4 to 1 or slightly lower is considered to be the optimum, but any steps to bring down an excessively high amount of omega 6 fats in the diet would be beneficial.

Toxicity
     Toxicity has not been determined.
     Toxicity does not seem a problem, but consult your medical practitioner before adding a fatty acid supplement if you have a medical condition.

Enhanced By
     Try and combine your fatty acids with Vitamins B3, B6, C and E for maximum benefit and make sure zinc, magnesium and selenium are available.

When More May Be Required
     People that are overweight, have dry eyes, bruise easily and have frequent infections may consider increasing their intake as well as those on a low fat diet or with a dry skin*, dandruff or brittle nails.A daily serving of about 1 tablespoon of flaxseeds will supply all the omega 3 an average person needs. However, a highly active person will require up to three times that amount. When an athlete consistently trains for a long event, his or her body becomes more efficient at burning fat. This is essential for success in an endurance event because the body's ability to use fat as fuel translates to spared glycogen (carbohydrate) stores, which significantly improve endurance. With the diet lacking adequate essential fatty acids, endurance will decline.
     Pregnant or nursing mothers who are uncertain whether their diet is providing enough omega 3 fats may wish to consider supplementing their diet with a direct source of DHA since this appears to play an important part in the development of immature brains. DHA supplements derived from algae and encased in non gelatine capsules are now available. It has also been suggested that DHA supplements may be of help to children with certain behavioral or learning difficulties.
     Essential fatty acids are also important for skin health.
     *Many people treat flaky skin topically with a moisturizer cream, when the real cause is quite often a lack of EFA's and poor hydration.

Impaired By
     The vitamin is sensitive to heat, air and is lost in processing. Heating the fatty acids can result in free radicals being formed. [keep cool when grinding flax seeds]

Other interesting points
     All of the purported "health benefits" being attributed to fish oils are enjoyed by Vegans and vegetarians - eat healthy, no mass murder, negative side-effects, toxins, or environmental destruction required. This fact is the reason why there are no studies comparing the "mediterranean" [mediterranean v2.scam0] diet to that of veganism, it would completely undermine all of the fish industries propaganda.
     If one is interested in buying a supplement of fatty acids, make sure they are in balanced quantities - but please remember that these oils are unstable. Heat and light must be excluded when extracting these oils and must be stored away from light. If fatty acid oils are hydrogenated, as in the manufacture of margarine, the linoleic acid is converted into trans-fatty acids - not beneficial for, but detrimental to the body.

Food Sources
     The most commonly hyped, and dangerous, source of omega 3 is salmon. Obviously, this is of little help to vegans and vegetarians, not that these groups necessarily require assistance. It is important to note is that salmon is not as good a source as it used to be. Farmed salmon have considerably less omega 3 than their wild counterparts. Omega 3 levels in wild salmon are also declining. The algae [plant-like organisms] they eat, giving their flesh a high omega 3 content, is declining in both quantity and quality due to less-than-ideal environmental conditions.
     For humans, fish and "marine mammals" [meaning seals] are, as with all other animal flesh, not part of a "healthy, balanced diet", and neither are the heavy metals or human-made chemicals they all contain.
     Omega 6, on one hand, is very easy to obtain. You would have to eat a poor diet consistently to fall short of the body's requirement for omega 6. It is found in most nuts, seeds, legumes, tofu and also, to a lesser degree, in many fruits, vegetables and grains. The only caution here is to be sure to consume the nuts and seeds in raw form; otherwise the fat will be altered by roasting, and, therefore, less usable by the body.
     Fatty acids are available in evening primrose oil, grape seed oil, flaxseed oil, and oils of grains, nuts and seeds, such as soybean, walnuts, sesame, sunflower and also present in avocados, marine plants.


Omega-6 [linoleic acid (LA)] EFA is found in raw nuts, seeds, legumes, grape seed oil and flaxseed oil.

Omega 3 is less plentiful, but equally important.
Omega-3 [alpha-linolenic acid (ALA)] EFA is found in, among others, canola, hemp and walnut oils.
Flaxseed oil, 1 tablespoon (14g)provides 8.0g of ALA and relatively insignificant levels of LA,
Flaxseed, ground 1 tablespoon (24g)provides 3.8g of ALA,
Grape Seed oil, 1 tablespoon (14g)provides 1.6g of ALA and only twice as much LA,
Walnuts, 1 oz (28g)provides 2.6g of ALA but also four times as much LA,
Tofu, 4.5oz (126g)provides 0.7g of ALA but also seven times as much LA

     The greatest plant source of omega 3 fatty acids is flaxseeds. In order for the body to easily digest and utilize the nutrients, the seeds must be ground into coarse flour. The use of a coffee grinder will suffice. Once every two weeks, grind about a pound, put it into a glass container, and store it in the fridge to protect the EFA's from becoming rancid. If you don't plan on using all the ground flax within two weeks, store it in the freezer to insure freshness.

     Flaxseeds are also available pre-ground. If you buy them in this form, make sure they are in an airtight container or have been kept in the fridge or freezer. Also, be sure not to buy flax meal. Flax meal is little more than fiber, with all the EFA's removed by pressing.

Regarding Omega-6

     There has been fear-mongering from the usual perveyors of FUD {Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt} attacks regarding omega-6, one such attack goes as such: "Vegetable seed based oils are loaded with omega-6 fatty acids which are precursors to inflammatory eicosanoids." The truth is that while some eicosanoids may be "precursors to inflammatory", others are known to be anti-inflammatory. As stated in this article in Circulation:

     "In human studies, higher plasma levels of omega-6 PUFAs, mainly AA, were associated with decreased plasma levels of serum proinflammatory markers, particularly interleukin-6 and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, and increased levels of antiinflammatory markers, particularly transforming growth factor-[].18 When healthy volunteers were given {approx}7 times the usual intake of AA (ie, 1.5 g/d) in a 7-week controlled feeding study, no effects on platelet aggregation, bleeding times, the balance of vasoactive metabolites, serum lipid levels, or immune response were observed.5-8 Likewise, in a recent study from Japan, AA supplementation (840 mg/d for 4 weeks) had no effect on any metabolic parameter or platelet function.19 Consistent with this, in observational studies, higher omega-6 PUFA consumption was associated with unaltered or lower levels of inflammatory markers.20

     Diets high in LA can increase the ex vivo susceptibility of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) to oxidation,21 and oxidized LDL can promote vascular inflammation.22 Therefore, oxidized LDL may play some role in the etiology of CHD.23 However, the extent of LDL oxidation at higher LA intakes (5% to 15% of energy) has not been established, and its clinical relevance is in question owing to the general failure of antioxidant treatments to mitigate CHD risk in most randomized trials.24 At present, little direct evidence supports a net proinflammatory, proatherogenic effect of LA in humans.22,25,2"

     Aggregate data from randomized trials, case-control and cohort studies indicate that the consumption of at least 5% to 10% of energy from omega-6 PUFAs reduces the risk of CHD relative to lower intakes. The data also suggest that higher intakes appear to be safe and may be even more beneficial (as part of a low-saturated fat, low-cholesterol diet). While adequate intake of omega-3 fatty acids is most likely beneficial, it seems like that any "harmful" effect of omega-6 comes from crowding out omega-3s. There's a good article on vegetarians and omega 3s from the Vegetarian Resource Group HERE

Additional FUD

     "There isn't any conclusive evidence linking saturated fat to heart disease, only accepted belief. There is a world of difference between the two." The link between animal product intake and heart disease has been shown again and again. How much of that is specifically due to saturated fat may be open to question, but its rather like asking whether the carbon moxide, the nicotine, or the radioactive polonium and leadin cigarette smoke is more deadly: like a diet rich in animal products, cigarette smoking has been firmly established to be detrimental to human health.

     "The associations suggest that replacing SFAs with PUFAs rather than MUFAs or carbohydrates prevents CHD over a wide range of intakes." -- ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

     "Regarding the type of fat, cross-sectional data suggest that saturated fat adversely affects vascular function whereas polyunsaturated fat (mainly linoleic acid (18 : 2n-6) and n-3 PUFA) are beneficial." -- ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

     "Compelling evidence from metabolic studies, prospective cohort studies, and clinical trials in the past several decades indicates that at least 3 dietary strategies are effective in preventing CHD: substitute nonhydrogenated unsaturated fats for saturated and trans-fats; increase consumption of omega-3 fatty acids from fish, fish oil supplements, or plant sources; and consume a diet high in fruits, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains and low in refined grain products. However, simply lowering the percentage of energy from total fat in the diet is unlikely to improve lipid profile or reduce CHD incidence. Many issues remain unsettled, including the optimal amounts of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, the optimal balance between omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fats, the amount and sources of protein, and the effects of individual phytochemicals, antioxidant vitamins, and minerals." -- ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

     "Higher levels of saturated fat and lower levels of polyunsaturated fats were each associated with a higher risk of CHD in elderly men, and these associations were partly explained by their effects on blood lipids and biomarkers of inflammation." -- ncbi.nih.gov

     Vegetarians, through decades of peer-reviewed reseach, are shown to have far fewer incidences of heart disease -much less so the closer to vegan they eat; this reveals a clear link between consuming animal products and heart disease. The evidence is clear that replacing saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats reduced the risk of heart disease.

Practical steps
There are a number of steps to take to ensure that the optimum levels of all the omega 3 fats are present in the body. 1. Make sure you include a good source of ALA in your diet, the simplest source would be one teaspoon of flax seed oil a day, taken either on its own or mixed into dressings etc.
Flax oil is also available in vegetable capsules.
Alternately include 4 to 5 teaspoons of ground flax seeds, or rape seed oil in your diet - though do not heat any of the oils, and only add the flax seeds to any foods at a late stage since heating will destabilise the ALA.
It is important that the flax seeds are ground or at least crushed, if left whole much of the fat will be unavailable. 2. Replace fats high in omega 6 oils, such as sunflower oil or corn oil, with fats higher in monounsaturated fats, such as olive oil or rape seed oil which do not disrupt the formation of EPA and DHA.
3. Other foods can add to your intake of ALA. Most of the little fat in leafy green vegetables is ALA - broccoli has 0.13g per 100g, cabbage 0.11g per 100g, so simply eating your greens is making a positive addition to your intake.
Walnuts and tofu are also good sources but are comparably high in LA.

The easiest way to incorporate more flaxseeds into the diet is to sprinkle them on cereals, salads, and other foods. Another way is to use them in baking, replacing a portion of the flour.

Here is an example, from the book THRIVE by Brendan Brazier, using ground flaxseeds to replace less nutritious traditional flours.

Toasted Apple Cinnamon Cereal
1 cup (240 ml) oats, uncooked (low glycemic carbohydrate)
1/2 cup (120 ml) hemp protein powder (protein, EFA's, vitamin E)
1/2 cup (120 ml) flaxseeds, ground (omega 3, fibre, protein)
1/2 cup (120 ml) sunflower seeds (EFA's, protein)
1/2 cup (120 ml) sesame seeds (calcium, protein)
1/2 cup (120 ml) almonds, diced (EFA's, alkalizing protein)
1/2 apple, diced (pectin)
1/4 cup (60 ml) hemp oil (essential fatty acids omega 3 & omega 6)
1/4 cup (60 ml) molasses (iron)
2 T. apple juice
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. whole stevia leaf, dried and ground (blood sugar regulator)
1/4 t. sea salt (sodium)

Preheat oven to 250 F. (122 C.)
Mix all dry ingredients together
Blend liquid ingredients until reaching a consistent texture.
Combine liquid and dry. Mix well.
Spread on bake tray. Bake for 1 hour. Let cool, break up.
This is an excellent, nutritionally balanced cereal. Unlike traditional cereals, this one has lots of fiber, complete protein, and lots of essential fatty acids and calcium.

*You'll notice this cereal is toasted at a lower temperature than traditional granola. The reason for this is to preserve the essential fatty acids. Heating foods with essential fatty acids above 350 F (Gas Mark 4) is not recommended since the heat can convert EFA's to trans-fats.

Keep refrigerated to extend freshness.

http://www.veganoutreach.org/health/stayinghealthy.html

Maximizing Vegetarian Nutrition by Michael Greger, M.D. www.veganMD.org

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