What are omega fatty acids?
Fatty acids are important for all systems of the body to function normally. There are two fatty acids, known as Essential Fatty Acids (EFA), that your body does not produce on its own. In other words, EFAs have to be ingested through diet, supplements, or both.
The two essential fatty acids that the human body cannot produce are the omega-3 fatty acid and omega-6 fatty acid, which are important for brain development, immune system function and blood pressure regulation. There are also the “non-essential” omegas-5, 7 and 9, and because our bodies typically glean these fatty acids from food, there is rarely a need for supplementation.
The problem: an imbalance of EFAs.
Ideally, your omega-3 and omega-6 fats will be balanced. In fact, if your diet contains too many omega-3 fatty acids, your immune system won’t work very well.
And yet, many of the health problems that we face can be traced back to having an imbalance of omega-3 and omega-6. Omega-6 comes from things like fried foods, fast foods and boxed foods that contain vegetables oils like soybean oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, cottonseed oil and corn oil. Some of these oils are actually quite good for you when left in their cold pressed form. It’s when we heat them at high temperatures (like all fast food chains do) that they harm our bodies. Unfortunately, our modern American diet is rich in these harmful omega-6 fats.
Again, omega-6 fats aren’t necessarily bad for you. When they’re consumed in large amounts without omega-3s, however, they will cause inflammation. And as we know, inflammation leads to chronic illness. Did you know that the average American has a 20:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats, when a healthy ratio is more ideally around 2:1? This shows just how deficient most of us are and why supplementing with an omega-3 supplement is so beneficial.
Benefits of omega.
Maintaining a proper balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fats has been shown in hundreds of studies to provide benefits to many inflammatory diseases, including autoimmune diseases, ADHD, asthma, arthritis, cancer, and depression. And even if you’re not currently suffering from one of these issues, you can decrease your risk of heart disease and stroke while also helping reduce symptoms of hypertension, joint pain, chronic skin ailments like eczema. Omega supplementation has also been shown to aid the body in weight loss, fertility, pregnancy and increased energy.
Natural omega sources.
The best natural sources of omega-6 are cold pressed olive, safflower, sesame, and sunflower oils, pistachios, hempseed, chiaseed, plus raw nuts & seeds and green leafy vegetables like lettuce, broccoli, and kale. Omega-3 are found naturally in mustard and pumpkin seeds, brazil nuts, raw walnuts & walnut oil, flaxseed & flaxseed oil, hempseed, chia seeds, green leafy veggies, spirulina, and canola oil (rapeseed oil). Omega-3 is also found in fatty fish like salmon, tuna, and a wide variety of white fish. Unfortunately, fish can be contaminated and may have high levels of mercury.
Choosing an omega supplement.
A healthy balance of all Omegas (3, 5, 6, 7 and 9) is important for your overall health. As we’ve mentioned, a growing body of research shows that a diet rich in all omega fatty acids supports a broad array of benefits, including the health of your heart, brain, joints, skin, immune system and eyes.
Unfortunately, most omega supplements only contain Omega 3, and even then, the supplement is made almost entirely of fish oil. Like most diet‐related phenomenon, people can’t, won’t or don’t get enough omegas in their diets – especially from high quality plant sources. This is why we’re so excited about the Juice Plus+ Omega Blend!
The JP+ Omega Blend takes omega supplements to a whole new, whole food level. It’s a naturally balanced plant‐based blend of omega fatty acids – not just Omega 3, but also Omega 5, 6, 7 and 9.
The omega fatty acids are not extracted from fish sources (like most omega supplements) – this supplement uses the original source, algae. Juice Plus+ has “cut out the middle fish” by taking the Omega 3s from the original algal source that the fish eat, not from the fish itself. This provides a purer, more sustainable source of Omega 3s – from algal oil.
The Omega Blend also includes cold‐pressed oils from five other seeds and berries in which omega fatty acids naturally occur: pomegranate seeds, sea buckthorn berries, raspberry seeds, tomato seeds, and safflower seeds. Cold pressing these oils ensures minimal disruption to their nutritional quality and integrity.
The Omega Blend contains 100% non‐GMO ingredients, is gluten‐free, and contains no artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, or added starch.
Contact us today if you’re interested in ordering this amazing omega supplement!