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non-fish sources of omega 3?

Tammie

Senior Member
Messages
793
Location
Woodridge, IL
I was taking fish oil and it was doing me a lot of good, but over the last yr I have become unable to tolerate a bunch of different foods and supplements, and this is one of the ones I cannot take - it will not stay down at all....I am definitely noticing the difference and it is not good

so, I was wondering what other sources of omega 3's other like to use...oh hemp is also out
 

MEKoan

Senior Member
Messages
2,630
Hi Tammie

I'm a vegetarian who benefits from Omega 3 lcfa. I take a product called Udo's Choice which is a blend of vegetable oils. The main constituent is flaxseed oil which is good and inexpensive. The other oils in this blend include borage and evening primrose in much smaller quantities.

Walnuts are also a good source as are some other nuts. There are lots of good lcfa sources other than fish.
 

Tammie

Senior Member
Messages
793
Location
Woodridge, IL
Thanks for the responses....I will have to see if I can tolerate any of these....hopefully at least one or two will stay down
 

Jody

Senior Member
Messages
4,636
Location
Canada
Some people who can't hack fish oil have switched to krill oil and find it's ok.

Also, there seems to be a difference in fish oils. I don't know what brands are better than others, (and some have problems with capsules but not liquid, and vice versa). But I have run into one brand that upset my stomach, even though a few others caused me no problems. So maybe try a different brand?
 

Victoria

Senior Member
Messages
1,377
Location
Melbourne, Australia
Some people who can't hack fish oil have switched to krill oil and find it's ok.

Also, there seems to be a difference in fish oils. I don't know what brands are better than others, (and some have problems with capsules but not liquid, and vice versa). But I have run into one brand that upset my stomach, even though a few others caused me no problems. So maybe try a different brand?

I agree wholeheartedly with you, Jody,

Many people can tolerate one brand of any supplement, over another brand.

I take Thompson's Pure Salmon Oil (NZ company). 3 x 1000gr in the morning & 3 1000gr in the evening (total 6000gr).

Flaxseed oil also is high in omega 3 (but very expenisve & you need to keep it in the fridge & use fairly quickly - it goes rancid fairly rapidly). I prefer to buy organic flaxseeds (much cheaper) & grind them fresh every other day. I keep my flaxseeds in the fridge. You DO need to grind them, though. The tough outer shell cannot be broken down by the stomach & the seeds will go straight through your digestive system & down the toilet bowl if they aren't ground first.

I eat organic walnuts every day (& next in line in the nut selection is macadaemia nuts).

I also have a couple of meals of fresh salmon every week. And there's John West tinned red salmon on my shelf for occasional salmon & salad lunches. John West is my favourite brand, but there are plenty of cheaper brands on the supermarket shelf.

There are other non fish sources of omega 3's.
 

Tammie

Senior Member
Messages
793
Location
Woodridge, IL
I agree wholeheartedly with you, Jody,

Many people can tolerate one brand of any supplement, over another brand.

I take Thompson's Pure Salmon Oil (NZ company). 3 x 1000gr in the morning & 3 1000gr in the evening (total 6000gr).

Flaxseed oil also is high in omega 3 (but very expenisve & you need to keep it in the fridge & use fairly quickly - it goes rancid fairly rapidly). I prefer to buy organic flaxseeds (much cheaper) & grind them fresh every other day. I keep my flaxseeds in the fridge. You DO need to grind them, though. The tough outer shell cannot be broken down by the stomach & the seeds will go straight through your digestive system & down the toilet bowl if they aren't ground first.

I eat organic walnuts every day (& next in line in the nut selection is macadaemia nuts).

I also have a couple of meals of fresh salmon every week. And there's John West tinned red salmon on my shelf for occasional salmon & salad lunches. John West is my favourite brand, but there are plenty of cheaper brands on the supermarket shelf.

There are other non fish sources of omega 3's.

Jody and Victoria,

Thanks for the suggestions.

I have tried several different brands, and in capsule and liquid form, so I don't think that's it

....I can no longer eat fish, either (& fish is one of my favorite foods - this stinks!).....actually I have become extremely limited as to what foods and supplements I can keep down.....my diet is getting nutritionally scary and depressingly boring.

If some of the other suggestions don't work, I may try the krill oil, though, so it is good to know that it might be better tolerated. Walnuts and flaxseed might work, too. I will definitely have to try those, although the expensive part stinks ( & I don't htink I am up to grinding them myself at this point - maybe someday if I ever feel a little better......good to know about the unground seeds, though - I had never read or heard that before)
 

IntuneJune

Senior Member
Messages
562
Location
NorthEastern USA
Tammie

Please correct me if I am wrong, however I don't believe the walnuts need to be ground. I chop walnuts and include them in my salads, yummy. It's hard to be excited abouteeating when the diet is limited, so varying how you use the ingredients helps some.

June
 

Frickly

Senior Member
Messages
1,049
Location
Texas
Omega 3 recipe

I found a great recipe for Omega 3's. This seems like a good place to share it:

ENERGY BALLS

1/2 cup 100% Naturaol Peanut butter
1tsp honey or agave nectar
11/2 cups flax seed meal
1/2 cup raisins or 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (I crushed up a dairy free dark chocolate bar)

Mix all ingredients together and roll up into bite-sized balls and refrigerate for at least an hour before eating. (In addition, I rolled the balls in extra flax seed meal before refrigerating)

Note: You can buy the flax seeds already ground.
 
K

_Kim_

Guest
Ch..Ch..Ch..Chia

Yup, the ol' Chia pet has made a comeback.

Chia seeds are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and fiber. The small seeds can be mixed in water or juice, sprinkled on cereal or salads, or can be ground and mixed with flour and baked. I put a spoonful a day in my kefir. Yum.

Chia seed is similar to flaxseed, and since there have been government warnings regarding flaxseed, I feel safer eating chia seeds.

shaggychia.jpg






 

Tammie

Senior Member
Messages
793
Location
Woodridge, IL
Tammie

Please correct me if I am wrong, however I don't believe the walnuts need to be ground. I chop walnuts and include them in my salads, yummy. It's hard to be excited abouteeating when the diet is limited, so varying how you use the ingredients helps some.

June

sorry I guess I was a bit unclear about that.....it is the flaxseed that needs to be ground, not the walnuts
 

Tammie

Senior Member
Messages
793
Location
Woodridge, IL
I found a great recipe for Omega 3's. This seems like a good place to share it:

ENERGY BALLS

1/2 cup 100% Naturaol Peanut butter
1tsp honey or agave nectar
11/2 cups flax seed meal
1/2 cup raisins or 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (I crushed up a dairy free dark chocolate bar)

Mix all ingredients together and roll up into bite-sized balls and refrigerate for at least an hour before eating. (In addition, I rolled the balls in extra flax seed meal before refrigerating)

Note: You can buy the flax seeds already ground.

ooooh, that sounds really good......peanut butter has become a bit iffy for me (but not nearly as bad as many other foods), but I still eat it on occassion bc it is so yummy.....will have to try this
 

Tammie

Senior Member
Messages
793
Location
Woodridge, IL
Yup, the ol' Chia pet has made a comeback.

Chia seeds are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and fiber. The small seeds can be mixed in water or juice, sprinkled on cereal or salads, or can be ground and mixed with flour and baked. I put a spoonful a day in my kefir. Yum.

Chia seed is similar to flaxseed, and since there have been government warnings regarding flaxseed, I feel safer eating chia seeds.








thanks for the info.....did not know that about chia pets : )

as to the flaxseed cocnerns, I went to the links and admittedly went thru them quickly, so I might have missed something, but I didn't see the reasons behind the cocner - just that there is soem concern......I will have to go back and read them more thoroughly later, but do you know more about this?
 

Calathea

Senior Member
Messages
1,261
I've been using echium oil as it's meant to be the best vegetarian alternative to fish oil, and recently discovered that I should probably be getting DHA as well as EPA so I added algae oil (I'm vegan). I'm also taking some starflower oil in the hope that it will improve hormonal stuff, PMDD and the like. Now I'm reading about ALA and flaxseed oil and am feeling fairly lost as to what combinations I should be taking of what! I do know that the echium and algae oils are madly expensive, and I would love to be able to replace some of them with something cheaper.

ETA: And then I noticed that it's the wrong ALA in flaxseed oil anyway, alpha linolenic acid instead of alpha linoleic acid. Bah.
 

Whit

Senior Member
Messages
399
Location
Bay Area
It's not a great idea to take vegetable oil capsules. The oil is not that stable and will likely be rancid long before you take them. Consuming rancid oil is worse than not getting the omegas I would think. Flax is hard to get fresh even in seed form let alone the oil, there is a lot of time between when it is harvested to when you get it at the store, and it isn't that stable. The reason flax is bitter is because it is rancid. Also, some people cannot absorb the omegas from Flax in the first place.

I would try other brands of fish oil. I'm taking NOW Super EPA as recommended by my nutritionist because they are potent and cheap. It's not straight fish oil, so maybe you could tolerate it better.

And you should keep fish oil in the freezer to keep it from going rancid.
 

Lou

Senior Member
Messages
582
Location
southeast US
Hi Tammie,

Another consideration: apparently there's now more emphasis placed on importance of using 'parent' omega 3 and 6 oils and their ratio. There's one by YES brand called Ultimate EFA's that is organically produced and is cold-pressed seed oils containing parent omega 3 & 6 oils.
I buy it at Advancedbionutrionals on web and have found it to be an excellent product. No idea, however, if you can tolerate it any better than what you've been taking. Good luck.
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
i know in australia at the moment they are selling high strength fishoil tablets where 1 tab equals 4-5 normal fish oil tabs, also a fishoil liquid without the fishy taste which is suppose to be a high concentration of omega 3 oils too. There was also eggs that had omega 3 oils in them , came from chickens fed high omega oil grains, i dont think they were ultra potent but in combo with other supps could help too.

cheers!!
 
Messages
16
Has anyone tried the Slice of Life Gummy Omega 3-6-9 Fish-free supplement? The company's website says the omegas come from cranberry seed oil rather than fish oil. I've never heard of cranberry seed oil as a source of omegas before.