Health Care Advice

Foods Containing Omega 3 Fatty Acids

A list of foods containing omega 3 fatty acids is relatively short when compared to a list of foods containing omega 6 fatty acids. A list of long chain omega 3 foods is even shorter and in fact consists of only one food: fish.

The distinction between foods containing omega 3’s and omega 6’s is made, because the average diet contains too many omega 6 foods and not enough omega 3 foods. Many people consume ten times the amount of omega 6 as omega 3 (some as much as 30 times). This is a recipe for a health disaster.

Experts believe that four times or lower would be excellent and that consuming too many omega 6 foods relative to omega 3 foods increases the probability of a number of diseases, heart disease in particular.

There are many foods containing omega 3 fatty acids in small amounts, but these foods usually contain omega 6 fatty acids as well, so in order to maintain the best balance doctors often recommend omega 3 supplements.

Short chain omega 3 foods are plant sources like flaxseed, chia, purslane, lingonberry, and hemp. These are foods containing omega 3 fatty acids known as ALA. The body must convert this ALA to the long chain omega 3 fatty acids DHA and EPA. However, this conversion happens inefficiently in many people for various reasons.

When it comes to meat, good omega 3 foods are: organic eggs (look for ones that say high omega 3 content on the label, which you can find at most supermarkets nowadays); and look to purchase grassfed meats — such as grassfed beef, chicken, lamb, etc. These are much more pricy than typical store bought meats — you have to go to specialty stores or your local farmer’s market usually to find them.

The problem with most meats nowadays is that they are mass produced, and grain-fed. Only grassfed meats — not grainfed — are foods containing omega 3 fatty acids.

Many doctors recommend that vegan diets include an algae oil supplement, since such people will not use the best omega 3 source — high quality fish oil supplements — because algae oil contains DHA and EPA fatty acids.

The most common foods containing omega 3 fatty acids of the long chain variety are fish. Because of mercury contamination risks, doctors and environmental experts make the following recommendations: avoid fish that come from the Atlantic Ocean which is particularly polluted.

A relatively new addition to the omega 3 foods list is a fish called the Hoki, which contains naturally high levels of DHA and EPA fatty acids and comes from New Zealand where the waters are pristine.

People who do not like any of the foods containing omega 3 fatty acids may want to consider a fish oil supplement which is tasteless and actually helps the cells of the body absorb other substances like calcium. A fish oil supplement should be purified or pharmaceutical quality. Hoki fish oil is a good choice.

Since the omega 3 foods list or foods containing omega 3 fatty acids is so short, an omega 3 supplement containing purified fish oil may be the best choice for a healthy diet.

Having learned about the best foods containing omega 3 fatty acids, why not discover the highest quality omega 3 fish oil supplement that we personally take after doing extensive product research at http://www.omega-3-fish-oil-guide.com/Fish_Oil_Products.html.

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Irritable bowel syndrome is the most common gastrointestinal diagnosis yet it is not really a disease nor does it have confirmatory diagnostic tests. Rather, it is diagnosed based on a constellation of symptoms and the absence of other diagnoses. Common symptoms attributed to IBS are abdominal pain, cramping, diarrhea, bloating and excess gas. Celiac disease or gluten sensitivity is a common but frequently missed gastrointestinal diagnosis. Ingestion of gluten containing foods in affected individuals commonly causes symptoms attributed to IBS that are relieved with gluten-free diet in at least 10-20% of people misdiagnosed with IBS. Other food intolerances are also a likely a cause of IBS symptoms that may improve with avoidance of certain foods.

IBS is a diagnosis of exclusion. Other causes of symptoms of abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, or alternating constipation and diarrhea should be excluded by doctor’s review of medical history, a physical exam and some screening laboratory tests and arguably a colonoscopy. The other conditions that traditionally doctors are most concerned about excluding include inflammatory bowel diseases (ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease) and cancer. Less worrisome but treatable conditions that need to be excluded include lactose intolerance, intestinal infections especially parasites like giardia, and food intolerance. Celiac disease though now known to be very common, affecting approximately one percent of the U.S. population, has been largely ignored as a possible cause of IBS symptoms. Most primary care physicians are aware that diarrhea is a common symptom of Celiac disease but not that it may present in adults and be associated with constipation. Most doctors are unaware that the prevalence of Celiac disease in IBS patients may be as high as 20%.

Typical lab tests ordered by doctors screening for more serious intestinal diseases that may mimick IBS include a complete blood count (CBC) looking for signs of blood loss or anemia (low hemoglobin or hematocrit), signs of inflammation or infection (high white blood cell count and/or platelet count) and stool tests for blood (fecal occult blood test or FOBT) or white blood cells (WBCs or fecal leukocytes). The stool tests are looking for signs of bleeding, infection or inflammation of the intestine. IBS does not cause bleeding or intestinal inflammation whereas inflammatory bowel disease, infection or cancer may. Normal tests are reassurring though do not exclude more serious disease. Most gastroenterologists believe a colonoscopy should be performed.

However, most doctors, even many gastroenterologists, fail to test for Celiac disease though it is common and screening blood tests exist. The reasons for this are many and are more fully explained elsewhere. However, the common incidence, presence of screening tests and available treatment should make screening for Celiac disease part of the standard evaluation of all patients presenting with symptoms suggestive of IBS before that diagnosis is established.

More recently, food intolerance other than gluten or wheat have been suggested as a treatable cause of IBS. Blood tests for a type of antibody known as IgG have been advocated by several researchers as being helpful for advising people about eliminating or avoiding certain foods as a treatment of IBS. Recent evidence suggests that a significant reduction of IBS symptoms can be achieved in people who avoid foods based on elevated IgG antibodies to foods. Atkinson et. al 2004 reported 10-26% improvement in symptoms in patients compared with controls. Deterioration was noted in those who relaxed their dietary restriction of foods they had avoided because of elevated antibody levels. These findings require further validation and are facing significant resistance to acceptance by many in the medical community, especially in the U.S. However, elimination diets have long been reported effective by many people. The possibility of food intolerance as a reversible cause of symptoms attributed to a syndrome with little other effective treatments except mostly ineffective treatments in the past and very new medications with limited efficacy and unproven long term safety should prompt further studies and an openness to dietary trials.

If you have been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome I recommend you confirm that Celiac disease has been excluded. Food intolerance should also be considered though testing may not be covered by your insurance and/or accepted by your doctor as valid. Elimination of common foods and their proteins causing intolerance, wheat, barley and rye (gluten); cow’s milk protein (casein); soy; and peanuts is worth a try. Be sure to keep a food-symptom diary and re-introduce one food or food protein back into your diet at a time. One diet that effectively eliminates all the major food proteins causing intolerances but may be difficult to follow is the paleo diet (www.thepaleodiet.com).

1. Hoey. “Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Could it be Celiac Disease?” Can Med J. 2002; 166:479-80

2. Sander et al, “Association of Adult Coeliac Disease with Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Case-Control Study in Patients Fulfilling Rome II Criteria Referred to Secondary Care.” Lancet. 2001; 358:1504-8

2. Atkinson W; Sheldon TA; Shaath N; Wharwell PJ. “Food elimination bsed on IgG antibodies in irritable bowel syndrome; a randomised controlled trial.” Gut 2004; 53:1459-1464.

3. Isolauri E; Rautava S; Kalliamaki M. “Food allergy in irritable bowel syndrome: new facts and old fallacies.” Gut 2004; 53:1391-3.

Dr. Scot Lewey is a physician who is subspecialty trained and board certified in gastroenterology (diseases of the digestive tract) that has over 20 years of experience as an expert clinician, researcher, lecturer and author of more than twenty articles, book chapters, and scientific abstracts. His special interests include Celiac disease, food intolerance and allergies, colitis, Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome & reflux.

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All carbohydrates are not the same. Generally it is assumed that simple carbohydrates are not good for health as they increase blood glucose levels rapidly, and complex carbohydrates are good because they have a slower effect on glucose levels. But this is not always true. Recent work into the Glycemic Index (GI) has changed the understanding of the relationship between ingested carbohydrates and blood glucose levels.

The glycemic index is a measure of how fast a carbohydrate triggers to raise the blood sugar. The higher the number, the greater the blood sugar response. On this basis, all carbohydrates can be assigned a value, known as glycemic index, compared to glucose. The glucose is the fastest releasing carbohydrate so it has been assigned a glycemic value of 100. A high glycemic index value for a food indicates that it results in a rapid rise in blood glucose levels and hence a spike in insulin response. Conversely, a low GI value indicates a slow rise in blood glucose and insulin levels.

The glycemic index is a better method for classifying good and bad carbohydrates as it relies
upon actual blood glucose response. Let us compare the GI of two carbohydrates. Maltodextri, a glucose polymer is a complex carbohydrate, has a GI of ~100 . This means that it rapidly raises blood glucose levels. Fructose, on the other hand is a simple carbohydrate with GI of only ~20. If we do not look at their GI values, we will assume that maltodextri is better than fructose because the former is a complex carbohydrate and the later one is a simple carbohydrate. Consult glycemic index list of foods for making a low glycemic index diet.

Benefits of Glycemic Index (GI)

• Can help to control diabetes.
  
• Improves insulin sensitivity and efficiency.
  
• Reduces appetite for quick sugars and carbohydrates, thus avoiding
  blood sugar spike.
  
• Can help people lose weight.
  
• Can help lower blood cholesterol.
  
• Can help to reduce the risk of heart disease.
  

Copyright 2005 P. Mehta www.fatfreekitchen.com

This article has been written by http://www.fatfreekitchen.com For more information on glycemic index and glycemic load, visit the web site
glycemic index and glycemic load

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