Raising
vegan and vegetarian children.
Enjoying a healthy life. |
Omega 3 and
Omega 6
Fatty Acids
By Terry Jensen
The assumption that fat is bad has permeated our society for twenty
years. Fat phobia may be even more prevalent among vegetarians and vegans. Overwhelming
information exists to show this is a serious flaw in our thinking.
Don’t rush to fill your ice-cream bowl, wolf down some tempura,
or consume a breakfast of eggs and pancakes, however, because the types of fat eaten still
remain at the root of our health problems.
However, in our rush to throw out the bad fats, we have also disposed
of the good fats AND created an unhealthy ratio of essential fatty acids.
Brenda Davis, RD and Vesanto Melina, MS, RD in their excellent book
"Becoming Vegan" write that our current food supply provides 10-20 times as much
omega-6 fatty acids as omega-3 fatty acids.
Whether we are vegetarians and vegans consuming a predominantly
all-plant diet with no fish, or omnivores who eat grain-fed meats, dairy, and fish, we are
at risk of serious implications for health and chronic diseases without special care.
QUICK FAT PRIMER
The main components of all fats are the fatty acids which are
saturated (SFA), monounsaturated (MUFA) or polyunsaturated (PUFA). Trans fatty acids (TFA)
are man-made.
Fats containing a high proportion of saturated fatty acids or trans
fatty acids are solid at room temperature. Saturated fats are usually derived from animal
sources e.g. lard, suet, and butter. That steak and chicken you avoid as a vegetarian is
filled with saturated fats as are dairy foods and eggs that you also avoid as a vegan.
Surely every vegetarian knows that saturated fatty acids from animal products have
consistently been linked to vascular diseases and many forms of cancer. We will skip that
for now.
Trans fatty acids are produced when liquid oils are hydrogenated to
form hard, stable fats. The hydrogen atoms are rearranged during food processing to
improve shelf life of foods, increase the melting point of fat (good for deep-frying), and
permit high temperature cooking. Excellent for shelf life at Kroger and HIGHLY damaging to
your health.
In the US diet, about 90% of trans fatty acids come from hydrogenated
fats in processed foods while only about 10% come from meat and dairy products. Davis and
Melina write, "Gram for gram, trans fatty acids appear to be 2 to 4 times as damaging
as saturated fatty acids."
Unfortunately, trans fatty acids often form a large part of a
vegetarian’s diet as eaten in dairy products, margarine, french fries and other
deep-fried foods plus crackers, cookies, supermarket bread, and snacks. They are less
prevalent in vegan diets since many baked goods contain eggs or milk. Healthy people avoid
trans fatty acids!
Most plant fats are high in either polyunsaturated or monounsaturated
fats--except palm and coconut fats which are highly saturated.
Saturated and monounsaturated fats are not necessary in the diet as
they can be made in the human body.
Two polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) which cannot be made in the
body are linoleic acid (LA) and alpha-linolenic acid (LNA). They must be provided by diet
and are known as essential fatty acids. Within the body both can be converted to other
PUFAs such as arachidonic acid (AA), or eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic
acid (DHA).
American diets, whether vegetarian or omnivore, get more than enough
Omega-6 fatty acid and its offspring AA or arachidonic acid. However, all American diets
lack Omega-3 fatty acid and its offspring eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic
acid (DHA).
FISH
Unfortunately, fish is the most well-known source of omega-3's EPA
and DHA, especially cold water fatty fish. Plants provide little, if any, long-chain fatty
acids (with the exception of single-celled ocean plants and some seaweeds) so vegetarians
and particularly vegans must be careful here. Eggs supply a small amount of EPA and DHA
while dairy products supply AA. Hold on to that information, ovo-lacto vegetarians; it is
important.
Fish get EPA and DHA from algae (microscopic plants) that are
consumed by small fish which in turn are eaten by larger fish. We can do this also by
taking microalgae supplements. Three problems here:
- The amounts of EPA and DHA vary tremendously with current available
cultures containing adequate DHA but very small amounts of EPA.
- I could only find this supplement available in a gel cap, although
vegetarians can squeeze it out of the cap and use it as a liquid supplement.
- Although we are a nation of pill poppers, Mary Ryzner, MS, RD reminds
us that NO supplements can keep us healthy or cure various disease conditions. In
contrast, she continues, food provides us with a wide variety of naturally-occurring
health-promoting substances, many of which have not yet been identified.
Since eating a healthy, well-balanced diet is definitely preferable
to pills and eating a vegetarian diet is preferable to most of us for many reasons, which
foods supply vegetarians with the essential fatty acids we need? |
Free Newsletter
Vegetarian Dining News
Published 1 to 2 times monthly.
Covering Dallas-Fort Worth vegetarian news, vegetarian education, veggie events,
vegetarian-friendly restaurants, and vegan recipes.
Building a vegetarian community
in Dallas-Fort Worth, TX Metroplex.
Subscribe by sending name/email address to
Email here
Information kept private. |
About
Green Building and Energy-Efficient Homes in DFW
|
