Just about every food you buy now seems to be fortified with Omega 3 essential fatty acids. Eggs are no exception, and it is now quite common to see Omega 3 fortified eggs in your supermarket, and they are usually quite a bit more expensive. Is the extra cost of Omega 3 eggs worth it?
First of all let me say that all eggs should have Omega 3 essential fatty acids already. The fact that our mofern eggs are devoid of the Omega 3 essential fats owes as much to modern farming practices as it does to anything else.
The Omega 3 fatty acids commonly found in a range of natural foods such as fish start life out in grass. In the ocean the Omega 3 fats are found in seagrass. When small fish eat the seagrass they ingest the fats, and when in turn these small fish are eaten by bigger fish the essential fatty acids work their way up the food chain.
That's why fish oil is such a good source of the Omega 3 fats, because of the seagrass.
And ordinary grass is no exception, it too has plenty of Omega 3 fats.
And in the past our chickens used to free range around the farm, and spend their day eating, amongst other things, plenty of grass.
Yes surprising though it may seem chickens love to eat grass. Just watch one for a while and you'll see it breaking off grass stems and eating them.
So of course if the chickens were getting grass in their diet they were getting Omega 3 fats in their diet and these were therefore found in their eggs.
But modern farming practices have ensured that chickens no longer eat grass, rather they eat such foods as chicken pellets, grains and soy products. These don't have Omega 3 fats, and therefore neither do our chickens or their eggs, and therefore if we want Omega 3 fats in our eggs we need to buy Omega 3 fortified eggs.
The problem is that there are a number of essential fatty acids known as the Omega 3 fats, not just one. DHA and EPA are the 2 most important, and these are the fatty acids found in fish.
However there is another form of fatty acid known as ALA, which is not nearly as healthy for our body. It is really a precursor to DHA and EPA because it is only worthwhile for our health once our body has converted it into DHA and EPA.
And sadly it is now recognized that our body is very inefficient at converting ALA, and in fact very little of it is converted at all.
Meaning that eating Omega 3 fortified eggs with ALA in them rather than DHA and EPA gives you little health benefit.
If you're interested in finding out more read the label on the eggs, we have seen eggs with DHA and EPA, but this is rare. Generally ALA is found in the eggs because it is cheaper.
So in my view you're wasting your money spending more for Omega 3 eggs.
You're much better off spending your money on high quality fish oil supplements which have stacks more DHA and EPA in them and which are convenient and cost-effective to take daily.
Of course the perfect solution is to keep your own chickens, allow them to free range around your garden and provide you with beautiful Omega 3 fortified eggs.
First of all let me say that all eggs should have Omega 3 essential fatty acids already. The fact that our mofern eggs are devoid of the Omega 3 essential fats owes as much to modern farming practices as it does to anything else.
The Omega 3 fatty acids commonly found in a range of natural foods such as fish start life out in grass. In the ocean the Omega 3 fats are found in seagrass. When small fish eat the seagrass they ingest the fats, and when in turn these small fish are eaten by bigger fish the essential fatty acids work their way up the food chain.
That's why fish oil is such a good source of the Omega 3 fats, because of the seagrass.
And ordinary grass is no exception, it too has plenty of Omega 3 fats.
And in the past our chickens used to free range around the farm, and spend their day eating, amongst other things, plenty of grass.
Yes surprising though it may seem chickens love to eat grass. Just watch one for a while and you'll see it breaking off grass stems and eating them.
So of course if the chickens were getting grass in their diet they were getting Omega 3 fats in their diet and these were therefore found in their eggs.
But modern farming practices have ensured that chickens no longer eat grass, rather they eat such foods as chicken pellets, grains and soy products. These don't have Omega 3 fats, and therefore neither do our chickens or their eggs, and therefore if we want Omega 3 fats in our eggs we need to buy Omega 3 fortified eggs.
The problem is that there are a number of essential fatty acids known as the Omega 3 fats, not just one. DHA and EPA are the 2 most important, and these are the fatty acids found in fish.
However there is another form of fatty acid known as ALA, which is not nearly as healthy for our body. It is really a precursor to DHA and EPA because it is only worthwhile for our health once our body has converted it into DHA and EPA.
And sadly it is now recognized that our body is very inefficient at converting ALA, and in fact very little of it is converted at all.
Meaning that eating Omega 3 fortified eggs with ALA in them rather than DHA and EPA gives you little health benefit.
If you're interested in finding out more read the label on the eggs, we have seen eggs with DHA and EPA, but this is rare. Generally ALA is found in the eggs because it is cheaper.
So in my view you're wasting your money spending more for Omega 3 eggs.
You're much better off spending your money on high quality fish oil supplements which have stacks more DHA and EPA in them and which are convenient and cost-effective to take daily.
Of course the perfect solution is to keep your own chickens, allow them to free range around your garden and provide you with beautiful Omega 3 fortified eggs.
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