Nutrient of the Month - Essential Fatty Acids: Omega-3

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Your Good Farm in-house nutritionist. Here to bring you essential information on nutrition, diet and permaculture gardening - in a bite size, easy to understand, science-backed way.

Nutrient of the Month

Essential Fatty Acids: Omega-3

Many of us have heard that we should eat more omega-3s or include oily fish in our diet each week. They're recommended for heart health, brain function, healthy ageing, pregnancy and inflammation. But what exactly are omega-3 fats, why are they called essential, and does it matter whether they come from chia seeds, sardines or pasture-raised meat?

Not all omega-3s are created equal. A tablespoon of chia seeds and a serve of sardines both contain omega-3, yet they provide different types that the body uses in different ways.

Nutrition begins before food reaches your kitchen. It begins in the soil, the surrounding environment and the farming systems that produce our food. Healthy soil supports healthy pasture. Healthy pasture supports healthier animals, and healthier animals produce food with a different nutritional profile. This relationship influences the fatty acid composition of the food we eat, either enhancing or diminishing its omega-3 content.

What does 'essential' mean?

In nutrition, the word essential refers to nutrients our body cannot produce in sufficient amounts on its own, so they must be obtained from food.

Omega-3 and omega-6 are both essential fatty acids. Despite the negative attention omega-6 sometimes receives, it is just as essential as omega-3 and performs many important functions throughout the body, including supporting healthy cell membranes, skin, growth and immune function. The issue is that many modern diets provide far more omega-6 than omega-3. Highly processed foods, takeaway meals and refined vegetable oils have become increasingly common, while oily fish and seafood are often eaten only occasionally.

Researchers estimate that many traditional diets provided an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio somewhere between 1:1 and 4:1. Today, many Western diets are estimated to range between 10:1 and 20:1, largely because of the increased intake of refined vegetable oils and processed foods. When omega-6 intake becomes disproportionately high and omega-3 intake is low, it can contribute to a more pro-inflammatory environment. Chronic, low-grade inflammation has been linked with many modern health conditions, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and some autoimmune disorders.

Not all omega-3s are the same

There are three main omega-3 fats found in our diet.

Plant foods including flaxseeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds and walnuts provide ALA (alpha-linolenic acid), a short-chain omega-3.

Seafood provides EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), the long-chain omega-3 fats.

Although the body can convert some ALA into EPA and DHA, the conversion is relatively limited. Only a small proportion becomes EPA, while even less is converted into DHA. Genetics, age, nutrient status, overall diet and omega-6 intake can all influence this process.

Plant foods remain an important part of a healthy diet, but because of this limited conversion, they shouldn't be considered equivalent to seafood when it comes to providing EPA and DHA.

Why are EPA and DHA different?

EPA and DHA become incorporated into the membranes surrounding every cell in the body. From there, they help cells communicate and contribute to many processes throughout the body. EPA is used to produce specialised compounds that help regulate and resolve inflammation.

Inflammation itself is not something to avoid. It is a normal part of healing after injury, fighting infection and repairing damaged tissue. Problems arise when inflammation becomes excessive or fails to resolve appropriately. EPA and DHA help support the body's natural ability to move from inflammation towards repair.

DHA is especially concentrated in the brain, eyes and nervous system. During pregnancy, breastfeeding and early childhood, DHA is especially important because these tissues are developing so rapidly.

How much do we need?

Australian recommendations suggest aiming for around 250 to 500 mg of EPA and DHA each day, which can generally be achieved by eating two to three serves of oily fish each week. Excellent sources include sardines, anchovies, mackerel, herring, wild-caught salmon, trout, mussels and oysters.

Smaller oily fish such as sardines, anchovies and herring also tend to accumulate fewer environmental contaminants than larger predatory fish, making them an excellent choice nutritionally, environmentally and financially.

While seafood remains the richest source of EPA and DHA, pasture-raised beef and lamb also contribute small amounts of these long-chain omega-3 fats, along with DPA, another beneficial omega-3 found primarily in ruminant animals. Although they don't replace seafood, choosing pasture-raised meat over grain-fed can help improve the overall fatty acid profile of the diet.

It is equally important to reduce unnecessary sources of omega-6 from highly processed foods and refined vegetable oils. Supporting healthy fatty acid intake isn't just about eating more omega-3, it's also about reducing the excess omega-6 that has become so common in modern diets.

Does the way food is produced make a difference?

One of the most important considerations when choosing the foods that nourish you is that their nutritional quality is shaped by the environment in which they are grown and raised. The food an animal eats influences the nutrients found within its tissues. Wild fish obtain omega-3 through algae and the marine food chain.

Likewise, animals raised on diverse pastures consume grasses, herbs and other plants that create a different fatty acid profile from animals finished predominantly on grain or spending much of their lives in feedlots. Compared with conventionally grain-fed animals, pasture-raised beef and lamb generally contain more omega-3 fats and a lower omega-6 to omega-3 ratio.

The same principle extends to eggs. Hens with access to pasture, insects and a varied natural diet often produce eggs containing higher levels of omega-3 than hens raised indoors on standard commercial feed.

Seafood remains one of the richest sources of EPA and DHA, but these examples demonstrate how strongly farming practices can shape the nutritional quality of the food we eat. Healthy soil supports healthy pasture. Healthy pasture supports healthier animals. Healthier animals produce more nutritious food. It is a point worth repeating because this is where much of our investment in health should start. Quality over quantity, and quality food before supplements.

From a regenerative perspective, farmed Atlantic salmon is not a food I choose to eat.

Nutritionally, the fatty acid profile of farmed Atlantic salmon has shifted over time as fish oil in aquaculture feeds has increasingly been replaced with poultry by-products and vegetable oils. While farmed salmon still provides EPA and DHA, it also contains considerably more omega-6 than it once did.

Intensive aquaculture systems rely on a range of ongoing inputs to maintain conditions that are very different from nature. These may include formulated feeds, veterinary treatments, disease management, waste management and other interventions required to support large numbers of fish within confined spaces. Rather than working with natural ecological processes, these systems often depend on continual human intervention. This has led to growing public and scientific discussion about the environmental impacts of some intensive aquaculture systems, including concerns surrounding parts of the Tasmanian salmon industry.

This raises an important question. When a farming system requires increasing intervention simply to keep functioning, perhaps it is worth asking whether that is the kind of food system we want to support.

If your budget allows, frozen wild-caught Pacific salmon, such as Alaskan sockeye, is generally a better nutritional choice. However, for many Australians, smaller oily fish such as sardines, mackerel, herring and anchovies are often the better investment. They naturally provide excellent amounts of EPA and DHA, sit lower on the food chain, accumulate fewer environmental contaminants, are more affordable and are considered among the most sustainable seafood choices.

What about fish oil?

For people who rarely eat seafood, a fish oil or algae-derived omega-3 supplement may be worth considering depending on your health status and goals.

EPA and DHA gradually become incorporated into cell membranes and tissues, so changes in omega-3 status occur over months rather than days. Consistency is more useful than taking a large dose every now and then.

Quality is where fish oil becomes complicated. Omega-3 fats are highly sensitive to heat, light and oxygen and can oxidise during processing or storage. Some independent testing has found supplements that do not meet freshness or stated EPA and DHA levels, although this does not mean all products are of poor quality.

When I worked for a practitioner nutraceutical company, one of the suggestions when discussing fish oil quality was to pierce a capsule and smell or taste the oil. A fresh oil should have only a mild marine smell and should not taste strongly sour, bitter or like fish that has gone off. It can be a useful guide, but it isn't foolproof, which is why choosing a reputable manufacturer is so important.

Just as with food, don't buy a supplement based on the claims on the front of the bottle. Turn it over and read the label. Many fish oil supplements proudly display "1,000 mg" on the front, but this usually refers to the total amount of fish oil, not the amount of the beneficial omega-3 fats EPA and DHA. The EPA and DHA content listed on the nutrition panel is what really matters. Also look for evidence of independent third-party testing for oxidation and contaminants and choose companies that are transparent about the quality and sourcing of their ingredients.

Working with a qualified practitioner can also be helpful when deciding whether supplementation is needed, which form and dose best suits your individual circumstances.

Take fish oil with a meal containing some healthy fat, as this improves absorption and may reduce any stomach upset. Store the bottle according to the manufacturer's instructions, away from heat, light and moisture. Liquid fish oils should generally be refrigerated after opening, and many people also choose to keep capsules in the fridge, particularly during the warmer months.

Bringing it back to the farm

Nutrition begins in the soil, the environment and with the people who grow and raise our food, the way nature intended.

Quality food may cost more upfront, but so too does poor health. While everyone's financial situation is different, it's worth asking whether we've unintentionally undervalued one of the greatest investments we can make in our future wellbeing. We might happily spend money on a daily coffee, a new outfit or upgrading our car, yet the food that nourishes us every single day is often the first place we look to cut costs.

I first heard regenerative farmer Charlie Arnott pose a simple question that has stayed with me ever since: Do you know the name of the farmer who grows your food? Most of us know the name of our doctor, someone we may see only once or twice a year, yet few of us know the people producing the food we eat three times a day, every day of the year.

That is where the conversation around our health should begin.

Sammy's Picks This Week: As discussed in this article, pasture-raised beef and lamb contribute small amounts of long-chain omega-3s and generally have a more favourable fatty acid profile than conventionally grain-fed meat. They also provide highly bioavailable protein, iron, zinc, vitamin B12 and many other essential nutrients. My top picks are the Moroccan Lamb, Beef Massaman Curry, and Shepherd's Pie.

Up next on the blog is what my current breastfeeding journey has taught me about the developing tongue, and how something as simple as tongue posture can influence feeding, breathing, oral development and overall health.

If you'd like us to explore a topic here on The Nutrition Edit, we'd love to hear from you. Leave a comment below or send us an email with your suggestions.

Further Reading

Deep Nutrition by Dr Catherine Shanahan
An exploration of traditional diets, healthy fats and how modern farming and food processing have changed the nutritional quality of our food.

The Paleo Cure by Chris Kresser
A practical, evidence-informed guide to essential fats, seafood, inflammation and building a nutrient-dense diet using whole foods.

Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Dr Weston A. Price
A classic work documenting the diets of traditional cultures around the world and the relationship between nutrient-dense foods, fat-soluble vitamins and long-term health.

Toxic: The Rotting Underbelly of the Tasmanian Salmon Industry by Richard Flanagan
An investigation into intensive salmon farming in Tasmania and the environmental, ecological and ethical questions surrounding modern aquaculture.

Reference List

Calder PC. Omega-3 fatty acids and inflammatory processes: From molecules to man. Biochemical Society Transactions. 2017;45(5):1105-1115.

Commonwealth of Australia, National Health and Medical Research Council, Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, New Zealand Ministry of Health. Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand. Canberra: NHMRC; 2006 (updated).

Gebauer SK, Psota TL, Harris WS, Kris-Etherton PM. n-3 Fatty acid dietary recommendations and food sources to achieve essentiality and cardiovascular benefits. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2006;83(6 Suppl):1526S-1535S.

Kris-Etherton PM, Harris WS, Appel LJ. Fish consumption, fish oil, omega-3 fatty acids and cardiovascular disease. Circulation. 2002;106(21):2747-2757.

Putnam S, Minihane AM, Calder PC. An overview of national and international long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid intake recommendations for healthy populations. Nutrition Research Reviews. 2026.

Simopoulos AP. The importance of the omega-6/omega-3 fatty acid ratio in cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases. Experimental Biology and Medicine. 2008;233(6):674-688.

Weston A. Price. Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. 8th ed. Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation.