most of you are likely familiar with flax seeds and flax oil. And your knowledge likely resides somewhere between “flax is good for me” to “flax has alpha linolenic acid, which can be converted to the powerful fatty acid, EPA”.
Regardless of your pre-existing knowledge, here’s a little primer.
Primarily, flax contains alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid. ALA falls under the subheading of polyunsatured fat.
Humans evolved on diets consisting of marine life and/or inland plants which provided abundant omega-3 fats. This resulted in an omega-6/omega-3 ratio that was around 1:1.
Currently, humans don’t get nearly enough omega-3 fats from things like flax, hemp, walnut, perilla, salba, and fish oil. As a result, most people consume a ratio of about 16:1 – an intake that’s out of balance.
Therefore, purposefully adding omega-3 rich fats has become not only popular, but necessary. And the two most popular omega 3 foods are flax seeds and fish oil.