Plant-based eating is a fast-growing trend in the UK and worldwide, driven by environmental concerns, ethical reasons and perceived health benefits. Either cutting out completely or reducing consumption of animal products does have certain health benefits, and many people feel great in the short term after changing their way of eating, but why do some become unwell after months or years on a plant-based diet? Deficiencies in vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids may take years to produce symptoms. As these develop slowly and can be vague, diagnosis and supplementation are often delayed. For example, 50% of vegans and 7% of vegetarians are deficient in vitamin B12, and once B12 deficiency symptoms appear, damage can be irreversible. 

Each cell of the body needs a constant supply of nutrients to perform optimally. The key is to carefully plan your diet to ensure you’re getting all your body needs to thrive, and to supplement with what you can’t obtain from your diet. In this 2 part series, we’ll focus on omega-3 in the first article, and look at vitamins and minerals in the second. 

The omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids comprise two important families of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Although both are essential for health, fats in the omega-3 family tend to give rise to anti-inflammatory compounds and substances that positively influence the immune system, whereas an oversupply of omega-6 fatty acids drives inflammation in the body. The key to good health therefore, is to consume a generous amount of omega-3s and a small amount of omega-6s daily.

The short-chain omega-3s (alpha linoleic acid or ALA) and omega-6s (linolenic acid or LA) are found in commonly consumed plant foods. Rich sources of the sought-after ALA include seeds and nuts such as flax and chia seeds, walnuts and pecan nuts. While consumption of these short-chain omega-3s is encouraged for the health benefits they offer (such as minerals, phytonutrients, fibre and cholesterol-lowering ability), only a small percentage converts to the long-chain omega-3s docosahexaenoic acid  (DHA) & eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) which have proven benefits for heart, brain and eye health. 

Omega-6s, which should be avoided in excess, are found in some healthy plant foods, such as nuts & seeds (e.g. peanuts, sunflower and sesame seeds) and wholegrains, but also in abundance in less healthy vegetable seed oils, processed & fried foods and commercially raised animal products.

The omega-3 and omega-6 families compete with each other for the same enzymes that convert short- to long-chain omegas. Until relatively recently, the natural human diet included a range of animal and marine products, plants, nuts & seeds such that the average omega-6 to omega-3 ratio was ~2:1. The standard Western diet now contains an abundance of omega-6s with a ratio of more like 15-20:1. This omega 6:3 imbalance, found in both vegans and omnivores, means even less short- to long-chain omega-3 conversion, leading to a 50% reduction in plasma levels of EPA & DHA for followers of a plant-based diet.

Algae oil is a great choice for the environmentally conscious – grown in closed systems on land, it leaves no footprint on the ocean ecosystem, and the oil is naturally free from contaminants such as heavy metals, PCBs and dioxins. Algae thrives in sunny, dry climates where farming may not be possible and consumes carbon dioxide, thereby reducing ‘greenhouse gas’. What’s more, the byproducts of algae oil production are used for nutritious animal feed. The world’s requirements for long-chain omega-3 cannot be met by fish alone, and with fish stocks under threat, algae offers a sustainable, environmentally sound alternative, not just for vegans but for all of us.