Omega-3s (only needed in small quantities, high levels can cause problems) (omega-3 fats are chemically fragile, even mores than omega-6 fats). Omega-3 fatty acids prevent heart arrhythmias, depression, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and elevated triglyceride levels.¹

There are three types of omega-3 fatty acids:

1. Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) is a long-chain omega-3 fatty acid found in cold-water fatty fish, such as salmon. EPA has positive effects on coronary heart disease by lowering high triglycerides (fats in the blood), blood pressure, and inflammation. Some studies suggest EPA also reduces symptoms of depression.²
2. Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) is a polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acid that is found mostly in fatty fish, such as salmon, eggs, and in very small amounts in seaweed. DHA is a primary structural component of the human brain, nervous system, eyes, and cell membranes. The body can convert EPA into DHA.^3,4
3. Alpha-Linolenic Acid (ALA) is a short-chain omega-3 fatty acid found in small amounts in meats and plant products, though it is found in large amounts in soy, walnuts, vegetable oils, flaxseed oil, hempseed oil, and chia seed oil. The human body can convert ALA into EPA and DHA; the conversion from ALA to EPA is efficient while the conversion from ALA into DHA is not and requires large amounts of ALA to produce necessary amounts of DHA. ALA is essential for aerobic metabolism.⁵

Do you take fish oil? The fish oil industry is now a multi-billion dollar industry; we consume over 100,000 tons of fish oil every year.

There are a number of things in fish oil that we do not want to be exposed to. Researchers recently looked at 13 over-the-counter dietary supplements to measure their levels of PCBs, toxic industrial pollutants that have contaminated our oceans. PCBs were detected in ALL products. The researchers concluded that contaminant exposure from the daily ingestion of these products may likely off-set the positive health effects.⁶

In 2012, researchers evaluated the effect of omega-3 fish oil supplementation on all-cause mortality, cardiac death, sudden death, myocardial infarction, and stroke. Overall, they found no protective benefit from supplementation on lifespan, cardiac death, sudden death, heart attack, and stroke. From the study, the researchers write, “Our findings do not justify the use of omega-3 as a structured intervention in everyday clinical practice or guidelines supporting dietary omega-3 PUFA administration.”⁷ With algae-derived DHA, you can get the benefits of omega 3s without the contaminant risks.⁸

Note: Omega-3 fat is rather unstable, meaning that it can become easily damaged by sitting on a store shelf for too long or being exposed to sunlight (if you eat omega-3s in capsule form). Damaged omega-3 fats are highly toxic to our bodies.