Omega-3s are many things, but one thing they are not are vitamins. This may be confusing because not only can you get omega-3s from foods, like salmon, herring, anchovies and other fatty fish, but if you walk down the aisles of any pharmacy, grocery or health food store or any specialty vitamin shop or virtual vitamin retailer, you’ll find numerous choices of omega-3 supplements, often sitting side by side with vitamins.
The reason for that is that dietary supplement manufacturers, marketers and retailers sell omega-3s as an ingredient (often the main ingredient) in dietary supplements, just as they sell multi- and letter vitamins, botanicals and herbals, sports nutrition, weight management and other specialty dietary supplements. Dietary supplements are intended to supplement, not replace, your diet and is a product intended to be ingested. Further dietary supplements are regulated in the U.S. as a category of food.
In casual conversation, though, it wouldn’t be unusual for someone to refer to omega-3s as a vitamin, even though technically they’re not. And, from time to time, even we, at OmegaQuant, might refer to omega-3s as vitamins. So, we really don’t blame you if you think about them or talk about them as vitamins. After all, there are some similarities starting with the fact that vitamins, as well as omega-3s, can be obtained through food or dietary supplements. Then there’s this: both vitamins and omega-3s can be beneficial for your health.
However, vitamins have a very specific definition that doesn’t technically pertain omega-3s. In today’s blog, we’re going to review what vitamins are and what omega-3s are and how they can be beneficial to your health. Let’s get into it.
What are Vitamins?
There are only 13 recognized vitamins that humans need so that your body can properly function. More specifically, vitamins are substances that are important for normal cell function, growth and development—you can’t live without them. Individual letter vitamins (A, B, C, D and E) also have additional individual health benefits for specific purposes. For example, among other things, vitamin C has antioxidant properties that fight damaging free radicals that cause oxidative stress, helps heal wounds and boosts your immune system. Vitamin D also supports your immune function as well as your muscles and brain cell activity. Vitamin D is most known for helping build and maintain healthy bones.
Vitamins are categorized as either fat-soluble, like vitamins A, D, E and K, or water-soluble, like vitamin C and the eight B vitamins which include B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6 (pyridoxine), B7 (biotin), B9 (folate or folic acid) and B12 (cyanocobalamin).
Vitamins are identified as fat-soluble or water-soluble depending on how the body absorbs them and how the body stores them. For example, fat soluble vitamins enjoy better absorption when taken along with a dietary fat, and they are stored in your liver, fatty tissue and muscles. On the other-hand, water-soluble vitamins can be taken with or without food, but it is suggested that drinking water helps with direct absorption of them into your bloodstream. Except for B12, water-soluble vitamins are not stored in your body, but instead what’s not used is excreted through your urine.
BLOG: Can Fish Oil Help with Diabetes?
If you’re good at counting, you’ll notice when we counted out the B vitamins above, we skipped over B4, B8, B10 and B11—and here’s why. According to this article and this one, these vitamins, while they still exist, are no longer considered vitamins because they don’t fit the official definition of a vitamin, which is that they are “essential” and required for normal human growth.
The term “essential” is where things get a little tricky. In laymen’s terms, the definition of essential is “absolutely necessary” or “extremely important” or “so important as to be indispensable,” as examples. However, when we’re talking about vitamins or nutrients (as we’ll get to), the term “essential” may mean all of those things referencing importance and necessity, but also specifically refers to a vitamin or nutrient that is not only vital for bodily functions, but also means that it cannot be produced by your body in sufficient quantities needed for good health; therefore, your body must rely on external sources, such as food or dietary supplements, to guarantee normal bodily function.
Is Omega-3 a Vitamin?
No, omega-3 is not a vitamin because it doesn’t meet the definition of a vitamin. Instead, omega3s are essential nutrients. Typically, there are six categories of essential nutrients: carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals and water.
And you likely already know which of the six categories of essential nutrients omega-3s fall into. That’s right. Omega-3s are in the category of fats, the “good” fats, actually.
Let’s explain that a little further. The “good” fats fall into two categories: monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. These are the types of fats that you want in your diet because they come with health benefits. Omega-3s are one of the “good fats,” specifically polyunsaturated fats.
BLOG: Do Omega-3 Supplements Expire?
On the other hand, there are fats to avoid completely, like trans fats, or fats to have occasionally, such as saturated fats. Trans fats were banned in the U.S. by FDA in 2021, but as this piece explains, some processed foods, deep fried foods and fast foods may still contain small amounts of these fats. And as for saturated fats, best advice is to reduce your consumption, replacing them with the “good” fats when possible.
Both trans fats and too many saturated fats can increase your risk for heart disease, among other potential problems. On the other hand, omega-3s are a good example of the “good” fats that may help you reduce your risk of heart disease.
VIDEO: Does Omega-3 Lower Cholesterol?
More About Omega-3s
There are three main types of omega-3s: alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA).
Now, you may have heard that the body makes some of its own omega-3s. That might lead you to question whether omega-3s are truly “essential” fats, given the definition in this case of the term “essential” previously explained. The key here, though, is to understand that the body doesn’t manufacture that omega-3 in meaningful quantities on its own; thus, it’s necessary to source omega-3s from food or supplements or a combination.
It is true that your body converts some of the ALA it gets from your diet or dietary supplements to both EPA and DHA; however, that conversion is extremely inefficient, with results that do not produce enough EPA and DHA to negate the fact that in order to get the quantities you need, you would have to obtain omega-3 EPA and DHA from external sources. Fatty fish are the richest sources of EPA and DHA and dietary supplements, such as fish oil, can be a good option to supplement your diet.
What are Fatty Acids?
If you’re looking for a technical definition, here’s one from Britannica: fatty acids are an important component of fat-soluble components from living cells known as lipids, found in plants, animals and microorganisms. Here’s the technical part. Generally, a fatty acid consists of a straight chain of an even number of carbon atoms, with hydrogen atoms along the length of the chain and at one end of the chain, and a carboxyl group (―COOH) at the other end. It is that carboxyl group that makes it an acid (carboxylic acid). If the carbon-to-carbon bonds are all single, the acid is saturated; if any of the bonds is double or triple, the acid is unsaturated and is more reactive.
This post has a very simple explanation for defining fatty acids, calling them the “building blocks of the fat in our bodies and in the food we eat.” During digestion, the article explains, the body breaks down fats into fatty acids, which can then be absorbed into the blood.
Dietary fats serve many health-related foundational purposes in your body, helping your body function at its best. They are a source of energy, fueling your cells. Dietary fats also are needed for biological functions such as growth and development and they support the physiological processes of your body, such as your cardiovascular system, digestion, metabolism, hormone regulation, muscle contraction, circadian rhythms and more. As if all that weren’t enough, dietary fats pair with fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, carrying them where they’ll do your body the most good, and aiding in their absorption in the intestine. Read more here.
What Do Omega-3 Fatty Acids Do?
As dietary fats, omega-3 fatty acids contribute to many of the foundational functions just described that support cellular function, biological function, and physiological systems.
Beyond the not-so-basic basics, there is a large body of research on omega-3s, especially for EPA and DHA, that demonstrate the broad scientific benefits of these fatty acids. For example, the Cleveland Clinic points out the heart health benefits of omega-3s that may help lower your triglyceride levels. High triglyceride levels increase your risk of heart disease and stroke. Further, omega-3s may help improve your HDL (good) cholesterol levels and possibly help lower your blood pressure.
Additionally, the article notes that omega-3s may also lessen your chances of developing some cancers, dementia (including Alzheimer’s) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
DHA, in particular, (as well as in combination with EPA) has been shown to have scientific benefits for pregnant women, both personally and for their developing baby-to-be.
At OmegaQuant, we’ve reported before on other studies and emerging research that shows potential benefits for omega-3s in the areas of sports performance and recovery, cognitive health, children’s health and more.
VIDEO: Omega-3 Vs. Fish Oil: What’s Better?
How Do You Know if You Are Getting Enough Omega-3s?
The best—actually, the only—way to know if you’re getting enough omega-3 EPA and DHA, is to regularly get your blood tested. At OmegaQuant, we offer a simple, at-home, finger-prick blood test which identifies the level of omega-3 EPA and DHA in your red blood cell membranes. The results are based on the Omega-3 Index and your ideal test results should be 8% or higher, indicating your omega-3 EPA and DHA status as sufficient to optimal.
Unfortunately, most people in the U.S. who test come back with scores at 4% or below, demonstrating an omega-3 EPA and DHA inadequacy, and a potential higher risk of poor health outcomes including sudden cardiac death. The good news: it’s relatively simple to raise your Omega-3 Index score by increasing your omega-3 EPA and DHA intake through diet, supplements or a combination. Once you know your numbers, we’ll make suggestions in your report as to what you should consider doing to raise your Omega-3 Index score. This report can be shared and discussed with your personal health care practitioner.
You can learn more here about OmegaQuant’s at-home tests.
