Want some facts about OMEGA3 and OMEGA6?

So often we can hear that we should eat Omega-3 for our health but I feel that is only the half of the truth as we think we should eat what the market are offering us and in fact that is Omega-3 from fish. So how come we are offered Omega-3 from fish? There is a simple answer and that's because the fish oil they produce Omega-3 from is a by-product from the fish powder production done mostly in South America such as Peru and Chile. What you don't know is that this fish oil is produced in non-hygienic facilities where both foods for animals and humans are produced in the same time. This is now by law forbidden by EU, but due to the circumstances, countries in South America has got temporary approvals for such production for another year or two.

What I feel is that it's wrong anyway to consume fish oil as I consider this as secondary oils or "used" oils. Compared with oils from plants, you can really get a good source of good quality Omega-3 that is not as Omega-3 from fish at all. Same thing concerns Omega-6, which is also needed.

Today there is too many commercial interests in the Omega-3 market so you need to know what to eat by doing your own independent research or continue reading here as I have done this research for you. Because I don't try to sell you Omega-3, you can continue to read this as our goal is to inform you about what is good and what is "not so good", but this again can be argued like anything else. One thing is for sure and that's the fact that Omega-3 is a huge world-wide market so many of the information out there can't be trusted as research as primary been made on fish oil and not plant oils.

So here we will provide you with some essential information on Omega-3 as we all need to obtain EFAs (Essential Fatty Acids) which are LA (Linoleic Acid) found in Omega-6 and ALA or LNA (Alpha Linolenic Acid) found in Omega-3. The reason why they are called "Essential" is because the body is not able to produce them so we need to add this via our diets or food supplements which in this case can be capsules.

There is several non-Essential Fatty Acids which is non-essential because our body can produce them out of other fatty acids. Such non-essential fatty acids are;

• EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid or Icosapentaenoic Acid) and are necessarily for our brain, heart and eyes - good source for EPA is Microalgae.
• DHA (Docosahexanoic Acid) is, as EPA needed for the brain, heart, and eyes - good source for EPA is Microalgae.
• SDA (Stearidonic Acid) is needed to increase EPA and DHA concentrations - good source for SDA is found in Black Current seed oil.

The non-Essential Fatty Acids are name non-Essential because the body can in fact produce those from Omega-3 ALA where;

• AA or ARA (Arachidonic Acid) is a necessary component and precursor that might have antagonistic effects.
• GLA (Gamma-Linolenic Acid) is necessary to prevent certain skin conditions but are considered non-Essential because the body can make them from Omega-6 LA.

The Omega-3 conversion process is as follows;
ALA converts into an enzyme called Delta-5-desaturase.
Delta-5-desaturase again converts to SDA.
SDA elongates and converts to EPA.
EPA elongates and converts to DHA and the prostaglandin PGE3.

The Omega-6 conversion process is as follows:
LA converts into an enzyme called Delta-6-desaturase.
Delta-6-desaturase again converts to GLA
GLA converts to DGLA
DGLA converts to the prostaglandin PGE1 and AA.
AA converts to the prostaglandin PGE2.

You will find the ready converted or long-chain types of EPA and/or DHA in oily fish like salmon, mackerel and tuna. This are in most cases concerted types as the fish eat microalgae rich on ALA and convert this into DHA and/or EPA in their bodies. So in fact the fish does exactly the same thing as all of us should do and that's to convert ALA into both DHA and EPA in our own bodies.

It is well known that plants contain ALA and LA, however through processing and refining oils from seeds, nuts and plants almost all of ALA are lost in the process and such products are ending up with too many Omega-6 LA content causing a huge imbalance between LA and the needed ALA.

So the definitely best source of Omega-3 ALA that will convert automatically into DHA and EPA in our bodies are;

All dark green leaf plants, Chia Seed, Flaxseed, Hemp Seed, Canola, Walnuts, Soybean, Pumpkin Seed etc.

Read more about Omega-3 in Wikipedia

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