Omega 3

So I have heard all over the place that I should be eating oily fish each week to make sure I am getting plenty of omega-3. But I don't like fish, especially the oily kinds, so what should I be doing and what is this omega 3 stuff anyway? Is it just another 'miracle cure all' peddled by the food supplement industry, or is it something we actually need?

What is omega 3? Or to give it it's proper name, omega-3 fatty acids, are polyunsaturated fatty acids needed by the body for essential bodily functions, such as blood clotting and building cell membranes in the brain. Our bodies cannot make these fatty acids itself, so we need to get them from our diet.  

There are two types of fatty acids, one sort is found in nuts, seeds (and seed oil) and some dark green leaf vegetables, the second type is found in fatty fish. Your body needs both kinds of fatty acid, but the good news is that some of the first type of omega 3 you consume is converted to the second type. Science isn't sure how much, and if it is enough on its own, but studies of vegetarians who never consume oily fish have sufficient type 2 fatty acid when eating a diet rich in type one fatty acid.

So with a sensible diet, that contains a balanced source of nutrients, you don't need to take any supplements. If you struggle to get enough of the vegetable based omega 3, fish oil supplements are a good alternative.

Personally I don't want to take fish oil pills every day, so have opted to try to include as much omega 3 rich foods into my diet. So I eat a couple of brazil nuts each day as they provide other essential nutrients. I have also started to add flax-meal to my cooking and as well as being a good source of omega 3, it is also high in fiber, 2 table spoons providing 15% of my daily requirement and 132% of omega 3 (alpha-linolenic acid, type one).

So to answer my original questions, yes we need omega 3 but we don't have to believe the food supplement merchants, a balanced diet will provide enough omega 3 for a healthy body.

The Science:
Harvard School of Public Health: Omega-3 Fatty Acids 
Muskiet FA, Fokkema MR, Schaafsma A, Boersma ER, Crawford MA. Is docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) essential? Lessons from DHA status regulation, our ancient diet, epidemiology and randomized controlled trials. J Nutr. 2004;134(1):183-186. 
Cunnane SC. Problems with essential fatty acids: time for a new paradigm? Prog Lipid Res. 2003;42(6):544-568