Is superfood omega-3 keeping its promise?

November 20, 2008

Take a walk through a supermarket in any wealthy nation and the promise of omega-3 health benefits screams off food products from bread to milk to juice. But are consumers getting the superfood they paid for?



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JerryPark
Nov 20, 2008

Rank: 3 / 5 (7)
With the over fishing of the oceans, I wonder how long we will be able to secure a sufficient quantity of fish oil to meet the needs/desires of an increasingly nutrition aware population.
morpheus2012
Nov 20, 2008

Rank: 1 / 5 (9)
yeah u need to get real omega 3 fish oil and most pure one

also jerrypark here abvioulys is not eating anoff fish oil that would show from his dumb comment
murray
Nov 21, 2008

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One should be concerned about the oxidation (rancidity) of these highly unsaturated fatty acids from exposure to air, light and heat, particularly in processed foods. ALA in bread, for example, is likely a net detriment to consume.
smiffy
Nov 22, 2008

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I've always been baffled about why omega-3 oils are so beneficial to human health when the great majority of our species lives in places where there is no or little access to omega-3 oils derived from marine fish. This is true for most of our history from when our ancestors populated the African plains and forests to the present day everywhere locations, (with a brief interlude where the population hugged the coast on its exodus 'out of Africa').

I also cannot help noticing that there are two put-downs for vegetable-sourced omega-3 oils in this interview with a Norwegian fish-oil producer. Can this have anything to do with the fact that omega-3 oils derived from flaxseed are appearing with increasing availability on supermarket shelves?

Physorg, is this a science forum or a marketing initiative?
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