Re: fishy omegas

[Guest guest]

HI ,

I enjoyed your post as I have pondered, questioned and researched these

same questions since becoming aware of all the omega info about 14

years ago. It has been interesting to watch the public awareness of it

all increase from practically non existant to it becoming almost

mainstream knowledge - not quite but almost! LOL

Dissen wrote:

Hello all!

Recently I seem to be going through a bit of a

crossroads. I seem to constantly be questioning

my veganism.

it is always good to qurstion everything. that way you expand yout

awareness and reach new heights!

Well, only in respect to fish. Ah

fish, the constant macrobiotic question it seems.

??

I have gone through that too.

I don't consume a lot of fish and probably this is not the place to

discuss it but I have gone through those issues too. I think I prefer

tempeh. Made my own tempeh from scratch last week!

Two things seem to

have sparked my concern again: First, I just

finished reading “Hip Chicks.” Secondly,

Omega-3 Fatty Acids. Nothing

in Hip Chicks bothered me, per say, but it just brought up the whole

fish issue again since it seemed as though she advocated eating fish

once or twice a week.

everyone has to make their own choices based on their own conditions -

the author is a 30 something female (who is definitely a hip chick and

very nice!) living in north america, a 60 year old man living in the

bahamas or a 14 year old girl living in norway would have different

requirments. People have different tastes, past diets, ancestry as

well. It is easy to be swayed by the ideas in great books but we still

have to think for ourselves and trust our own sens of rightness for us.

It is great to be inspired and get ideas though and stay opened minded.

Even if we don't incorporate the ideas into our lives we can always be

stretched by them. I find the Weston Price research very interesting

and there is a lot we can learn from it. I don't find the high

proportions of animal foods that many people aligning themselves with

this research currently (info indicates this was not the original way

it was to be interpreted - but more vegetable based) to be for me - but

the ideas of unredined foods, high vegetable intake and other ideas

about soaking grains etc and nutrient absorption is something that even

the most steadfast vegan can learn from and maximise their own health

and way of being vegan...

As for the Omega-3’s,

I

know that hemp, flax, soy, avocados, walnuts, etc. all have Omega-3’s

in them, but they only have the LNA kind. These

foods have no DHA and EPA in them even though there are in the Omega-3

family. Fish, of course, is a good source of

DHA and EPA. I know sea vegetables do have

them, but you would have to eat something around 100g to get an

appreciable amount. I know that there are

micro-algae supplements but they are all in gel caps which are not

vegan. Plus, I think the supplements are

lacking in either DHA or EPA, I can’t remember which.

Now, in my research, I have found that

the body is capable of converting LNA into DHA and EPA,

yes. That is supposedly cirrect

but this is

tricky and can only be done as long as your Omega-6 levels aren’t too

high,

that is one factor and the reason that most people eating a modern

standard western diet have problems - the vast consumption of omega 6

rich products from most vegetable oils. Even worse is the consumption

of trans fats and hydrogenated oils.

and since plant foods are so high in

Omega-6’s it seems even more

tricky.

not necessarily. In their unrefined form this does not seem to be a

problem. It is when they are consumed in concetrated forms such as

large quantities of safflower, sunflower, canola etc oil and even worse

soybean, refined corn and the dreaded cottonseed and unspecified

egeneric vegetable oil (cringe)

also deficiency of some nutrients - I think zinc is in there - is

another factor that inhibits the conversion.

some research indicated that the presence of certain health disorders

also preculdued the conversion, however it is my feeling that is is

actually the underlying nutritional conditions that contribute to these

disorders which also includes these nutrient deficiencies and the

imbalamced omega 3 to 6 ration that is the key and not the actual

dis-ease.

This balance

must be maintained at both

ends,

I think that in relative balance our bodies are able to handle this

quite well as they have been doing since time immemorial. It is only

the inclusion of highly unnatiral food stuff (non foods) that seems to

be confusing this innate intelligence.

the micro view is great and I immerse myself in that and think that it

is important to consider but in the absence of all this scientific

analysis our bodies given the right ingredients within loose and

forgiving boundaires are able to perform the tasks of sorting it out.

because over consumption of Omega-3

LNA can cause other fatty

acid metabolism problems.

if one consumed only flax seed oil like Udo Erasmus - a major player in

the omega education scene has been saying sure that is a problem. But

who lives on flax seed oil alone? (okay, okay, I have tried - LOL?!)

Even flax seed oil contains some omega 6 and 9. It is up to 60% omega

three so is our best source.

And udo now has an oild uspplement that uspposeldy supplies all the

omegas in the ratio they are required.

I have a problem with this and don't think it is a good idea. It may be

for Udo since he can patent his mix but not flax oil. My reasons are

this

people don't only consume fats in the form of supplements by a long shot

people consume sufficient omega 6 in their diets from wholegrains,

seeds and cooking oils

people consume enough omega 9 which is non essential anyway in olive

oil etc

most people don't consume enought omega 3. Even if they do eat fatty

fish etc.

small amounts of flax seed oil only bring the gorss imbalance into more

balance

this is only a problem if people are consuming really large amounts of

flax seed oil.

I do agree with Udo that fish oils are a poor sunstitute for flax oil

and I agree with his ideas that people can make the conversion.

His book Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill is wonderful.

Flax oil has to be very well produced and stored. In Australia stoney

creek is the best and Melrose is okay. In the US, I hear Barleans is

wonderful with Flora and some other being okay. It should taste

wonderful and nutty and delicious and must not be heated. you can put

it on warm foods but not cook with it.

So, as you

can all

see, I am very scattered and all over the place on this issue.

relax! Stress wont help yu convert anything! ;-) omegas are calming -

maybe you need some flax oil!!! ;-)

I seem to be

very torn. I

don’t want to give up my veganism as it has become a very deep part of

me, but I also have no intentions on damaging my health.

there is no reason for them to be mutually exclusive

Also, until

three days ago, I had never heard anybody talk

about DHA and EPA dangers.

anything in excess is stressful to the body.

I look at

Pirello who is vegan, and when I finally got the chance to meet her two

weeks ago she looked to be in perfect health.

looks can be deceiving or not. But her diet is appropriate for her.

But,

her husband eats fish

and his is for him!

and I have great respect for him as

well. So I promise that I will stop ranting and

raving.

I can make no such promises! :-)

I don’t know

if I am even looking for an answer

from anybody since I don’t seem to have asked a question.

I guess I just needed to vent my confusion.

whoosh!

However,

if anybody has an opinion one way or another, I’m sure it will spark a

good conversation.

yes - keep discussing....

Thanks!

for more info see my article on fats

Fat Chance at

http://www.energizedeating.com/blog/

--

Ilanit Tof - Signature

Ilanit

Ms Ilanit Tof

B.A. (Psychophysiology/Psychology)

Advanced Diploma Healing with Wholefoods

PhD Holistic Nutrition (candidate)

Little Tree Oriental Healing Arts

Helping you grow to new heights of wellbeing

with Oriental Traditions and Modern Nutrition

ilanit@...

www.littletree.com.au