Omega-3 types

Omega-3 has many types of components, ALA, SDA, EPA and DHA are the most talked about and researched ones.
ALA- Alpha linolenic acid comes mainly from Plant sources like Flax seed, Chia seed, Borage, Walnuts etc.
This ALA is converted in the body into SDA and then into EPA and DHA.
EPA and DHA are the most important acc. to many researchers and a Harvard doctor,Andrew Stoll, who wrote the book - The Omega-3 Connection.
Omega-3 also comes from some Algae and the fish which eat this algae convert the omega-3 into EPA and DHA.
Therefore fish oil is said to have EPA and DHA directly.
But these days due to contamination , most people avoid fish. Also Vegetarians and Vegans avoid fish.
So for them is the ALA conversion to EPA and DHA in the body, the only source to get those Essential Fatty acids?
DHA has been extracted from Algae and is available in stores.
But EPA , which is very important for cardio-vascular help and its anti-inflammatory properties , is not extracted easily as of now.
Our bodies convert 36% of ALA into EPA and DHA in Women and 16% in men.
In fact some men do not convert anything into DHA it had been written and observed.

Plus given the fact that our diets have less omega 3 and more of omega 6 , this poses a bigger issue.
The researchers say when Omega 6 is so high in the body, it inhibits the conversion of ALA into EPA and DHA.

So for veggies/vegan the first thing to do and the easiest is eat lots of ALA rich food . Bring the ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 intake to 1:1 to 1:4 max.
Remember only a small % of that gets converted to EPA and DHA.
I will write more about how to get EPA and DHA directly next, but eating ALA is a must I would say for Veggies and Vegans .
I myself started eating lots of Chia seeds recently.
Stay tuned....