Maintaining a high-caliber and fairly consistent vegetarian diet for 16 years takes less work than one would think. Yes, you need to think about your food, but we should all be doing that, regardless of your diet-of-choice. It’s true that many people eliminate meat only to eat junk, and call themselves vegetarian. I suppose they are, but I certainly wouldn’t nominate them to be in the club…
Though there’s less work involved than many people think, there still persists the general questions from non-vegetarians of “what about protein” and “how can you eat just iceburg lettuce and pasta?” In truth, I can’t recall the last time that I had boring ol’ iceburg and I rarely eat pasta! In fact, my diet is more diverse, exciting, colorful, flavorful and a treat to the taste buds than pretty much anyone else that I know. As for protein, between nuts, seeds, legumes, beans, tofu, soy, quinoa and some general whole grains, in combination, it’s hard not to get enough protein. Of course if you’re not vegan, the dairy options make it even easier.
But being nutrition-conscious (and perhaps slightly obsessive), I do occasionally develop concerns. One of those concerns over the past year has been my intake of Omega-3 fatty acids.
Most meat eaters get theirs from sources such as fish, and with the popularity of supplements these days, fish oil capsules.
As a vegetarian, I typically get mine from sources such as flax, walnuts and chia seeds. If you’re eating a good diet, as with protein, it’s hard not to get as much as you need.
Omega-3 fats are essential fats, meaning, the body itself does not produce them, so we must get them through our diet.
My concern is this – my sources contain only ALA (alpha-linolenic acid), which is merely the precursor to two other essential fatty acids – eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). And the conversion rate of ALA into EPA/DHA is only about 5% to 10%.
Diets containing fish deliver both EPA and DHA directly, without the need to convert from ALA. As a vegetarian, there really isn’t a good non-meat source of these acids directly. This leaves me feeling that I’m loading up on ALA, hoping to get the EPA/DHA, but I’m fighting a losing battle with a highly inefficient system that converts only 5 to 10% from short chain (ALA) to long chain (EPA/DHA)!
Now in actual numbers, things don’t look so grim. While there’s no RDA for Omega-3 intake, it’s generally thought that 250mg up to 500mg is a decent range of daily intake. To get that amount converted from ALA, I’d need upwards of 5 grams a day. If I used a source such as, say, flax, I have to eat only one tablespoon of flaxseed oil. Not bad.
But still, I couldn’t help but wonder if I could cut out the middleman – the conversion from ALA – the actual work of which is dependent upon so many ever-changing variables in the body. I can’t do fish, but do fish get it from somewhere?
Turns out, they do: algae! Algae are a very rich source of DHA and EPA, and as a vegetarian, there’s nothing wrong with eating seaweed!
But how to get it into my diet… I much prefer diet-based solutions to supplement-based, but let’s face it, I’m not going to be eating seaweed-supplemented dishes every night for dinner, as much as I love my nori. Enter V-Pure:
“A vegan, vegetarian algae alternative to fish oil providing the purest, most natural form of omega 3 EPA & DHA
V-Pure omega 3 EPA & DHA is derived from algae, the source of these essential long chain fatty acids. Oily fish are rich sources of omega 3 EPA & DHA, but this is due to their diet of algae. The benefits of taking omega 3 range from a healthy brain to eyes and nervous system to also having powerful mood elevating and stabilising qualities help with cardiovascular health and may offer some protection against heart disease.”
So there is a vegetarian/vegan alternative to fish oil supplements! I ordered up a bottle some time ago and – ironically having stopped and subsequently suffered depression and injury (coincidence, though the additional omega-3 would likely have helped me through both) – I’m now back as a customer. But how does one know that their Omega-3 supplement is a good one? My body is functioning well. My brain seems to be thinking clearly. But obviously, it’s impossible to point to one nutritional choice or a particular choice in exercise regimen as the cause of proper functioning. When it comes down to it, it’s the whole package. The human body needs Omega-3 fats, in correct proportion with Omega-6 and all other nutrients in the body, and at the end of the day, all one can do is assure that they supply the body with the fuel it needs, monitoring closely how it feels, and make sure that the sources of its fuel are clean, dependable and, well, pure…
Upon detailed inspection, V-Pure seems to get it right. Their thinking seems right. Their marketing seems right. Their research seems right. Put them all together into one product, and I suspect you’ve made the best choice that one can make as a consumer. Plus, the name makes me giggle.
I’d recommend them. And if you have any feedback of your own – experience with this company, thoughts on fat intake, anything – I invite you to leave it here.
Find V-Pure online, here, at their website…
Even though I’ve been leaning towards a mostly vegan diet lately, I do eat meat and fish from time to time (several times a month at most) so I haven’t been to worried about becoming deficient anywhere. But when I make my green smoothie each morning, I add about a teaspoon of dulse flakes to it. I didn’t actually know it prior to reading this, but I just looked it up and it does contain Omega 3s like other seaweeds and algaes. Ironically I was using it for its minerals and its immune boosting properties, but now that I know it’s high in Omegas that’s great too. Some days I add some hemp seed in as well. Maybe you can mix either of those into your routine somehow. Though I suppose the supplement is just as easy since in effect that’s all I’m doing, just in a non capsule form.
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