Hello and welcome to Zoe Shorts, the bite-sized podcast where we discuss one topic around

science and nutrition. I'm Jonathan Wolfe and today I'm joined by Dr Sarah Berry and today's

subject is Omega 3 and Euli Fish. So Jonathan, increasing Euli Fish and Omega 3 in our diet

is often advised us a simple way to protect your heart health. But in recent years people

questioned whether Omega 3 is really as effective as we once believed. So Sarah, should we be focused

on increasing our intake of Euli Fish or is this just yet again a food myth? Well it's actually

quite a divisive subject Jonathan and I have quite a clear opinion and yet this is one of those

topics where there's other scientists I respect who probably disagree with me. How exciting!

Well let's get into it. So Sarah, I see all sorts of ads for products rich in Omega 3. I also see a

lot of ads for fish oil supplements and it's actually so popular apparently that in the US

fish oil capsules are the most commonly taken supplement both for adults and for children and

globally the industry is believed to be worth around 30 billion dollars but what exactly is Omega 3?

So Omega 3 is a type of fat and we often refer to Omega 3 as an essential fatty acid and this

is because unlike many other types of fats our bodies actually can't make it yet it's really vital

for our health and therefore it's essential that we consume it in our diet and the term Omega 3

actually comes from where something called a double bond is actually positioned in the fat and

humans can't insert double bonds into the position tree of the fat when we make fats in our

liver and this is why it's essential that we consume it in our diet. Now as I know from the

advertising that you see at the fish counter, oily fish like macrol and salmon and anchovies are

supposed to be this great source of Omega 3 is this true Sarah? It is true and this is also where

the fish or capsules you mentioned come in and I imagine there's lots of people in our audience

who are familiar with these supplements they can come in liquid, capsule and pill form. And to

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