What Is Vegan Omega 3?
Vegan omega 3 is easy to obtain and essential to a healthy diet. These “good fats” help keep your cells functioning properly and can support heart, brain, and eye health and lower the risk of certain types of cancer.
What Is Vegan Omega 3?
Vegan omega 3 means the fatty acids sourced from plants that we need to maintain healthy bodies. You can obtain all the omega 3 you need with a variety of healthy vegan foods, which are easy to incorporate into your existing meal planning – or you may even make some delicious new discoveries.
There are three main types of omega 3 fatty acids, and your body needs them all. ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) is the easiest to find, and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) can be found in seaweed and other types of algae. The human body can also convert a small proportion of ALA into EPA and subsequently DHA – so eat plenty of ALA-rich foods.
What Vegan Foods Have Omega 3?
The vegan omega 3 sources listed below are highly versatile additions to a healthy, varied diet and contain other vital nutrients, such as fibre, protein, and vitamins and minerals.
Chia Seeds
Chia seeds are an ALA powerhouse, the star of vegan omega 3 foods. Soak them overnight in plant milk to make chia pudding, or mix them in with overnight oats. You can use them to make a low-sugar jam, or try this decadent dark chocolate and raspberry mousse.
Flaxseed
Flaxseed (also known as linseed) is rich in vegan omega 3, packed with other nutrients, and super-easy to add to meals. It’s most digestible if the seeds are ground, and you can stir flax meal into almost any dish. Mix ground flax with water to replace eggs in baking, such as in this moreish banana bread, or use flaxseed oil to make pesto.
Hemp Seeds
Hemp seeds are a bountiful source of vegan omega 3 and contain more protein than most other seeds. Hemp seed houmous is a wonderful way to enjoy this superfood’s benefits, slathered on crispy crudités.
Walnuts
Pack a portion of walnuts as a healthy snack, whizz them up with mushrooms to make this fancy faux gras terrine, or toast them, crush them, and sprinkle them over dairy-free ice cream – finding new ways to get your vegan omega 3 is an indisputable excuse to explore!
Vegetables and Legumes
Edamame beans, Brussels sprouts, and leafy greens such as spinach and kale will keep topping up your ALA levels. If you have purslane growing in your garden (or nearby to forage), this edible weed packs a punch with lots of ALA and even some EPA.
Seaweed and Other Algae
Algae, including seaweed, is the main direct source of vegan omega 3 with EPA and DHA. There are numerous types of seaweed and countless ways to to try it:
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- Grab a pack of seaweed snacks.
- Use nori sheets to make vegan sushi or simple wraps, add to tofish, or crumble over rice or noodle dishes.
- Sub your regular noodles for kelp noodles.
- Wilt wakame in a soup or a sesame-seasoned seaweed salad.
- Harness kombu’s deep umami character in stocks and dashis.
- Add dulse to dishes for a smoky bacon–like flavour.
Spirulina and chlorella are types of algae most often available as a powder that can be added to smoothies. You can find them individually or together in green mixes with other superfoods or as green shots from the supermarket juice aisle.
Oils
Rapeseed oil (also called canola oil) is widely available in supermarkets, while you’ll probably have to go to an oriental supermarket for soybean oil and an Indian grocery for mustard oil. All are rich sources of ALA, but for the greatest benefit, they shouldn’t be used for cooking. Instead, keep their goodness intact and drizzle these flavoursome dressings over veggies, salads, or bread. Perilla oil, made from a plant in the mint family, is not easy to find in the UK, but you can buy it online and might see seaweed snacks roasted with perilla oil in Asian supermarkets – double whammy.
Vegan Omega 3 Supplements
Algal oil is a vegan omega 3 supplement rather than a pantry staple and delivers more direct vegan omega 3 with EPA and DHA in case you’re not enticed by the appetising options above. (Really, though?)
Fish also get their omega 3 from eating algae, so we can go directly to the source and leave these living, feeling beings in peace. Vegan omega 3 is a great source of EPA and DHA, and it’s more ethical and sustainable than buying fish oil, which is a product of cruelty and environmental destruction.
Why Vegan Omega 3?
Opting for vegan omega 3 leaves sensitive, intelligent fish in the ocean. Fish are playful, inquisitive animals who feel pain and fear and don’t want to be dragged from their homes and killed any more than a human does. They share knowledge and have long memories and cultural traditions. Some woo potential partners by creating intricate works of art in the sand on the ocean floor.
Havva Zorlu / We Animals Media
Yet more fish are killed for food each year than all other animals combined, often in agonising ways – they’re impaled, crushed, suffocated or cut open often while still conscious. In addition, 8 million tonnes of non-target animals are unintentionally caught annually as the fishing industry aims to increase profits.
Fishing Industry Destruction
Humans’ appetite for fish comes at a grave environmental cost, as fishing vessels decimate the world’s oceans, leaving them empty, lifeless, and on the brink of ecological collapse. Massive ships the size of football fields stay out at sea for as long as six months, storing thousands of tonnes of fish, and 90% of large fish populations have been exterminated. Bottom trawlers literally scrape the ocean floor clean of life. Meanwhile fish factory farms can leach diseases, industrial chemicals, and antibiotics into the oceans while confining fish to filthy crowded conditions.
The industry is also devastating for human victims: a BBC investigation exposed people trafficking and forced labour in horrific conditions around the world, including by a family-owned fishing firm in Scotland. Such abuse is hidden by the vastness of the oceans and the remoteness of fishing operations.
Go Vegan Today
Now you know how to get omega 3 as a vegan, there’s no excuse for eating sensitive fish. A well-planned vegan diet can support the healthy living of people of all ages, meaning you can spare fish and all other animals suffering and a violent death in the meat, egg, and dairy industries.
Take PETA’s January Vegan Challenge to discover just how easy – and rewarding – eating vegan can be.
