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Omega-3s are popping up in the unlikeliest of supermarket shelves. Margarine, peanut butter, even granola bars now claim “Heart-healthy omega-3s!” on the label. And, you guessed it—they’re not there naturally.
Experts have touted for years the benefits of consuming omega-3 fatty acids: Besides being associated with lowering the risk of heart disease, research has found omega-3s fight inflammation and diabetes, and can even help people beat depression. Recently, a University of Illinois study even linked a deficiency in omega-3 fatty acids to male infertility.
With all those reasons to reach for omega-3s, it’s no wonder companies are injecting them into every food they can think of. But before you reach for omega-3 fortified cereal on your next grocery run, take a closer look at what the companies are really putting in your food.
ALA: The Lesser Omega-3
There are three types of omega-3 fatty acids: EPA, DHA, and ALA. The first two can be found in fish, such as salmon and tuna, while flax seed and soybeans are a common source of ALA.
Most food products are enriched with ALA, likely because plant sources are cheaper than fish sources, says Evelyn Tribole, R.D., author of The Ultimate Omega-3 Diet.
Compared with the benefits of DHA and EPA, however, ALA is ineffective. “It’s not hurting you, but it’s not helping you, either,” says Evelyn Tribole, R.D., author of The Ultimate Omega-3 Diet.
Why? Your body has to convert ALA into EPA and DHA to be able to use it—and it’s not very good at doing that. A study from the University of Surrey in the U.K. found that the conversion efficiency rate of ALA to DHA was less than 0.1 percent in healthy men. Looking at it another way, you would have take 27 one-gram capsules of ALA in order for your body to receive the equivalent of the EPA and DHA found in one commercial fish oil capsule (180 mg of EPA and 120 mg of DHA), calculates Bruce Holub, Ph.D., professor emeritus of nutritional sciences at Canada’s University of Guelph.
To find out what type of omega-3 is in your creamy peanut butter, check out the nutrition label. Look for key words in the list of ingredients, such as flaxseed and soybean oil, which indicate that the omega-3 fatty acid is ALA. Foods with additives like tilapia, anchovy, or sardine oil are sources of EPA and DHA.
Daily Amount of Omega-3s: Worth 3,000 Calories?
For healthy men, experts say to get 200 mg of DHA and 300 mg of EPA daily. The American Heart Association recommends that people with coronary heart disease take 1,000 mg of EPA/DHA every day, ideally from fish sources.
Jif Creamy Peanut Butter with Omega 3 boasts a whopping 32 mg of combined DHA and EPA per 2 tablespoons. So if you have heart disease, you have to eat about 31 tablespoons—nearly two cups—of peanut butter every single day to meet your omega-3 requirement. The damage for that heart-healthy dose: 2,969 calories.
Research Shows: Butter’s Not Better
Last year, a Dutch study of 4,800 patients with a history of heart attacks concluded that margarine enhanced with different sources of omega-3 fatty acid had no effect on preventing heart attacks.
Over a period of 40 months, subjects were given one of four test margarines: a placebo, a margarine enhanced with a combination of EPA and DHA, one with only ALA, and one supplemented with all three. The subjects supplemented their regular diets with an average of 1.3 tbsp of margarine per day—adding 226 mg of EPA and 150 mg of DHA, 1.9 g of ALA, or both. The rate of heart attacks didn’t differ between any of the groups.
What You Should Do
Eat fatty fish like salmon at least twice a week, the AHA recommends. Or take a supplement to get at least 200 mg of DHA and 300 mg of EPA daily, experts say
Experts have touted for years the benefits of consuming omega-3 fatty acids: Besides being associated with lowering the risk of heart disease, research has found omega-3s fight inflammation and diabetes, and can even help people beat depression. Recently, a University of Illinois study even linked a deficiency in omega-3 fatty acids to male infertility.
With all those reasons to reach for omega-3s, it’s no wonder companies are injecting them into every food they can think of. But before you reach for omega-3 fortified cereal on your next grocery run, take a closer look at what the companies are really putting in your food.
ALA: The Lesser Omega-3
There are three types of omega-3 fatty acids: EPA, DHA, and ALA. The first two can be found in fish, such as salmon and tuna, while flax seed and soybeans are a common source of ALA.
Most food products are enriched with ALA, likely because plant sources are cheaper than fish sources, says Evelyn Tribole, R.D., author of The Ultimate Omega-3 Diet.
Compared with the benefits of DHA and EPA, however, ALA is ineffective. “It’s not hurting you, but it’s not helping you, either,” says Evelyn Tribole, R.D., author of The Ultimate Omega-3 Diet.
Why? Your body has to convert ALA into EPA and DHA to be able to use it—and it’s not very good at doing that. A study from the University of Surrey in the U.K. found that the conversion efficiency rate of ALA to DHA was less than 0.1 percent in healthy men. Looking at it another way, you would have take 27 one-gram capsules of ALA in order for your body to receive the equivalent of the EPA and DHA found in one commercial fish oil capsule (180 mg of EPA and 120 mg of DHA), calculates Bruce Holub, Ph.D., professor emeritus of nutritional sciences at Canada’s University of Guelph.
To find out what type of omega-3 is in your creamy peanut butter, check out the nutrition label. Look for key words in the list of ingredients, such as flaxseed and soybean oil, which indicate that the omega-3 fatty acid is ALA. Foods with additives like tilapia, anchovy, or sardine oil are sources of EPA and DHA.
Daily Amount of Omega-3s: Worth 3,000 Calories?
For healthy men, experts say to get 200 mg of DHA and 300 mg of EPA daily. The American Heart Association recommends that people with coronary heart disease take 1,000 mg of EPA/DHA every day, ideally from fish sources.
Jif Creamy Peanut Butter with Omega 3 boasts a whopping 32 mg of combined DHA and EPA per 2 tablespoons. So if you have heart disease, you have to eat about 31 tablespoons—nearly two cups—of peanut butter every single day to meet your omega-3 requirement. The damage for that heart-healthy dose: 2,969 calories.
Research Shows: Butter’s Not Better
Last year, a Dutch study of 4,800 patients with a history of heart attacks concluded that margarine enhanced with different sources of omega-3 fatty acid had no effect on preventing heart attacks.
Over a period of 40 months, subjects were given one of four test margarines: a placebo, a margarine enhanced with a combination of EPA and DHA, one with only ALA, and one supplemented with all three. The subjects supplemented their regular diets with an average of 1.3 tbsp of margarine per day—adding 226 mg of EPA and 150 mg of DHA, 1.9 g of ALA, or both. The rate of heart attacks didn’t differ between any of the groups.
What You Should Do
Eat fatty fish like salmon at least twice a week, the AHA recommends. Or take a supplement to get at least 200 mg of DHA and 300 mg of EPA daily, experts say
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