Omega-3’s: What All Vegans Need to Know
Omega-3s, we all need them, but if you’re a vegan getting enough of them could be challenging. Why? Because until recently, the only way to ensure you were meeting your daily intake of Omega-3 was by eating fatty fish or taking fish or krill oil based supplements For those of us who don’t eat fish, this obviously poses a bit of a conundrum, but now it is just as easy for vegans to get their recommended Omega-3 intake, as it is for anyone else!
The Health Benefits of Omega-3’s
There are three different types of essential Omega-3 fatty acids, all of which are essential to good health:
- Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA):ALA can benefit hair and nails, and is the Omega-3 that is found in flax, chia and hemp seeds, as well as some leafy greens.
- Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA): This Omega-3 not only helps with brain development and function, but also with cardiovascular, eye and joint health. It can even help improve your general mood! DHA is found in fatty fish, eggs and some meats, but not in many plant foods, with the exception of microalgae.
- Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA): EPA also plays a role in cardiovascular and joint health, as well as brain function, but in a different way than DHA. Essentially, Omega-3 EPA and DHA work together, by complementing the health benefits of each another. Thus, in order to ensure you are getting the most out of your Omega-3 supplement, it is crucial to find a one that contains both EPA and DHA.
What Happens if you Don’t get Enough Omega-3’s?
As you can see, Omega-3’s are a crucial component to our overall health and their deficiency can contribute to developing health conditions from fatigue, poor memory, immune system issues, dry skin, eczema, hair loss, cardiovascular problems and poor circulation, to mood swings and depressive symptoms. It’s important to know that all of these unpleasant outcomes are avoidable as long as you stay mindful of how much Omega-3 you are getting every day. And yes, because we can’t store Omega-3’s, you must reach your recommended daily requirements, each and every day in order to achieve your best health.
How to Get Your ALA, EPA & DHA
For vegans, getting enough ALA is a piece of cake, as long as you are eating your fill of flaxseeds, hempseeds, chia seeds and leafy green vegetables. But, remember that ALA is just one of three of these essential Omega-3’s that we need for our bodies to function properly. Now, you might have heard that ALA can be converted into EPA and DHA, and while this is true the conversion ratio of ALA intake to EPA / DHA conversion is extremely poor. Thus, what is known as preformed EPA and DHA must be taken, since the vegan diet alone can’t provide enough of them.
Vegan-Friendly Omega-3’s: Straight From the Source
Fortunately, vegan-friendly Omega-3 EPA & DHA supplements can offer all of the benefits of the Omega-3’s found in fish or krill oil based supplements, thanks to our plant friends, microalgae. In fact, microalgae are actually the original source of Omega-3’s, not fish or krill. Not only are microalgae sourced in a sustainable way, but you are getting your Omega-3’s as nature intended, from a pure and contaminant free source!
What’s also exciting about these algae-derived supplements is that science says they work! Specifically, these supplements been shown to have nutritional availability comparable to eating a large piece of cooked salmon, and evidence supports that they increase Omega-3 levels drastically, in vegans and vegetarians!
Next Generation Algae-Derived Omega-3 Supplements
When algae-based Omega-3 supplements first hit the market a few years ago, they were in their infancy. Often, they contained little or no DHA, and as we saw BOTH of these nutrients work with each other in order for your body to function at its best!
Luckily, the next generation of algae-based Omega-3 supplements, is HERE and lightyears away from where they began! Meet AstaMatrix®, a cutting-edge, 100% plant-based, Omega-3 EPA & DHA supplement, specifically designed with vegans in mind. AstaMatrix® not only provides you with 500mg of preformed EPA & DHA extracted from sustainably sourced microalgae, but it also contains phospholipids, as well as astaxanthin and delta-tocotrienol, which are two potent antioxidants that also have unparalleled anti-inflammatory properties! If you’re ready to get your daily dose of Omega-3’s and so much more, the synergistic blend of plant-based nutrients in AstaMatrix® is for you!
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