vegan omega 3

TheLittleFangs

Hi lovelies. I am new to the vegan lifestyle currently winding down my animal product consumption to go fully vegan in the next few weeks. I suffer from a form of bipolar and major depressive disorder and am researching how diet can help and omega 3 keeps popping up but all sources seem to be from animals. My question is is there a vegan alternative? Are there non animal foods that contain it? Please help if you can. Thank you xxx

vegwrangler

I throw chia seeds in almost everything due to it's nutritionally dense profile, including Omega-3's... http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/06/03/chia-seed-benefits-_n_3379831.html

vegwrangler

Oh wow... there are some great ideas in this article too: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/26/omega-3-vegetarian-vegan_n_1299283.html

TheLittleFangs

Fantastic thank you I did some reading and found edamame beans, wild rice, walnuts, flax and generally the bean population are good I will take a look at those articles. Thanks again. X

vegwrangler

Raw walnuts... mmm... I need to get some of those tomorrow! I also suffer from depression and find that raw nuts and vegetables are the only things that truly boost my mood. I hope you find the same is true for yourself!!! Hugs! xx

brevislux

I buy flaxseeds and grind them at home using a coffee grinder (eating them whole is claimed to be useless, and you have to freeze them after you grind them to preserve their health benefits). It seems to be the cheapest option. You're supposed to have one tbsp of ground flaxseed a day (I think it tastes nice actually, reminds me of all-bran.. I add it to shakes, salad and oatmeal).

danikanoodles

Tender leafy greens have a lot of Omega 3's in them. Have a giant salad at dinner and it will help a lot. I am able to get all my needed omega 3's in without even having to add in any overt fats like most people say you need to have in order to get enough. When having bipolar it's good to keep the overt fats to a minimum and make sure you are eating enough calories.

I would actually love to talk to you about this if you ever want to message me.

Territrek

Flax oil is a good source. It is one of the few oils that has more omega 3 than omega 6 (a 3 to 1 ration). Deva has a vegan omega 3 DHA/EPA pill soured from algae.

TheLittleFangs

Some great advice here, thank you for help and suggestions. :flowerforyou:

rushmama5

there is some controversy whether krill oil is vegan friendly. If you start doing flax
and/or chia start out easy. It can cause discomfort coming through. I am also bi-polar.
I started eating vegan very recently because my blood stats were getting weird and I was
feeling poorly all the time. I like primrose oil and safflower oil. Also Google" Bipolar or
Waking up?" (Sean Blackwell) very comforting to know someone is working to improve
the experience of the Bi-polar person. Perhaps mainstream psychiatry will Catch on. Funny
how my doctor never asks about omega-3 intake and supposedly it has an impact on mental
well being. I think its ultimately my responsibility to be well.

raij2891

When I became vegan I read that it was important to get a supplement that has both DHA and EPA. The supplements that I currently use are derived from algae which is essentially where fish get their omegas from (meat eaters tend to get a good deal of their omegas from fish). It's my understanding that this is the best source of vegan omegas. I've tried both of the supplements below.

http://www.amazon.com/Ovega-3-Vegetarian-Softgels-500-Count/dp/B004LL7AXE/ref=pd_sim_hpc_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=1J0RPQB1DW26977GRTW7

http://www.amazon.com/Deva-Nutrition-Vegan-DHA-EPA-Count/dp/B005R5CARY/ref=pd_sim_hpc_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=01X2EFAXDYXWEV0YYADW

Voww

In the UK too - I take OceanPure Together's Algae DHA Omega 3 softgels from Holland and Barrett, 30 capsules are about £13.99, vegan and it's extracted without the use of chemicals.

rjdunn87

Walnuts and flax are my favorite sources personally

Meerataila

Never tried Chia seeds. Do they keep better than flax seeds? I'm sort of out of room in the freezer.

jmunn1129

Chia seeds, flax seeds, flax oil, cold pressed olive oil, e3live supplements, also some supplements that get omega 3s from algae instead of fish. Plenty of choices, you just have to pick one. Best of luck with your new, amazing journey!

carriecarrio

I read sunflower seeds can help with depression as well. I consume a lot of sunflower seeds, I put them in my salads, rice, homemade bread etc.
http://www.naturalnews.com/026165_seeds_sunflower_body.html

jmunn1129

I don't know if you've seen the documentary food matters, but they do talk about depression a bit, and one of the more natural doctors actually had a patient he treated with niacin, and it helped their depressing so much! He said that eating two palm fulls of raw cashews a day supposedly is as effective in treating depressing as prozac. Now this is all second hand knowledge, but I'm sure adding raw cashews can't hurt!

carriecarrio

jmunn1129 wrote: »

I don't know if you've seen the documentary food matters, but they do talk about depression a bit, and one of the more natural doctors actually had a patient he treated with niacin, and it helped their depressing so much! He said that eating two palm fulls of raw cashews a day supposedly is as effective in treating depressing as prozac. Now this is all second hand knowledge, but I'm sure adding raw cashews can't hurt!

good info.
Niacin is vitamin B. Most multi-vitamins have it and some foods are fortified with it as well.