Omega 3 Rich Foods
Omega 3 is by far one of the wonder supplements, maybe only second to creatine and protein. However, you don’t always have to get it from a tablet; you can easily incorporate it into your diet, allowing you to have fun with your food.
We all know that omega 3 comes from inside fish fat cells (if you didn’t, you do now), but what you may not have known is what fish houses the best Omega 3 and what other kinds of foods include Omega 3. Allow me to enlighten you on the facts of omega 3:
Foods That Have Omega 3
You may not know this, but flaxseeds and walnuts contain high levels of omega 3. A quarter cup of flaxseeds contains around 7 grams of omega 3 and the same level of walnuts contains about 2.3 grams. The recommended level of omega 3 is 4 grams, so if you had half a cup of walnuts you would happily reach your target daily. However, remember that nuts are filled with calories and carbohydrates so careful how many you consume.
Soy beans and kidney beans also contain a small but fair amount of omega 3 one cup of these beans can give as much as 2 grams of omega 3. Again this would mean you would need 2 cups full and again you should look at the contents carefully to in keep with your other dietary needs.
How Much Omega 3 is in my Food
The most obvious choice for getting omega 3 is through fish; however, you may be surprised as the actual level of omega 3 within fish. For example, if you were to eat say 4 ounces of tuna you would actually only be getting 0.3 grams of omega 3. Even cod comes at the same low amount; the best food is probably shrimp at 0.04 grams in terms of fish based omega sources. But again remember that although tuna houses little omega 3 it still holds high levels of protein with little fat. What this means is that flax seeds are by far the best type of food to eat in order to get your omega levels reached naturally!
Conclusion
Remember that just because you can get it naturally it does not mean that you have to. Supplements are just as good and possibly even better since you don’t have to cook and chew on them. Variety is the key to a successful diet so don’t be afraid to rotate your diet between natural foods and supplements.
