Omega - the new Snake Oil?

Here’s my conflict …

Fact 1; World fish stocks are depleted, due largely to over-fishing (not exactly news, though it doesn’t appear to be sinking in).

Fact 2: Omega 3 fats are the worlds leading supplement, and the cheapest, most popular source is from fish.

Hmmm … see any problems?

Like the bottled-water industry, we’ve fallen for the whole Omega snow- job, hook, line and sinker (pardon the pun).

Now I’m not saying Omega 3 fatty acids aren’t an important consideration; quite the contrary …
- Canada Food Guide recommends at least two Food Guide Servings (75 grams each) of fish each week.
- America's National Institute of Health recommends 650 mg of EPA and DHA daily.
- American Heart Association recommends eating a variety of types of fatty fish at least twice a week. Those with heart disease should get 1 gram of omega-3s (containing both EPA and DHA) per day, preferably from fatty fish.

But the Omega madness isn’t about people popping a couple capsules every morning. I’m talking about huge companies that McManufacture breakfast cereal, soy milk beverages, fortified eggs, freezer waffles, orange juice, yogurt. It’s a huge list of products growing daily; soon we’ll see PC Tuna, fortified with fish oil!
As well, there’s still some uncertainty whether our bodies can effectively convert the fat from non-fish sources (flax, nuts) into usable acids and, if so, how much do we actually absorb, so again, fish is our best choice. I know PC, Natrickso, Queldogs and everyone else are just using my fear of cancer and heart disease to lure me into purchasing their omega fortified cheese and flax nachos, but since we try not to purchase any food with more than five ingredients, we’re not buying their stuff anyways.
And, I don’t eat fish, so what’s a boy to do?

Well, recently while listening to BBC radio (via their website) I heard an interview with a man from Switzerland who was promoting a Vegan Omega 3 (Water4life). He claimed that the reason fish had this Omega 3 in their fat was because of the algae they consumed. His point was to go to the primary, sustainable source for a better product, and stop depleting fish stocks further. My first instinct was that this was too simple a solution; harvest the oil from a sustainable plant rather than an endangered living creature. But my research confirmed his claim and one such product is even available in little St. Thomas!


So the omega-hucksters can keep their fortified puffed rice cereal and their “healthy” toaster tarts. I’m gunna make like a fish and eat pond scum, and sleep a bit better for it.