The three omega-3 fats that your body needs to thrive are DHA, ALA, and EPA, and while they can be obtained through your diet and supplementation routine, new information gathered from analyzing the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey has shown that many people are not getting what they need. After looking at the data, the study found that although people are generally meeting their ALA needs, DHA and EPA are well below what is recommended for adults.
More specifically, the study revealed that most people are only consuming around 111 milligrams of both EPA and DHA on average per day, demonstrating a significant dietary gap that could have implications on cardiovascular health. Although the research shows Americans are generally meeting their ALA needs (1.1 grams/day for females and 1.6 grams/day for males,) this does not apply to the other two.
This is an increasingly important concern to address, as those struggling with cardiovascular health require around one gram of EPA each day, in addition to DHA.