Walnuts, not fish oil!

A lot of people are finally talking about omega-3 fatty acids, namely food companies that will be adding it to a variety of products in the near future.  Although I agree with Michael Pollan that it would be best to avoid prepackaged food altogether and eat whole foods exclusively, the addition of omega-3's to processed foods that many Americans already eat will be beneficial to them.  It's not ideal, but if certain people who refuse to concede the superiority of a plant-based diet get a few extra omega-3's in their diet, no harm done.  I wish the majority of food companies would use a plant source rather than fish oil to supplement their products, since these will be off-limits to vegetarians.  But in reality those vegetarians who adopt the diet strictly for ethical reasons rarely (in my experience) seem to care about nutrition, and those who adopt it for nutritional reasons would probably avoid processed foods anyway. 
When I was a senior in high school I based my "senior project" on researching the vegan diet, while becoming vegan and tracking my nutritional intake over a couple of months (it was very unscientific, but you can get a rough estimate of the vitamins, fat, cholesterol, calories, etc. in what you eat at an offshoot of the USDA website called My Pyramid).  I was immersed in information about veganism, from both the nutritional and ethical standpoints, and, naturally, I wanted to talk about it with anyone who would listen.  One classmate of mine latched on to the concept of omega-3's, and somehow the idea that we were part of an omega-3 gang became a hilarious (but so, so lame) inside joke between the two of us.  We even had a gang sign:

Omega-3, yo!

So, of course now I can't really think about omega-3's without giggling a little. 
Oh, and I lasted about a year on the vegan diet.  I'm still waiting for the day when I'll be "ready" to get back on it, just like I'm waiting to be "ready" to go back to school.  One day...

Comments

[cognition]

I like your post. I have only recently discovered the advantages of flax oil capsules. I hope this little tidbit of information helps.

[E&G]

I agree that flax is an excellent source, but I have yet to really acquire a taste for it.  I guess that wouldn't be an issue with capsules, though.  I also find it quite funny that chia seeds are another great source of omega-3, but they are very hard to find outside of a Chia Pet box!  (I'm told the seeds in a Chia Pet kit are not fit for human consumption)   Ch- Ch- Ch- Chia!

[Rob]

I've never had my own chia pet or chia head or whatnot, but they look cool on
TV. I just eat the seeds and I swear, they help sooo much as far as energy and
feeling good throughout the day goes.  I honestly started feeling so much better
on a day-to-day basis after I started putting them in my smoothies about a year
ago. The one's I get are Chia Pure. Chia
Seeds Right Now they are even buy 1
get 1 free!