Omega-3 & EFAs explained - flaw in vegan/WFPB diet? (The complete guide)
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- čas přidán 21. 08. 2024
- Are you confused about omega-3-6-9, EFAs, EPA, DHA, ALA, LA, GLA, AA, and what they all mean for your diet, supplementation and health?
Today I present what I hope will be the complete guide to essential fatty acids and walk you through this tricky topic, including how I arrived at my recommendation for supplementation.
Because of numerous environmental factors, I believe getting this right in diet and supplementation is a key factor for sustainability of a plant-exclusive diet, and is of particular importance right now given recent events.
Video on omega-3 supplements I recommend, and why:
• Which omega-3 suppleme...
#EPA #DHA #Vegan
References: 13:12
The information provided on this CZcams channel is not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. The content presented is for informational purposes only. Always seek professional medical advice before starting any new health care regimen, treatment, exercise program or diet and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you saw on this CZcams channel. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
Do you supplement essential fatty acids?
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Dr. Des Harrington great vidéo my friend! We really need a complete guide especially recently with everything happening on CZcams ^^
I personally don’t supplement. I think I find enough I need in my WFPB diet :)
@@greenpowertemple Thanks, man! Yeah you seem to have a very healthy diet so I'd bet that your ratio is well in-check.
There have been some very funky diets promoted here on CZcams that would do very well to even get the usual 15:1 ratio though!
Brilliant content, thanks so much for this explanation and presentation.
Plant based family of four here and yeah - we do try to minimize the cooking with oil (few times per month), and use quality olive oil as salad dressing (less than one bottle per month), we use flax and chia every day and do the extra Omega 3 supplementation also. We have kids so cookies and some other processed stuff we cannot miss but we try to minimize...
Along that we use vit D3, K2 MK7, Zn, Mg, vit A, B12, CQ10, melatonin, oregano oil, black cumin seed oil and home made tonic mix of raw garlic and whole organic lemons. A lot of turmeric and other spices in the foods we eat... Exercise and do the Wim Hof breathing also. Hope we can add few years to our lives that way and chase the chronic diseases away :)
Keep up the great work :)
@@marsmarv That sounds like an amazing diet and lifestyle! :D
Thank you for such a perfectly informative video, Dr Harrington! Straight to my favourites!
I'm very glad that you clarified that it's technically possible to get enough EPA & DHA in a well planned WFPB diet.
I personally consume a WFPB food that is oil free, 90% of the times (which of course excludes processed foods containing oil).
I consume about 65g of ground flaxseeds every day for breakfast, which according to studies like Burdge & Wootton (2007) Davis & Kris-Ketherton (2003) and
Gerster (1998)'s should be able to guarantee 100% or more of the EPA & DHA daily allowance after conversion from ALA. Plus, I consume walnuts, pumpkin seeds, kale and legumes on a daily basis too.
Thus, I decided not to supplement plant Omega-3s, I only supplement B12 & D3 (because I live in the UK).
May I please ask for your thoughts about my decision of not supplementing Omega-3s?
Thanks very much! :D Wow, 65 g is impressive! I'd say you'd be pretty safe with that diet, remember though that the ratio is key and pumpkin seeds will strongly push that ratio in favour of omega-6 (they are overall a tremendously healthy food, however).
I'd recommend putting your staple diet into Cronometer to see how your ratio looks if you're concerned. Unfortunately there's no good or widely-available blood test to determine your omega index for sure at present outside of the research setting!
Well done on taking D3 and B12 supplementation seriously, now if only we could get everyone else to follow suit!
@@DrDesHarrington , I appreciate it! I'll follow your advice and look into Cronometer. I'll also be careful with pumpkin seeds and prefer walnuts over them. Thank you so much!
@@Steetotal No problem, man! Let me know how you get on!
@@DrDesHarrington , UPDATE: unfortunately my AA Omega 6/ EPA Omega 3 ratio went up despite my 90% WFPB diet, with minimal processed plant food.
In the last couple of months I consumed Pringles crisps more often (1 serving a day: about 4 crisps a day), and I suspect this is the reason why my ratio went from an acceptable range of 1.5-3.0 to *8.92* ! But I can't know for sure as I didn't test it for more than 3 years.
I've now stopped consuming those crisps, and reduced both pumpkin seeds to 2 servings a month and ground flaxseed to 4 tbsp a day.
I'll re-check in about 3 months.
If the ratio is still high I'll start to supplement EPA & DHA.
This is the only value in my blood that is not within the recommended range.
I got no symptoms whatsoever, by the way
@@Steetotal its not good idea to base your fat intake primarly on flaxseed.You should have all kinds of fat sources...like coconut,avocado,olives and other nuts and seeds
This was such a good video! As a scientist, myself, I care to understand the science behind how my WFPB diet is affecting my health. Looking forward to more content!
Thank you so much! :D Always glad to hear from fellow WFPB-ers - one of my main goals is to provide information to help keep us all healthy!
Another great video! I liked the basic chemistry explanation and knowing where those names come from. Thanks for clarifying!
Thanks, man! :D Yeah the nomenclature is tricky, for sure.
Another excellent scientific-based video. Incidentally I was reading about this topic from a Brenda Davis book only a few hours ago. It's not that easy to understand for me, so I'll be giving it another read and your video another watch. BTW: I have that very Deva Omega-3 supplement that you have in the video. Thanks a lot for your diligent work.
Thanks! I know, there's just so much confusion on the topic hence this video. The good news is that it's probably the trickiest aspect of plant-exclusive micronutrient concerns, everything else is relatively clear-cut!
Yeah the Deva one is very good, it's the one I've bought the most of myself. Good choice!
Lloyd #namethewellbeing
This is the most informative video about omega-3's I've ever seen! I really enjoyed that as new vegan, thanks a lot.
Always good to hear from new vegans! :D Thanks very much for your kind words, it means a lot, glad you found it useful. :)
Not currently, but I will. Not for the anti inflammatory benefits, I definitely don't have problems there (did as an omni), but to slow down the aging of the brain. The research isn't undeniably strong in that area but you can never go wrong investing in yourself.
I don't get why people believe fish will do that for them when the research on the pollutants present in fish shows the opposite effects and farmed fish has even more of these pollutants (it's legal to feed sewage sludge to them, but hey, the FDA nicely asked them not to, I'm sure that did something).
You should Google this study up: *Omega-3 intake for cardiovascular disease* - *Cochrane* Journal
People often say omega 3 protects from CVD, but the most extensive meta analysis did not find that when taking bias out of the equation.
Informative as usual! Can't wait for the next part.
I hear ya, brain health is my main motivation for taking them as well. I didn't go into hard clinical endpoints because I had to draw the line somewhere, but you're right in saying fish don't help in this regard as once thought and it's posited that one of the reasons is all the pollution countering the benefits of the omega-3 LC PUFAs in babies' IQ and maternal diets, for example.
As you say, there's nothing at present to tell us to take golden algae-based EPA/DHA supplements to improve endpoints like CVD events or brain health either, so we have to rely on potential mechanisms in this case. I think the research we do have is (just about) strong enough to recommend the supplements en mass, given the state of the average diet besides.
Yep, that study just about sums up the current thinking!
Interesting. Thanks.
Wooooow, this is NEXT LEVEL, dr. Des! Awesome video production & on-point researched topic!
You presented it better (and more useful!) than dr. Greger! Amazing job!
My Omega3:6 ratio is 1:4. I AM currently trying to get it closer to 1:1. Plus taking 400mcg EPA+DHA supplement on top.
I just found out that chia seeds give me diarrhea, if the intake is higher than 3g... :/ I'll just stick to flax... And reduce nuts & seeds with ''no Omega3''... :)
Thanks very much, man! Don't know if I'm on Dr. Greger's level, ha! I think 1:4 is pretty good really, especially if taking a LC supplement on top. Ah flax seeds are probably better overall, anyway. :)
@@DrDesHarrington True.
Appreciate the clarity you have provided on this tricky subject. Great job Dr Des.
Thanks, glad you found it helpful! :D
I really like these longer, more in-depth videos, don't worry about it.
Ha glad to see someone else likes going well into the details besides me! :D
Absolutely fantastic talk. Answered all the questions I had and several I didn’t even know I had. Thank you!
Very interesting, thanks!!!
Glad you liked it! :D
6:42 - there's no Camelina oil. This oil also is superb actually as it has some advantages over the others.
1. It's a good proportion of fats per 100 g. Saturated - 11% only. Monounsaturated - 32%. Polyunsaturated: Omega-6 - 23%, Omega-3 - 31%. So it's 1.5:1 ratio.
2. It's rich in tocopherols (antioxidants), contains enormous amount of Vitamin E (550% of Daily Value per 100g), which, in turn, makes it pretty stable as compared to flaxseed oil (resistant to oxidation and rancidity). So It's even possible to cook with it if you're ok with flavor.
3. The flavor is nice, tastes much better than e.g. flax oil, which has sort of a fishy odor.
4. It's quite cheap (around 3 Euros/1L), at least in Russia.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that it has good shelf life (around 1 year in a fridge after opening the bottle). Flax oil is good only within a few days in a fridge.
@@Oleg_pwr Interesting one, had never heard of that oil before! Looks like a great option if you can find it! It's high smoke point is attractive, too. To be clear though, I'm not recommending any oil, just some are better than others if you have to use it, and in that case camelina oil could be a great option. :)
It’s around 26 €/L in Morocco…
@Dr. Des Harrington -- I'm glad that I recently found your CZcams channel because your videos contain highly practical recommendations for health, based upon empirical evidence, and clearly explained. Indeed, your clear teaching methods are at a university professor level as well. --University Medical School Professor Al
Hello, thank you so much for your kind words, really means a lot! :D Glad to have you along!
Thanks a lot for the video. This is really helpful! I have two questions please:
1. As vegans, What amount of ALA (from food) should we eat daily considering a low omega 6 diet (omega 6: omega 3 ratio close to 1:1) ?
2. What amount of LA should we eat per day? Is there any problem if we eat much less than the DRIs (17 g per day?)
Thanks!!
Hello! Wow, anything even approaching 1:1 is very impressive! I would have thought getting less than 17 g of LA would be difficult without having a very restrictive diet, and remember this is an essential fatty acid as well - if you are getting into this territory I certainly wouldn't go too much lower. If you are 1:1 with this intake of LA you would have plenty of ALA as well.
thank you. Very good video. Keep going please
Thanks very much! :D Yes, plenty more to come, including some more on EFAs!
Amazing job!! Just finished writing a chapter on this. I understand the work you did for this. 😂
Thanks, Rafael! :D Ha it's a tricky little topic, for sure. Are you writing a book?
@@DrDesHarrington hopefully yeah!
Nice one! I'll be getting that, for sure!
@@DrDesHarrington well,it will be in portuguese first😂😂😂
@@RafaelPinto10 Ah. That might be a problem, ha!
Thanks for the in-depth explanation! Yay to flax and chia seeds!(:
Glad you found some value in it! Flax and chia seeds FTW! :D
I know this video is old, but I have a quick question. The algae-based DHA/EPA supplement I have contains twice as much DHA than EPA, but I've read that when supplementing for depression and eczema it's better to have twice as much EPA as DHA. I cant find any vegan supplements that have more EPA than DHA (or even any that have the same amount of each). My understanding is that if you eat ALA, it raises EPA and lowers DHA. If I make sure to eat the flax and chia, do you think they would balance it out?
Hello! Yes, the algae-based supplements always seem to have more DHA than EPA, probably something to do with the physiology of the farmed organisms. This is an ongoing, albeit arguably relatively neglected area of research; it is felt at present that humans can net convert from one LCPUFA to the other through a combination of actual enzymatic conversion and also one sparing the metabolic consumption of the other.
As long as you're getting both in in a reasonable ratio I think you will be fine. This is especially true given your wise approach of making ALA intake the foundation of your omega-3 intake, with the LCPUFAs on top! I would be willing to bet you're doing better than most. :)
Brilliantly presented. Thanks!
I want to know though... AA is important as well because, sometimes, inflammation is a physiological process. In those cases, we need AA, and I wonder if that is enough to supplement it (in case of veganism). I don't know how to do that. Knew about the algae for EPA and DHA which I founded wonderful. But I'm still searching for that vegan AA suplement... And also to know if I should be taking it.
Thank you for watching and for the kind words! :D Yes, it is indeed a fact that omega-6 is an essential fatty acid too. But omega-6 is just so abundant in all kinds of fat-containing foods, both unhealthy and healthy, animal- and plant-based, processed and whole, that it would take a very extreme and deliberate modification of diet to consistently not take enough in, to the point of being almost impossible with any real-world diet.
There are omega-3-6 and omega-3-6-9 supplements if you do have a set of circumstances that mean you are worried about not getting enough, but I wouldn't be able to advise on specifics in this case since I have not researched them at all for the reasons given above! I just don't think supplementing omega-6 is necessary. Have you tracked your intake with Cronometer or something and found it to be low? Hope this helps!
@@DrDesHarrington Thanks for your fast reply and concern for my correct education :)
I get your point, but, on the same page, I've been told that, the conversion of omega-6 to AA is not that great. That's why I was thinking about how important taking AA could be, as a suplement or in the diet. The thing is, as a physical therapist with an holistic approach, I'm apprehensive about this matter, as I don't want yo encourage the people I work with towards veganism if I don't have the certainty it is an option that is all the way healthy.
@@TenTempeh Oh yes, sorry I misread your question - you're asking about arachidonic acid specifically (listen with the intention of understanding, not with the intention of merely responding and all of that!) Nice work on taking the holistic approach, things seem to be going in the opposite direction these days with how hyper-specialised clinical practice and the caring professions are becoming and it's not for the better!
Remember that arachidonic acid is itself an omega-6, and that one of the many benefits of a plant-based diet is that it is in fact low in this particular PUFA, so we are not overwhelmed with too much coming in exogenously from the diet and thus falsely up-regulating inflammatory pathways, and will then only make the amount we need from linoleic acid. The decreased brain inflammation predisposing to psychiatric illnesses like depression in particular springs to mind when I think of the value of a low-AA diet. But what you are asking is if this conversion is sufficient to meet our needs for AA - there may be advantages to taking in a low amount, but are there any disadvantages?
Unfortunately I have not looked into this question in any great detail. What I can tell you is that obligate carnivores do indeed need pre-formed AA to perform optimally and some will die without it due to poor or no conversion from shorter-chain omega-6s - humans will not. But of course health is about more than just avoiding death - is a low-AA diet healthier beyond merely staying alive than one that contains some?
My own non-evidence-based opinion is that it is; that we can make just the right amount of AA from the shorter-chain omega-6 FAs and that there is nothing to worry about. Perhaps an analogous situation exists like with the conversion of ALA to EPA and DHA, where if we eat healthy enough we seem to be able to form all the omega-3 LC PUFAs we need from ALA and do not need to take in any pre-formed long-chains. Just like this latter research question, forming enough AA from LA seems to be a difficult question to answer, and from the small amount of reading I have done the topic is quite under-studied - but you've just piqued my interest and this is definitely something I will look into in the future! Perhaps you have come across some other investigator's interpretation of the science that does say our conversion is insufficient? Once I'm done with vitamin D it is my intention to update some of the other nutrients in this series like essential fatty acids and B12, so I will definitely address this when that time comes. Sorry I don't have a better answer for you at this time, though!
@@DrDesHarrington Hello Doc. Thanks again for your devotion to the cause. I really appreciated your reply. I found interesting the fact that indeed AA is vital for carnivores, that helps me understand why some vegan cat food are supplemented with AA, yet it appears we aren't in such a need as I haven't found any evidence about the necessity of supplementation in vegan human diets. Also your 'non-evidence-based opinion' is quite strong. I also think that our organisms have the ability to convert Linoleic acid or any other Omega 6 into AA just as much as we need. But, you said it perfectly, my interest is not that much about if we can not die but rather about some optimal functionality of our physiology, in order to bring the best life to our people.
I've gotta admit you made me check my notes and, surprisingly, even though there is some data about the precarious conversion of Omega 3 to EPA and DHA, that ratio isn't mentioned for O6...
If you allow me to explain my thought process, some of the teachers of my formation (of psychoneuroimmunology) explained that, as AA and EPA and DHA are needed for resolution of inflammation, it is important to eat 'real human food', refering to fish, eco-meat... When I found algae are a perfect source of EPA and DHA, I felt huge disappointment towards that previous statement and how easily it disregards the vegan approach, which I like to think is also 'human'.
They explained that the conversion of ALA and LA were low but only gave specific numbers for EPA and DHA. I then assumed AA obtention from LA was low too, as they insisted on how important it was to eat meat for that matter, but I can't really assure that there is a real evidence behind those statements... Again, it's kinda weird and makes me worry. I believe these teachers and me have not the same notion of holistic... Even though they are good on their disciplines I think they were a bit biased.
But I could be biased myself...
If you ever found out more information about this matter, I would love to hear about it.
Also, I found out that there are some interesting studies that AA is available from a plant-based source, a shroom called Morteriella. So, I really am relieved, as, if we ever find out AA is interesting to have in our diets, it is available through some AA Morteriella oil. Isn't that wonderful!?
@@TenTempeh Yes, the more I think about it the more I think this topic warrants further attention - would definitely be a great discussion for a video! Haha yes, there's always some random outlier plant or fungus that provides a nutrient of concern isn't there! I'm thinking duckweed for B12, UV-exposed button mushrooms for D2, etc. Will keep Morteriella in mind when it comes time for the video!
great vídeo
Very informative and helpful, thanks!
Is it okay to eat small fish like sardines?
come on bro u gotta cut this shit out.. ground flax seeds!? supplements to ease the mind!? gtfoh