I’m currently a vegetarian and have been for the past three years, before which the only meat I consumed was poultry and fish. I’ve been reading a lot about the cognitive benefits of consuming fish (in particular, the EPA/DHA fatty acids); unless I’m mistaken (please tell me if I am), EPA and DHA cannot be obtained from vegetables alone. ALA can be obtained from seaweed, and while our bodies convert ALA into EPA, we do it very slowly and inefficiently, and ALA wouldn’t give us any DHA.
I looked into fish oil pills. Apparently pills contain much less EPA/DHA than fish meat does, and it’s more cost-effective to eat fish (depending on which species, of course)… and based on other research, I’d expect that our body would extract more fatty acids from a fillet than from a pill with the same quantity of acids.
I still have a visceral (moral?) opposition to eating fish and supporting horrendous fishing practices, and I worry about where fish I might be eating would come from. If it’s coming from the equivalent of a factory farm, then I don’t want to eat it. On that point, I’ve read many articles suggesting that extracting fish oil harms certain species of fish.
Ideally there would be a vegetarian, eco-friendly, and health-friendly source of EPA/DHA. Is there?
In the meanwhile, I will try fish again and see if it has any noticeable effect on me. I’ll continue to investigate whether vegetarian or eco-friendly sources of EPA/DHA exist, especially if I notice any positive effects from eating fish.
And, the undermining question: does not having any EPA/DHA really matter? (I think it does, since it apparently boosts cognitive function, and I want my brain to operate at its maximum potential; but maybe I’m wrong.)
I’m in the same boat as you with regards to whether EPA/DHA has a bigger effect than ALA, but I was convinced enough to try to find some when I became vegetarian last year.
If you google “algal dha together” you’ll find what I’m taking—meeting your criteria of vegetarian (vegan), eco-friendly and health-friendly (with aforementioned uncertainty)
ALA can also be found in flaxseed, soy/tofu, walnut and pumpkin, so you needn’t stick to seaweed if you only want ALA.
To piggyback on this:
I’m currently a vegetarian and have been for the past three years, before which the only meat I consumed was poultry and fish. I’ve been reading a lot about the cognitive benefits of consuming fish (in particular, the EPA/DHA fatty acids); unless I’m mistaken (please tell me if I am), EPA and DHA cannot be obtained from vegetables alone. ALA can be obtained from seaweed, and while our bodies convert ALA into EPA, we do it very slowly and inefficiently, and ALA wouldn’t give us any DHA.
I looked into fish oil pills. Apparently pills contain much less EPA/DHA than fish meat does, and it’s more cost-effective to eat fish (depending on which species, of course)… and based on other research, I’d expect that our body would extract more fatty acids from a fillet than from a pill with the same quantity of acids.
I still have a visceral (moral?) opposition to eating fish and supporting horrendous fishing practices, and I worry about where fish I might be eating would come from. If it’s coming from the equivalent of a factory farm, then I don’t want to eat it. On that point, I’ve read many articles suggesting that extracting fish oil harms certain species of fish.
Ideally there would be a vegetarian, eco-friendly, and health-friendly source of EPA/DHA. Is there?
In the meanwhile, I will try fish again and see if it has any noticeable effect on me. I’ll continue to investigate whether vegetarian or eco-friendly sources of EPA/DHA exist, especially if I notice any positive effects from eating fish.
And, the undermining question: does not having any EPA/DHA really matter? (I think it does, since it apparently boosts cognitive function, and I want my brain to operate at its maximum potential; but maybe I’m wrong.)
I’m in the same boat as you with regards to whether EPA/DHA has a bigger effect than ALA, but I was convinced enough to try to find some when I became vegetarian last year.
If you google “algal dha together” you’ll find what I’m taking—meeting your criteria of vegetarian (vegan), eco-friendly and health-friendly (with aforementioned uncertainty)
ALA can also be found in flaxseed, soy/tofu, walnut and pumpkin, so you needn’t stick to seaweed if you only want ALA.