5 of the best VEGAN OMEGA 3

Two servings of fish a week, including one oily fish (e.g. salmon or mackerel) is the official recommendation to ensure we get enough vital omega 3 fats. This provides about 3,000 mg a week of two of the most important omega 3 fats, DHA and EPA, for eye and heart health. But what if you’re a vegan? Dietitian Helen Bond recommends five of the best non-fish based options.

BIOCARE VEGAN OMEGA 3

30 capsules, £14.40. biocare. co.uk THIS provides DHA and EPA from indoor cultivation of algae, minimising the environmental impact from harvesting and the possibility of contaminants. One capsule contains 250 mg combined of these omega 3s — sufficient for supporting the function of the heart.

HEALTHSPAN VEG-OMEGA 3

60 capsules, £22.95, healthspan.co.uk CONTAINING DHA and EPA from a marine algae called Schizochytrium, this is also grown indoors, in a gelatin-free capsule. It’s double strength compared with many similar supplements, providing 330 mg DHA and 200 mg EPA per capsule, making it a good one-aday option for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers who have higher omega 3 needs.

TERRANOVA OMEGA OIL

250ml, £20.61, amazon.co.uk IF YOU prefer food, not pills, this oil blend including flax seed, borage and sea buckthorn oil, works well to dress a salad, but shouldn’t be heated. It supplies omega 3 in a 2:1 ratio with other essential fats. The omega 3 here is alphalinolenic acid (ALA), which the body converts to DHA and EPA, and 3 tsp daily (15 ml) should meet your needs.

VEGETOLOGY OPTI3 LIQUID

150ml, £16.95, vegetology.com THIS is an algae-based source of DHA and EPA in olive oil with orange flavouring, and is a good option if you struggle to swallow capsules. It has the highest dose of those here, with 328 mg EPA and 534 mg DHA per teaspoon — but is still safe (5,000 mg is the highest safe combined daily dose).

High, i.e. 2,000 mg-a-day doses of DHA — 4 tsps of this oil — may help lower triglyceride blood fats for people with high levels of these but check with your GP before using it for this.

PEPPA PIG OMEGA 3

30 jelly chewables, £8.45, vitabiotics.com THESE can provide reassurance that children who don’t or won’t eat oily fish are getting the DHA they need. Two chews contain 200mg DHA (and 15mg EPA) — 80 per cent of the daily DHA amount recommended by the European Food Safety Authority to maintain normal brain function and vision.

But bear in mind these are no different from sweets in terms of their sugar content at 0.7g per sweet, which means the daily dose of two has seven per cent of the maximum added sugars for children aged four to six.