Thursday, June 19, 2008

Omega-3's!

Boy am I being a slacker. Another interjection:

Lately, I've been overloading on Omega-3's, because I don't think I was getting enough before. It's difficult to get as a vegan, so many soy products are fortified. Take those out of your diet and you're not left with many options. My suggestions include flax oil, milled flax seed, walnuts, and nutrition bars. I sneak milled flax seed into my cereal, sanwiches, even entrees. The taste is barely there, its low-fat and inexpensive. With 3-4 tablespoons of milled flax seed everyday, I am ingesting more than the recommended amount of around 1.5g (wikipedia). I think this is a good idea for the following reasons:

Omega-3's play a significant role in brain function because they are a major component of the brain--8 percent!--mostly in myelin sheaths. Recent research suggests that an increased intake of Omega-3's can help with depression, anxiety, and other mental issues like autism. (wikipedia)

Omega-3's are potentially beneficial for so many other conditions as well--circulation, cholesterol, etc.

I can tell the difference already in the condition of my hair and skin. My hair started behaving so much better--silky soft and not frizzy--just over a week after I started supplementation. Also, I have less dry skin, though this could be the weather. Still, I am encouraged by the obvious physical benefits.

Getting Omega-3's from plant sources is much safer than from animal products, for reasons all good vegans should be familiar with (growth hormones, mercury...). I would recommend adding a little flax seed to your diet, even if you aren't veg. Only the milled stuff though, as the whole seeds will not digest.
Digg this

5 comments:

Garrett said...

One thing I like to do is get the whole flax seeds and grind them in either a blender or coffee grinder — depending on what's available. (You can grind a little bit ahead of time, but it's best to do it right before you use them.)

Also, it's good to store the flax seeds in the fridge, as that helps preservation.

Anonymous said...

Hi, this is unrelated but i couldn't find a way to contact you directly. do you know of any vegan chocolate that doesn't have soy lecithin? it's pretty impossible for me to find

Meaghan said...

Be careful chopping up your own spices, though, as unsuspecting friends do not like cumin-flavoured coffee, although I didn't hate it.

I wonder how many omega-3's Clif bars have, as, owing in large part to their ridiculous convenience, they make up about 30% of my diet right now. I know, I know, but working 70+ hours a week doesn't exactly leave much time for cooking. O, the American Way.

I wonder if the smoking point of flax seed oil would make it a candidate for mixing with, say, olive, to fry up some veggies or toss with a salad or something...have to check Wikipedia. (...which my mother asserts is not a accurate source, which of course pegs her as a complete imbecile when it comes to understanding the internet. See the time that she called the cable company when I was too lazy to plug the ethernet cord back in and left it strewn about the computer chair.)

Anywho. Date soon?

Anonymous said...

hahah, i dunt worry about omega-3s one bit. I think it's out there to scare us folks, like with the whole "B12" (bull**** 12) and protein (pro-paganda-tein) propaganda out there.

I simply eat less, and eat if I need to eat, even lots of fruits, and I am just fine.

Cheers,

Wo Dao

Anonymous said...

I love to sneak flax into things! I've also started using chia, which is even higher in Omega-3 than flax. It's pretty cheap, too.

I just ran across your blog while googling for soy-free vegan recipes. I'll be reading you! If it's of any interest, I just started my own blog for soy-free vegan recipes. http://sanssoyvegan.wordpress.com
I'll add you to my links there!