individual micronutrients. We’ve coevolved with our food,
and trying to optimize our infinitely complex bodies by
cherry-picking nutrients may be the ultimate exercise in
hubris. F-acids are the perfect case in point: pharmaceutical
companies have been trying to distill and extract purer and
purer concentrations of EPA omega-3s from fish to create
super-potent fish oil, but they don’t always show the
expected anti-inflammatory benefit. Could this be because
these super-delicate yet powerful furan fats are destroyed in
manufacturing? This is why we’re always in favor of whole
foods over supplements—even the supplements we
recommend!
ALA—The Plant Omega-3
I’ve briefly mentioned another common omega-3: plant-
based alpha-linolenic acid, or ALA, found in seeds and nuts
like flaxseeds, chia seeds, and walnuts. In our bodies, ALA
needs to be converted to DHA and EPA to be used, but this
is a very inefficient process, and what limited ability we
possess further declines with age.^26
Healthy young men convert an estimated 8 percent of
dietary ALA to EPA, and 0 to 4 percent to DHA. In fact, the
conversion of ALA to DHA is so limited in men that
consuming more ALA (from flaxseed oil, for example) may
not increase DHA in the brain at all. Women, on the other
hand, are approximately 2.5 times more efficient at
converting ALA, an ability thought to be facilitated by
estrogen to support the needs of future childbearing.