Small Steps, Sensible Choices, Superior Health.

Essential Fatty Acids Supplements

Do you need essential fatty acids supplements? The questionnaire below can help you decide. 

Many people have a deficiency in essential fatty acids (EFA) because they aren't making healthy choices in the fats they are consuming.

The American diet is too high in the omega-6 essential fatty acid because these are found in vegetable oils.

Vegetable oils are used in fast food restaurants as well as the packaged foods that we eat in our homes.

We do need some omega-6 but the Omega 3 EFA is the one most of us are lacking in our diets.

The best way to get your essential fats is to use olive oil, eat ocean fish,  add flax seed or flax seed oil to your diet or by using a high quality EFA supplement. 

It's name says it all, it is an essential nutrient that we need but our bodies can't produce it.

Do You Need Essential Fatty Acids?

Americans have been brainwashed to believe that all fats are bad for you. However, the body needs good fats for brain and glandular function, cellular health and immune regulation.

We crave fats because our body is looking for essential fatty acids that may be missing in our modern diet.

This great questionnaire was developed by one of my instructors, Steven Horne and I hope you'll find it helpful.

To find out if you need an essential fatty acid supplement, check the answer that best applies to you for each of the following questions. Then, score the total number of points for each answer at the bottom of the page.

Do you eat wild salmon (farm-raised salmon doesn’t count), sardines or ocean fish 2-3 times per week?

• Yes (15 points)
  
• No (0 points)
  

Do you eat wild game or organic, grass-fed beef and poultry two or more times each week?

• Yes (15 points)
  
• No (0 points)
  

Which of the following fats do you usually use for “buttering” bread, etc.?

• Organic butter (10 points)
  
• Regular butter (5 points)
  
• Margarine (0 points)
  
• I am on a very low fat diet and eat almost no fat (0 points) 
  

How often do you eat commercially fried foods?

• Less than 1 time per week (15 points)
  
• 2-3 times per week 10 points)
  
• 4-6 times per week (5 points)
  
• Every day (0 points)
  

Do you want to reduce your risk of heart attack, stroke, cancer, diabetes and other degenerative diseases?

• No (0 points)
  
• Yes (10 points) 

Total Your Points Here _____ Interpreting Your Results:

If you scored 45 or more, you’re doing great!

Score less than 45, you probably need essential fatty acids supplements.

If you scored less than 25, you definitely could benefit from an essential fatty acid supplement.

Getting More Essential Fatty Acids

It you feel you'd like to get more EFA's in your diet you can eat more salmon or ocean fish.  However, make sure the fish is "wild caught" and not farm-raised.  There are pros and cons to getting all your EFA from fish due to the high mercury content that is in the fish.  So proceed with caution. 

You can get EFA's from flax seed or flax seed oil as well. This is a great choice for vegans and vegetarians. 

Probably the safest and most comprehensive source of EFA's is to use a high quality supplement source.  Your local health food store might be able to recommend one for you.  There are also many high quality supplements from on-line suppliers as well. 

Other Resources

Super Supplements

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