What is the best / easiest way to get your omega 3? I add some flaxseed to my smoothies. However, the flaxseed stays whole -- my blender does not mill it. Does that matter? Should it be milled? How would I do that? I have a Magic Bullet.

Another option would be to buy flaxseed meal. But I heard that it loses its omega 3 very quickly.

If the flax seed stays whole, you don't get any omega 3 from it, it passes through your system but performs a useful cleansing role.

To grind your own flax seeds is the best idea, a cheap coffee grinder or a seed/nut mill which comes as part of a blender. Personally I use flax oil on a daily basis.

Rob

--
Rob Hull - Funky Raw
My blog: [www.rawrob.com]

Yes, you need to grind your seeds. If not, take oil (flax or hemp) or eat some walnuts.

If you take in 10 g of alpha-linolenic acid from flax (2 or more tbsp ground depending on the particular seeds) you might convert that to 1 gram of EPA. But if you are a guy, you will produce very little if any of the even longer chained DHA. If this concerns you you can take an algae-based DHA supplement.

Some researchers have speculated that this very limited ability to convert to DHA might be because the body needs only to maintain its circulating stores and that deliberate production or taking exogenous (preformed) sources to increase plasma levels is not necessary.

But nobody really knows for sure. It might be more prudent to take some until they have more info.

We do know that there is some benefit to taking preformed EPA and DHA for SADs in many studies and that babies need it for their brain development, they get it from breast milk.

As far as I understand, walnuts are not going to help with omega 3. The important thing with omega 3 is the balance with omega 6 and as Walnuts have a much larger amount of omega 6, you are not going to improve your omega 3 with them:

[www.nutritiondata.com]

(Arugula, do you have a different understanding?)

Rob

--
Rob Hull - Funky Raw
My blog: [www.rawrob.com]

Walnuts have a between a 4 and 5 to 1 ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3. This is as close to ideal as you'll get from any nut AFAIK. Hempseeds are about the same as walnuts. Flax (and maybe chia) seeds are the only nut/seed with more 3 than 6.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/22/2006 10:21PM by Narz.

walnuts are fine for ALA They might even be helpful for increasing plasma levels of EPA--this study found that only 4 per day did.

Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2006 Sep 25; [Epub ahead of print]

Levels of the n-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid in addition to those of alpha linolenic acid are significantly raised in blood lipids by the intake of four walnuts a day in humans.

* Marangoni F,
* Colombo C,
* Martiello A,
* Poli A,
* Paoletti R,
* Galli C.

Department of Pharmacological Sciences, University of Milan, Via Balzaretti, 9, 20133 Milan, Italy.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Ingestion of alpha linolenic acid (ALA), with the richest source among dry fruits such as walnuts, is associated with cardiovascular prevention. The aim of this study was to selectively evaluate the effects of moderate walnut consumption on the levels of ALA and its metabolic derivatives in human blood. METHODS AND RESULTS: After a 2-week run-in period, 10 volunteers consumed 4 walnuts per day (in addition to their habitual diet) for 3weeks. Fatty acid profiles, with special attention to levels of ALA and long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA), were assessed in blood drops collected from fingertips. The data indicate that the administration of a few walnuts a day for 3weeks significantly increases blood levels, not only of ALA (from 0.23+/-0.07 SD to 0.47+/-0.13 SD), but also of its longer chain derivative eicosapentaenoic acids (EPA) (from 0.23+/-0.37 to 0.82+/-0.41) with levels remaining elevated over basal values after washout. CONCLUSION: The findings of this pilot study indicate that plant ALA in appropriate food items favourably affects the n-3 LC-PUFA status.

PMID: 17008073 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]


from the full text:

--

Studies based on the administration of high amounts of walnuts,
i.e. 48 g nuts/day (6 g ALA and 31 g linoleic acid LA with an ALA/LA ratio
of 0.18) [6] or 78 g nuts /day (ALA and LA levels, 9.5 and 50 g/day
respectively, with an ALA/LA ratio of 0.19) [7] described increments of ALA
in total lipids and triglycerides, but not of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)
and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)

Studies based on the administration of
high amounts of walnuts, i.e. 48 g nuts/day (6 g ALA and 31 g linoleic acid
LA with an ALA/LA ratio of 0.18) [6] or 78 g nuts /day (ALA and LA levels,
9.5 and 50 g/day respectively, with an ALA/LA ratio of 0.19) [7] described
increments of ALA in total lipids and triglycerides, but not of
eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)

The four
walnuts eaten by the subjects provided therefore on average 1.2 g ALA and
4.4 g LA per day, with an ALA/LA ratio of 0.27.

Food questionnaires
revealed the average intakes of n-3 FA, 18-C or LC-PUFA, did not change
during the period of the study.

The percentage levels of major FA in
blood lipids at the different time points are reported in Table 1. All the
FA levels remained unchanged during the run-in period, and ALA and EPA
concentrations in whole blood lipids were comparable, as previously
described [13], unlike the situation in plasma, reflecting the contribution
of red blood cells to the EPA values in whole blood.

With four walnuts per day, ALA levels (wt %) doubled after 1 week (p ?
0.001), remaining stable until the end of the supplementation. EPA levels
increased even more than those of ALA with an almost 300% increment over the
initial values (p ? 0.001), and remained higher than basal values after
washout (p ? 0.002). Conversely, there was no change in the levels of 22:5
and 22:6 (DHA) n-3 FA. It is of interest that increments in ALA and EPA
levels occurred despite the relatively high intakes of LA, and that there
was a small but significant reduction in arachidonic acid (AA). Levels of
oleic acid tended to decrease in association with the elevation of both LA
and the n-3 FA.

These findings, although arising from a small-scale study, clearly
indicate that the consumption of selected food items rich in n-3 FA very
effectively affects their levels in blood, confirming the optimal
availability of n-3 FA from natural sources [25]. Finally the data provide,
at least to some extent, a rational basis for the claimed protective effects
of walnut consumption.

James Smith,

A more healthful way to achieve omega-6 to omega-3 balance is to cut down on omega-6 intake. Most fruits and leafy greens have an already perfect balance of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids. Do you have an idea of how much fat you are currently eating? Using fitday or nutridiary is a easy way to see what your fat intake is.

Hi all,

I started grinding flax seeds and putting them in smoothies. It works great! I don't know why I didn't do it before.

Bryan,

I think I am basically eating 811. Lots of fruits. Couple / several green smoothies a day. An avocado some days. And nuts. I might be eating too many nuts for 811.

If you're really doing 80-10-10, you won't satisfy your omega6 requirement unless you are taking in over 3000 kcals per day.

And I am curious, very curious as to how 10% protein is reached. By my calcs, it takes a lot of young zucchini and greens in the diet, and yet it seems to me that nobody who claims to adhere to the diet is actually eating like that. IIRC Doug Graham himself is eating about 13 lbs of sweet fruit for every lb of greens. For that, 10% protein is impossible.

This is what 1300 kcal of 80-10-10 looks like

454 g each of oranges, strawberries, grapes
200 g banana
300 g tomato
100 g cucumber
500 g zucchini
5 g avocado (about a teaspoon)
5 g brazil nut (about one small one)
300 g spinach
1000 g romaine (more than 2 full lb heads)

arugula,

10% protein is the max protein on 80/10/10. If you end up with 5% or even less, thats OK, as long as you are eating fresh whole ripe raw organic fruits and vegetables and you are getting sufficient calories.

arugula,

I truly like the fact that you tie everything back to peer reviewed scientific research. I think if you put your research on a website, a lot of people would find it very helpful.

A lot of low protein people (whether raw or not) say that WHO recommends 5% to 10% protein from calories. I have spent a couple of hours searching and could not find a WHO recommendation for protein that used percent of calories. Instead, I found a recommendation of 0.75 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. If I remember correctly, IOM recommends 0.8 g/kg. For me, the WHO recommendation works out to 210 calories from protein. Since I eat about 2500 a day, that works out to about 8%.

I do not know whether I am getting enough protein. I feel fine. One of these days, I will write down everything I eat, and see how things work out.

What type of diet do you recommend? I am sure you must have posted it here. A link to one of your posts would be great.

Thanks.

The WHO/FAO recs are here. I think it is prudent to meet them
[www.fao.org]

to be more specific regarding protein, you can find their individual amino requirements here in table 1:

[www.unu.edu]

I think also it is prudent to meet the RDAs, as much as possible through food, not supplements, but I make exceptions for B12 and D-- for ethical and environmental reasons in the case of B12 (don't want to have to eat an animal or worse) and D for reasons of vanity (don't want to damage my skin). I take supplements for those.

It's probably not very likely that you'd meet them all on a raw food diet without some homework. But there are a number of nutrient calculators free online now: fitday.com, nutritiondata.com, and my current fave, the free cron-o-meter, which you can get here:

[spaz.ca]

but to use the cron-o-meter, you will also need to download Java, which you can get here

[www.java.com]

These will help you meet your individual amino acid, essential fatty acid, vitamin, mineral, protein, fiber, and other needs.

There are an infinite number of ways you can meet your needs within these parameters. But I find it very difficult to do without at least 3/4 head of lettuce, a brazil nut (for selenium), some napa cabbage (for zinc), some flax and walnuts (for ALA), and some rice protein powder (which is low-temp processed but not really raw, it's denatured) to keep the fat content of my diet moderately low. I think the protein and essential fatty acid needs come first, the rest of your kcal needs can come from fruit.

A wide variety is very protective. Some people here like eating only one type of food per meal, but many studies have shown that eating a little bit from a varitey of different foods in a day is more protective.

A typical day for me is like this:

Big salad, 12 cups of romaine, chicory greens, arugula, turnip greens, spinach, tomato, onion, carrot, bell pepper, sprouts, summer squash, walnuts, avocado, napa cabbage

smaller fruit salad: orange, apple, banana, grapes, berries, others depending on sale and season, with nut/seed milk, additional flax, rice protein powder

light domestic beer (not recommended)

Some days I have the veggie salad twice and the fruit salad once. Some days I have the fruit salad twice and the veggie salad once. If I get hungry in between meals, I have more fruit.

But, it's easier for me, my kcal budget is smaller than yours, about 1500-1700 kcal per day depending on activity, and I don't have to consume enormous quantities of plant matter like the 3000 kcal+ people would.

If I listened to my body, as many here are suggesting, I would eat more fruit. But then I would fail to meet protein, zinc, iron, and calcium requirements because I can't get the numbers to work without a lot of green leaves.

Arugula,

Listen to your body.

If you are craving fruit eat some don't be scared to pump up on the fruit and
if you are worried about the zinc you can get a lot of it in wax melon but if you like to eat napa cabbage it is not as good as wax melon.

It is easy to eat a kilo and half of wax melon and it taste good better then napa cabbage.

Where I live there is plenty of napa cabbage and wax melon I prefer the wax melon.

Also guavas are excellent if you can find them high in the feared protein that you want.

Dont deny yourself the fruit it taste soooooooooooooo goooooooooooooood.

Cherimoya

Love Peace and Happiness,

Thanks, Cherimoya that's a good suggestion about the wax melon. I will have to see if I can find it. I have a tendency to overlook some of the less common fruits as they are not always available and tend to be more expensive. But they are probably a lot cheaper than greens (kcal for kcal).

I do see guava sometimes. It would be pretty good with brazil nuts.