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The Facts About Foods Fortified With Vitamins and Omega-3s

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The Facts About Foods Fortified With Vitamins and Omega-3s

Have you noticed how the line between food and supplements continues to blur? Not so long ago, when we talked “fortified foods” we meant milk (fortified with vitamins A and D), cereal (fortified with B vitamins) and bread (fortified with folic acid, a B vitamin). Salt was also fortified with iodine, and water was fortified with fluoride. These early fortified foods were a public health measure designed to address population-wide nutrient deficiencies.

Over the past couple of years more and more packaged foods are being fortified. It’s now common to see calcium- and vitamin D- fortified juices and drinks, margarine spreads with plant sterols and yogurt and yogurt drinks with live cultures to regulate our digestive system. And then came omega-3 fatty acids.

There are two types of omega-3 fatty acids. The short chain plant-based omega-3 alpha linolenic acid (ALA) comes from plant sources. ALA-rich foods include walnuts, canola oil and flax seed. Unfortunately, ALA must convert to EPA or DHA for our body to use it, and the conversion rates are pretty horrible. In healthy people, 5 to 10 percent of ALA converts to EPA and only half that amount converts to DHA. So, if a food reports to have 100 mg ALA, we’re lucky if our body turns that into 5 to 10 mg of EPA. Most of us aren’t going to be able to eat enough ALA fortified foods for our bodies to get to the 1,000 mg EPA/DHA that’s recommended.

The other type of omega-3 fatty acid is the long chain omega-3’s eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). These are found in fatty fish like salmon, trout, mackerel, anchovies and sardines that feed on microalgae. EPA and DHA are the omega-3 fatty acids most often studied in omega-3 research and found to be beneficial for our heart, brain, eyes and immune system. Because most of us don’t eat a lot of fish, much less fatty fish, supplement companies started selling “fish oil” supplements containing levels of EPA and DHA. For example, two soft gels of Cooper Complete Advanced Omega-3 contain 1,000 mg EPA and 200 mg DHA.

Marketing executives saw an opportunity for new channels of business, offering “omega-3 fortified” foods and directed their kitchens and labs to get busy! These fortified foods contain either the short-chain ALA, or EPA and DHA in a powder. It’s now possible to buy eggs, peanut butter, margarine, milk, yogurt, juice, cereals and breads (including tortillas and pizza dough) fortified with omega-3 fatty acids. Unfortunately, despite the giant call-out on the label, the products often contain very little omega-3, or the omega-3 is in the ALA form.

Are these products any better for us or more readily absorbed than actually eating fatty fish, or taking fish oil supplements? The answer is no, and all these omega-3 fortified foods cost significantly more than their non-fortified alternatives. For example, a dozen omega-3 fortified eggs are often more than twice the cost of non-fortified traditional eggs.

For people who don’t have allergies to fish, the logical choice is to eat fatty fish twice a week or more. For those who don’t eat fatty fish that often, an inexpensive solution is to take fish oil supplements. Those who have allergies to fish have it harder. In their case, these omega-3 fortified foods may be a reasonable option. However, be sure to look at the nutritional panel to determine the source of the omega-3, and remember that very little of the ALA omega-3 gets converted by our body into the needed EPA and DHA.

Cooper Complete Nutritional Supplements offers the Cooper Complete Advanced Omega-3 dietary supplement which can be found online or ordered by calling 972.560.2702. For more information on Cooper Complete Nutritional Supplements, click here.
 

By Jill Turner, Vice President of Operations for Cooper Complete®