OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS

In marketing and in the media Omega-3 fatty acids tend to be lumped together.

There are, in actuality, 3 main variations: ALA (found in plants/seeds) and DHA/EPA (found primarily fish oils or eggs).

DHA and EPA are what people are usually really talking about when they are discussing the potential health benefits of omega-3's since a diet high in oily fish has been shown to mildly lower blood pressure, lower risk of stroke, and have positive affects on cognitive, inflammatory and psychological disorders.

However, ALA is still an important dietary component since the human body cannot create it on its own but can partially convert (although inefficiently) ALA to DHA and EPA and all of them are essential components of many different functions such as regulating blood clotting and building membranes in the brain. And although the research is preliminary, studies have shown that daily doses of ALA significantly reduced both self-reported stress and anxiety levels and objectively measured Cortisol (stress hormone) levels.

Most Americans don't get enough Omega-3's.

SOURCES OF Omega-3 ALA:

Common name	Alternate name	Linnaean name	% ALA†	ref.
Chia	chia sage	Salvia hispanica	64%	[9]
Kiwifruit seeds	Chinese gooseberry	Actinidia chinensis	62%	[9]
Perilla	shiso	Perilla frutescens	58%	[9]
Flax	linseed	Linum usatissimum	55%	[9]
Lingonberry	cowberry	Vaccinium vitis-idaea	49%	[9]
Camelina	camelina	Camelina sativa	35-45%
Purslane	portulaca	Portulaca oleracea	35%	[9]
Sea buckthorn	seaberry	Hippophae rhamnoides L.	32%	[10]
Hemp	cannabis	Cannabis sativa	20%	[9]
Rapeseed	canola	Brassica napus	10%	[2]
Soybean	soya	Glycine max	8%	[2]
			†average val

SOURCES OF Omega-3 DHA/EPA

Common name	grams omega−3
Herring, sardines	1.3–2
Mackerel:Spanish/Atlantic/Pacific	1.1–1.7
Salmon	1.1–1.9
Halibut	0.60–1.12
Tuna	0.21–1.1
Swordfish	0.97
Greenshell/lipped mussels	0.95[76]
Tilefish	0.9
Tuna (canned, light)	0.17–0.24
Pollock	0.45
Cod	0.15–0.24
Catfish	0.22–0.3
Flounder	0.48
Grouper	0.23
Mahi mahi	0.13
Orange roughy	0.028
Red snapper	0.29
Shark	0.83
King mackerel	0.36
Hoki (blue grenadier)	0.41[76]
Gemfish	0.40[76]
Blue eye cod	0.31[76]
Sydney rock oysters	0.30[76]
Tuna, canned	0.23[76]
Snapper	0.22[76]
Eggs, large regular	0.109[76]
Barramundi, saltwater	0.100[76]
Giant tiger prawn	0.100[76]
Lean red meat	0.031[76]
Turkey	0.030[76]
Cereals, rice, pasta, etc.	0.00[76]
Fruit	0.00[76]
Milk, regular	0.00[76]
Bread, regular	0.00[76]
Vegetables	0.00[76]