Omega-3 Fatty Acids: What Role Do They Play?

by Shereen Jegtvig

Fats can be confusing.  Some are bad for you, if you eat too much of them, like the saturated fats and trans fats, but some are good for you, like the polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.  But you even have to be a little careful with the good fats, because all fats are high in calories.  One gram of fat has nine calories, almost twice as much as the same amount of carbohydrate or protein.  You need fats, but not a lot of them and some, like the omega-3 fats are essential – your body can’t make them for you – so you need to get them from your diet.

Omega-3 fats are necessary for good health – they’ll help protect your heart, slow down macular degeneration (the leading cause of blindness in the elderly), and reduce inflammation in your body.  Your brain and nervous system need omega-3 fats for normal function, and in fact, it’s crucial for pregnant women to get lots of omega-3 fats during the third trimester of pregnancy as well as through the first three months of nursing, so that the baby’s brain and eyes develop normally.

Omega-3 fats are found in both plant and animal foods, with the highest concentrations found in fish (especially, salmon, tuna, sardines and trout), flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, canola oil, walnuts and soybeans.  Although many Americans eat diets that are too high in fat, they are usually deficient in these essential omega-3 fats.  You can increase your omega-3 fat intake by eating more fish instead of red meat, and by using canola oil in place of regular vegetable oil for cooking.  Walnuts and pumpkin seeds are good for snacking.  You can also use flax seed oil for making dressings or to add to cooked dishes – just don’t use flax seed oil as a cooking oil.  It’s too delicate and breaks down too easily.

Since omega-3 fats are becoming better known, you’ll find them added to some foods in order to make them healthier. Sometimes these fortified foods are called functional foods – there are a few brands of peanut butter, margarine and other products that fall into this category.  But other than the functional foods that display their omega-3 content prominently on the label, you really need to know which foods contain the most omega-3 fats. Unlike saturated fat and trans-fat content, omega-3 fat content doesn’t have to be listed on the product, so Nutrition Facts labels probably won’t really help you there.

However, you can use the Nutrition Facts labels to be sure that processed foods containing omega-3 fats don’t contain lots of sodium, calories or unhealthy fats in addition to the good fats.  Or you can simply take a look on our FoodEssentials tool.

For example, canned salmon is rich in omega-3 fats and very convenient, but some brands contain too much sodium:

Bumble Bee Pink Steak Fillet Lightly Marinated w/Teriyaki contains more than one quarter of a day’s limit on sodium for healthy people and almost half of a day’s worth of sodium for a person on a sodium restricted diet.  Look for canned salmon that’s low in sodium and doesn’t contain extra oils that just add calories you don’t need.

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