The Alpha Egg and the Omega Chicken

Casual observers of food marketing probably cannot get past the barrage of catch-phrases and keywords with which various advertising media are awash.  Leaving aside for another day a discussion of the whole “corn sugar” propaganda campaign – a campaign which would make Leni Riefenstahl proud – there are some legitimate terms out there which get misconstrued and misapplied and just generally misused, which lead to even greater confusion for the average consumer.

Myrtle can’t hope to correct all such errors, not being trained in nutritional science beyond what we have been able to glean from various sources on our own, but we hope to shed a little light on one such misunderstood nutritional concept, and we hope to make some suggestions for the home garden which may help spread a little heart-love around.

“Omega-3 fatty acids are a family of unsaturated fatty acids that have in common a final carbon-carbon double bond in the n-3 position; that is, the third bond from the methyl end of the fatty acid.”  Clear enough?  So, we lifted a definition straight from Wikipedia.  A definition from Webster’s wouldn’t really be much clearer.

But despite the fact that, for non-chemists and non-biologists, the nature of what an omega-3 fatty acid really is defies easy comprehension, the effects of these useful nutrients are far more easily understood.

A diet rich in Omega-3 can be directly correlated to lower LDL (low-density lipoprotein, or "bad cholesterol") and higher HDL (high-density lipoprotein or "good cholesterol") in the blood.  A proper LDL/HDL ratio is directly correlated to a lower incidence of coronary heart disease, lower blood pressure, more likelihood of weight control, better immune function, better endocrine balance, and a more satisfying sex life. 

Nutritionists refer to this as “a good thing”.

Omega-3 “essential” fatty acids are so-called because as early as the first part of the last century, nutritionists realized that several fatty acids were necessary for normal growth and development, first in laboratory animals, and later in children.  Omega-6 fatty acids are also necessary in the human diet, but are not often found lacking, except in populations affected by famine.  Omega-6 acids, in fact, are found in excess quantities in the typical American diet, being primarily found in meats and fried foods.

Omega-3 fatty acids, however, are frequently lacking in not only the American diet, but in the diets of many populations around the globe, particularly among landlocked peoples, especially in arid regions or areas far from a source of fish.  Vegetarians are also especially prone to be deficient in Omega-3, although less so than omnivores who eat neither fish nor whole grains.

As it turns out, there are multiple potential sources of Omega-3, and no matter one’s food lifestyle, there are multiple options for correcting an imbalance.

To begin with, Omega-3 has to compete in our diets with Omega-6.  The more beef and deep-fried potatoes we consume (burger and fries, anyone?), the less Omega-3 our bodies will assimilate, even if we drown ourselves in fish oil supplements.  Increasing Omega-3 therefore begins with decreasing Omega-6 – not to the point of elimination, just to a level more consistent with what our bodies evolved to digest.  If you want to eat red meat or pork, two or three times a week ought to be your maximum.  The typical American diet now begins with one or both of these meats and asks “what do we have to go with our steak/pork loin/bacon-wrapped steak/pork-and-beef sausage/etc.”?

This is just asking for trouble.

Chicken or other poultry can also cause Omega-6 problems, though less so than their fattier dinner counterparts.

Fish, on the other hand, in addition to being the best source of Omega-3 (particularly the fatty fishes such as salmon or tuna, and to a lesser degree catfish or tilapia), also frequently have a good balance with not too much Omega-6.  Even fishes which do not contain all that much Omega-3 at least have the advantage of not being overloaded with Omega-6.  Sturgeon, pike or trout are all better for you than mutton, pot roast, or ham.

Then, too, there are “Omega Eggs”.  Although the number of studies available is somewhat small, there is good evidence that chickens fed on appropriate greens produce eggs which are high in a-Linolenic acid (ALA), the most common form of Omega-3 available from vegetable sources.

Which brings us to the main consideration when deciding how to get Omega-3 into your diet – there are many, many forms of this nutrient, and not all of them are readily available in your garden.  In fact, the two most important forms of Omega-3, Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are not available in any terrestrial plants – that is, in any plants which grow on land.  They are only available from plankton; they are also available from a form of algae known as “spirulina”, a nutritional supplement you can find at most health food stores.  Fans of psyllium will have no problem ingesting yet another swirly, gritty beverage, but those who do not wish to consume their EPA and DHA in this less-than-appetizing form will have to settle for the next best thing:  fatty fishes.

No animal is capable of manufacturing any of the Omega-3 fats on their own.  All animals rely on consumption of vegetable matter in order to maintain these fats, and in turn those carnivores or omnivores who wish to get their Omega-3 from animal sources will have to make sure they are eating animals who have themselves eaten an Omega-3 vegetable diet.

Since EPA and DHA are only available from fish like salmon, tuna, cod, etc., we recommend strongly that these fish be included in your diet.  Vegetarians would likewise do well to either bend their rules to include fish, or at the very least bend their rules far enough to include fish oil supplements.  Those who are worried about toxic levels of heavy metals in fish meal can at least rest easy with fish oil supplementation, because mercury and other toxic metals bind with proteins in the meat rather than with the fatty acids – even fish from polluted waters will produce relatively safe oils, depending on how they are processed.

Vegans who for ethical or other reasons adamantly refuse to include fish can still be healthy, of course, because EPA and DHA are simply the most readily available Omega-3 fatty acids.   The body requires a lot more work in order to process ALA and the other Omega-3’s, but it can be done.  There are a wide variety of plants which can increase the natural Omega-3 levels in a vegan diet:  black currant, flax, shiso, chia sage, lingonberry, purslane, black raspberry, butternut, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, and even cannibis sativa are high in ALA.  In fact, the readily available ALA in the oil from marijuana seeds may be one of the strongest arguments available for why this herb ought to be legalized.  Even without cannibis, though, there is clearly a large enough list of garden plants to choose from.

And for those of us who eat eggs, there are obviously enough choices here to provide feed for our backyard chickens to improve the quality and nutritional content of their eggs.  Henbit, purslane, dandelions, sunflowers, rye grasses, etc. ad nauseum, find their way into the coop on a daily basis.  The increase in ALA in the chickens’ diet has led directly to a decrease in LDL and an increase in HDL for Mr. Myrtle Maintenance which cannot be attributed to any other factor, as his diet has not really improved all that much between the last and most recent cholesterol tests he has taken – the single most important factor, in fact, is purely a decrease in red meat consumption and an increase in consumption of backyard eggs, from happy weed-fed chickens.

As soon as we can complete our fish pond project, we will toy with growing spirulina as well, on the assumption that our school of tilapia will be even higher in the best Omega-3 varieties; even if the algae experiment doesn’t work out, though, an increase in fish consumption can only bring more benefit.  Plus, the chickens will certainly enjoy eating heads and offal, and their own health (and by extension, the healfulness of their eggs) will be improved, making it a winning idea all the way around.  Having seen them attack salmon scraps before, we have little doubt how much they will enjoy fresh fish.

If you can’t increase your EPA and DHA from fish consumption, we urge you to at least increase your ALA – put some Alpha in your Omega.  Gobble down those flax seeds and hazelnuts, and give some weeds to your chickens.

Happy farming!