Fat is incredible for you!

Yup, I said it — dietary fat is amazing for you. 

The key, here, is the TYPE of fat … with that statement above, it should be noted that not ALL fats are amazing for you.  In fact, some may ultimately kill you.  But let’s focus on those that may help reduce the risk of disease and really just live optimally.

Omega-3 Fats

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to hear that omega-3′s are fantastic for you.  

In fact, they’re called essential fatty acids for a reason …

…this means the body doesn’t make them, so they instead omega 3 fats must come from the diet.

But this doesn’t mean there isn’t confusion surrounding omega-3′s.

We got this email the other day:

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"Hey Chris and Kara — I know you’re busy, but I was hoping you could answer this quick question for me.  Should I use flax oil OR fish oil?  Do I need to supplement or can I get them through the diet?"  Mary from Seattle
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First and foremost, where do you get omega-3 fats?

Cold water, fatty fish are the best — wild salmon and tuna are 2 of the more common fish that offer a nice does of healthy fat. 

And then there are many non meat based foods that provide omega-3′s too.

Flax seed and flax oil.  Nuts.  Hemp and chia seeds.  And even some leafy veggies.

But within that omega-3 umbrella, there are still differences between different sources.  You see, there are a few different omega-3 fats, which are abbreviated:

EPA
DHA
ALA

The first two, EPA and DHA, come directly from fish.  ALA comes from all the vegetarian sources listed above.  Now, while they’ve all got their own unique qualities and are all fantastic, most of the data looking at omega-3 fats focuses on the 2 that come from fish (EPA and DHA).

And while it was once thought that eating enough of the one omega 3, ALA, was sufficient since it converted to the others, recent data suggests that conversion is VERY minimal (around 0.1%).  

What does this mean in English? 

To get EPA and DHA, you should eat fish regularly — the American Heart Association suggests eating at least 2 servings (up to 12 oz) per week.  If you’re a vegetarian, that obviously wouldn’t work … and I would then turn to an algae source of DHA, which is available. 

So to answer the original question — flax oil vs. fish oil — it shouldn’t be an either or thing, but instead an "in addition" thing — flax oil and flax seed are both good, but in a different way. 

In addition, there is enough data, in our opinion, that suggests most would benefit from supplementing with a high quality fish oil as well — particularly those with a history of heart disease, lipid issues, etc. 

…to be honest, even Ella takes DHA regularly for her tiny developing brain.  At this rate, by the age of 2, she will likely be working for NASA and have balanced the budget for this country. 

We use and recommend Nordic Naturals.

Picture this.  Kara and I are in Italy a couple years ago for our honeymoon.  For one of our day trips, we were in a small town called Ravello, one of the most beautiful towns we visited that trip. 

Since we both love to cook, she found a chef who does private cooking lessons – we were both very excited for our adventure when we woke up.

The 3 of us are in Chef Vincenzino’s house, which was nestled in the mountain side overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. 

Incredible, to say the least.

We had no idea what we’d be preparing that day … when we spoke beforehand, he said he would go to the market that morning and whatever was freshest, he’d pick up. 

Well, lo and behold, fresh off the boat that morning … today’s heart healthy food you probably don’t eat (but should) … Sardines!  

I have had them and enjoy them; I thought Kara’s eyes were going to fall out of her head when she heard that (as you can clearly see in this picture of Kara and Vincenzino). 

Of course she wasn’t going to say no to the dinner we were all making with the Chef.

But, she quickly learned that when prepared well (and super fresh) the little fish are superb. 

And, well, let's be honest — can anything taste bad when you have a view like this?

While going down to sea that morning and picking up fresh sardines unfortunately isn’t a luxury we enjoy daily in landlocked Kentucky, most grocery stores do carry fresh sardines (the term used lightly after eating ones caught that morning)…but stores do at the very least carry canned.

Don’t turn your nose up too soon.

I’ve found that most cringe when I suggest sardines as a powerful health food, yet it’s not because of a bad experience – instead, it’s the thought that these are super strong, fishy, horrible tasting fish.  None of which are true.

But why are these little buggers so darn great for us?

They have significantly more omega-3 fats than wild salmon, they’re naturally high in vitamin D, which I recently told you I was found to be deficient in D, and they’re very low in mercury and other contaminants. 

Oh yeah and they’re also sustainable, which is surely a great bonus!

The question now becomes – what do you do with these tiny omega 3 powerhouses? 

They’re great in spaghetti sauce, or try them lightly breaded (dip in egg, whole wheat bread crumbs, then sauté in olive oil and garlic), or even just mixed with some mustard and used like you would tuna fish. 

I urge you to give them a try, though. 

I’ll go out on a limb and say sardines are the healthiest animal based food that we know of to date.

And you know, combine them with some of the foods that we made that day in Italy (pictured to the left) — fresh veggies, sardines, garlic and herbs, and your heart will LOVE YOU.

That's why they made our previous post — The 13 Healthiest Foods You're Not Eating (but should!)