I would really appreciate your thoughts on this dilemma i am having. I have been vegan for about a year and because of ongoing health issues i have routine blood tests. My recent blood tests showed that i have borderline B12 levels but more importantly a very low Omega 3 rating specifically DHA/EPA, which in turn is causing a very high Omega 6:3 ratio of 25:1
I have tried to supplement both B12 and DHA/EPA but i react VERY badly to supplements, i have tried at least three variants of each and they leave me feeling wired with heart palpitations and insomnia. On the advice of a nutritionist three months ago i cut right back on cooking with oils and started to consume AT LEAST two heaped spoonfuls of flax/chia seeds EVERY day, but i just got my Omega test back again and my ratio is actually slightly higher than it was, now 25:1. My ALA score had increased slightly, but my DHA/EPA scores had continued to decrease.
NB My Omega 6 score is PERFECT so my nutritionist agrees that it does not make sense to try and cut that back even more in a futile attempt to balance the ratio, even if i were to reduce the ratio slightly that way i would still be deficient in DHA/EPA because on my vegan diet i am not consuming any foods that contain DHA/EPA. I had hoped my body would convert ALA into the necessary DHA/EPA but in both my case and my wife's case who has the same 25:1 ratio, our bodies are not converting ALA adequately. FYI my wife and i even bothered to get genetic tests done to see if we had a genetic mutation that was causing the low conversion rate from ALA to DHA/EPA but there was no such mutation. I have also since read a lot of research that confirms the conversion rate from ALA to DHA/EPA is indeed minimal, which is why many leading vegan doctors and nutritionists including Dr Greger do say that vegans need to supplement with DHA/EPA.
Given that i am genuinely unable to supplement i see no choice but to look for a cruelty free source of DHA/EPA. The best option i can come up with would be rescuing some chickens and keeping them in my garden as pets. Eggs are a good source of B12, DHA/EPA, Vitamin D, Selenium, Iodine etc. which should deal with my deficiencies.
I am really gutted to have to do this, as i am proud to consider myself a vegan, but at the same time i am not prepared to live with known deficiencies when i am already suffering with ill health. DHA/EPA have important to roles to play in both brain and heart health.
Sorry if this sounds a bit dramatic, but it is a real dilemma for me.
Appreciate your thoughts...
I have tried to supplement both B12 and DHA/EPA but i react VERY badly to supplements, i have tried at least three variants of each and they leave me feeling wired with heart palpitations and insomnia. On the advice of a nutritionist three months ago i cut right back on cooking with oils and started to consume AT LEAST two heaped spoonfuls of flax/chia seeds EVERY day, but i just got my Omega test back again and my ratio is actually slightly higher than it was, now 25:1. My ALA score had increased slightly, but my DHA/EPA scores had continued to decrease.
NB My Omega 6 score is PERFECT so my nutritionist agrees that it does not make sense to try and cut that back even more in a futile attempt to balance the ratio, even if i were to reduce the ratio slightly that way i would still be deficient in DHA/EPA because on my vegan diet i am not consuming any foods that contain DHA/EPA. I had hoped my body would convert ALA into the necessary DHA/EPA but in both my case and my wife's case who has the same 25:1 ratio, our bodies are not converting ALA adequately. FYI my wife and i even bothered to get genetic tests done to see if we had a genetic mutation that was causing the low conversion rate from ALA to DHA/EPA but there was no such mutation. I have also since read a lot of research that confirms the conversion rate from ALA to DHA/EPA is indeed minimal, which is why many leading vegan doctors and nutritionists including Dr Greger do say that vegans need to supplement with DHA/EPA.
Given that i am genuinely unable to supplement i see no choice but to look for a cruelty free source of DHA/EPA. The best option i can come up with would be rescuing some chickens and keeping them in my garden as pets. Eggs are a good source of B12, DHA/EPA, Vitamin D, Selenium, Iodine etc. which should deal with my deficiencies.
I am really gutted to have to do this, as i am proud to consider myself a vegan, but at the same time i am not prepared to live with known deficiencies when i am already suffering with ill health. DHA/EPA have important to roles to play in both brain and heart health.
Sorry if this sounds a bit dramatic, but it is a real dilemma for me.
Appreciate your thoughts...