The Importance Of Healthy Fats

                                                                                   Photo by Farhad Ibrahimzade on Unsplash

Since the start of Covid, more and more people have become interested in their health.  I am thrilled to hear that.  I also have taken note that those people might not truly understand why Omega 3’s are the most important fats to include in their daily diet.

What are Omega 3 fatty acids? Omega-3 fatty acids are a family of important fats that you must obtain from your diet. They are essential to have daily, since our bodies don’t naturally make it.  The three main types are ALA, EPA, and DHA.

For ALA, your body mainly uses it for energy. ALA is found in foods like flax seeds, flaxseed oil, chia seeds, walnuts, hemp seeds & soybeans. Add ground flax, chia or hemp to smoothies, breakfasts, baked goods, and more.

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is mostly found in animal products, such as fatty fish and fish oil. However, some micro algae also contain EPA.

DHA is the most important omega-3 fatty acid in your body. It’s a key structural component of your brain, the retina of your eyes, and numerous other body parts. Like EPA, it occurs mainly in animal products like fatty fish (wild salmon is an excellent source) and fish oil. Meat, eggs, and dairy from grass-fed animals also tend to contain significant amounts.

Vegetarians and vegans often lack DHA and should take microalgae supplements to make sure they get enough of this omega-3 .

Some of the benefits of Omega 3’s are:  it can help fight depression and anxiety, can improve eye health, brain health during pregnancy and beyond, can reduce symptoms of ADHD in children, help fight inflammation, improve heart health, can fight mental decline, may improve bone and joint health and much more.

The risks of not having Omega 3’s on a daily basis are:  Dry skin, dry hair, dry eyes, brittle nails, fatigue and trouble sleeping, joint pain, allergies, asthma, hives, heart problems and more.

As you can see, the benefits outweigh the risks by far.  I highly recommend you start incorporating foods high in Omega 3 and include a supplement with Omega 3, as foods might not be enough at first. Notice improvements after a month or two.  The goal is to incorporate Omega 3’s daily, as our bodies don’t naturally make it.