Fish oil for omega 3 fatty acids?

Omega-3 milk powder, omega 3 eggs, salmon fish oil...you've probably heard a lot through the advertisement and news for their values to your health, but do you really understand what are them, the ways in which they are beneficial to your health and which foods to get them from?

Er...not really,right?

First, what are them?
Omega 3 fatty acids are a family of unsaturated fatty acids that have in common a carbon–carbon double bond in the n−3 position, chemically speaking, meaningless to you right?Ok, let's proceed...Important nutritionally essential n−3 fatty acids are: α-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). They are called essential fatty acid as our bodies cannot produce them through other nutrients.

Next, the key health benefits of including omega-3 fatty acids in your diet:
-help keep your heart and blood vessels healthy. In doing so, they can reverse and prevent high blood pressure, as well as reduce your risk of suffering a stroke.
-decrease pain and inflammation throughout your body.
-help prevent breast and colon cancer.
-help to reverse and prevent depression and other mental/emotional health challenges.

Let's see their relationship:

Dark green vegges,
Walnuts, flax seeds, →→ ALA →→Intermediate →→→EPA ↔↔DHA
Plant foods etc molecules ↑ ↑
↑ ↑
↑ ↑
Cold water fish, fish oil, seaweed, etc

Need fish oil?----not necessarily..
Your body is able to convert ALA into EPA and DHA. So theoretically, if you are in excellent health and eat lots of dark green leafy vegetables, ground flax seeds, and walnuts, your body should be able to produce enough EPA and DHA from ALA to provide all of the health benefits listed above..

Some people who support eating only plant foods raise objections to using fish oil, such as the possibility of omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil turning rancid, as well as the possibility of fish oil containing environmental pollutants like mercury. These objections are valid, as independent studies performed by organizations like consumerlabs.com have found that some brands of fish oil contain rancid fatty acids that can harm your health.

Other Suspected risks :
-Increased bleeding if overused (normally over 3 grams per day) by a patient who is also taking aspirin or warfarin.
-Hemorrhagic stroke (only in case of very large doses, called "Eskimo amounts").
-Oxidation of n−3 fatty acids forming biologically active oxidation products.
-Reduced glycemic control among diabetics.
-Suppression of immune and inflammation responses, and consequently, decreased resistance to infections and increased susceptibility to opportunistic bacteria.
-An increase in concentration of LDL cholesterol in some individuals.

As it is with all of the nutrients that we know of to date, omega-3 fatty acids work synergistically with many co-factors to provide their health promoting effects. In my opinion, I feel that it is wise to eat a variety of foods that are naturally rich in ALA, EPA, and DHA rather than to rely on a supplement that contains just one or more of these omega-3 fatty acids .