The many actions of the omega 3 fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid ALA found in the highest amount in flaxseed – makes it an essential component of the diet. ALA is necessary for overall health and to reduce disease (for information check out the papers reviewed in the Category “Health Benefits of ALA”). It is the dietary precursor for our bodies to synthesize the long-chain omega 3s — eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) – which are also found in marine sources. And ALA is critical to reduce some of the damaging effects of high levels of omega 6 fatty acids which include inflammation and carcinogenesis.
Omega-3 fatty acids have been investigated for positive effects on a number of health concerns, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, rheumatoid arteries, lupus, and various types of cancer, including colon, breast and prostate. For cardiovascular diseases as an example, omega-3 appears to:
- decrease risk for arrhythmias (irregular heart beats), which can lead to sudden cardiac death
- decrease risk for thrombosis (blood clotting), which can lead to heart attack and stroke
- decrease levels of “bad” triglyceride, cholesterol and LDL lipoprotein levels
- decrease rate of growth of the atherosclerotic (hardening of the arteries) plaque
- improve endothelial (inner lining of blood vessels) function
- lower blood pressure
- reduce inflammatory responses.
So with all the encouraging results from thousands of reports, is the message getting through? Are we eating enough essential ALA?
It appears that modern diets are very low in omega-3 fatty acids. In fact, more than one-third of U.S. adults are likely not consuming the recommended amount of ALA and EPA+DHA (Papanikolaou, et al., 2014. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24694001).
Canadian consumption is also low. Health Canada has recently reported that the mean n-3 index level of Canadians aged 20 to 79 was 4.5% (Langlois and Ratnayake, 2015. ww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26583692). Levels were higher for women, older adults, Asians and other non-white Canadians, omega-3 supplement users, and fish consumers; levels were lower for smokers and people who were obese. Fewer than 3% of adults had levels associated with low coronary heart disease and 43% had levels associated with high risk. Not only do diets contain insufficient n-3, there is an abundance of omega-6 linoleic acid (LA) in the food supply, primarily from soybean oil, especially in the U.S. (Blasbalg, et al., 2011. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21367944).
There’s no time like a new year to incorporate more ALA-rich flaxseed into your diet. Check out our recipes for some great ideas!