Whether you have seen the word Omega 3 at the grocery store or read about it in an article (such as this one!) this word may not be new to you. These fats are often referred to as PUFA's and considered to be 'good fats' with an array of health benefits and we are constantly reminded that they are good for our health.
What are essential fat and what can they do for our health?
Omega-3 is the word given to a whole family of essential fats or fatty acids that serve important roles in our body.
The parent Omega-3 is called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). ALA is an essential fatty acid for humans meaning that we need to get from our diet since we cannot make it in our bodies. If you can picture it - from the smallest level of a cell in our body, omega-3s are embedded in the cell membrane outside and inside the cell, being particularly rich in the cells of our brain, eye and heart. These fat play a structural role in out membranes and are used to provide important signals substances that balance and regulate our immune system. This in turn helps to ensure our bodies inflammatory response remains controlled.
Simply said, Omega-3s are absolutely vital to the structure and working of our bodies.
Although the parent Omega-3 known as ALA can be found in a variety of sources including nuts , seeds, plant oils (canola, soyabean, flaxseed oil) as well as leafy vegetables, humans are known to be rather poor converters of this parent omega-3 to other omega-3 family, particularly to the largest family member known as long chain omega-3 fatty acids. These long chain omega-3s, which include eicosaplentaenoic acid (EPA), dicosapentanoic acid (DPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA), are found ready made in fish and the ones that are ready to do the job of regulating the immune system and controlling inflammation.
For optimal health it is particularly important to build enough of them into cell membranes.
According to the American Heat Association, it is recommended to eat fish high in Omega-3s at least twice a week to provide a daily average of 500 milligram of EPA plus DHA.
The World Health Organization recommends a range of omega-3 fatty acid intake to be 0.5 to 2% of total energy intake which may be 250 to 2000 milligrams per day for EPA plus DHA.
In spite of all these strong recommendations, consumption of long chain omega-3s are considered to low or very low in many parts of the world. Consequently so many people today are missing out on the vital health benefits of long chain omega-3s. These super star nutrients can promote healthy brain function, brain development, concentration learning capacity, vision, heart health and so much more. With so many important roles omega-3 s have in our bodies, choose what's best, and aim to maintain a healthy you by choosing to focus on omega-3.
Why Neolife Omega-3 salmon oil plus?
With omega-3 salmon oil plus, Neolife provides a complete that may help with increasing your level of omega-3 fatty acid in your body.
Neolife omega-3 Salmon Oil Plus contains 8 nutritionally important omega-3 fatty acids found in fish from parent ALA through EPA, DPA and DHA. The oil was developed according to Neolife's molecular differentiation process to concentrate, stabilize and standardize specific, health promoting omega-3 fatty acid levels, ensuring the whole food goodness of natural salmon oil remains intact.