One of the ways you may wish to supplement your diet with essential fatty acids is to use enriched eggs. Eggs from free range chickens or chickens that have been fed flax seed and fish oil tend to be higher in essential fatty acids than normal eggs from factory-fed chickens.
Statistics on the eggs.ca website show that by supplementing a chicken's diet with 10% flax that the levels of omega 3 and omega 6 are about ten times as high in the egg produced then these levels would be in normal eggs. Omega 3 enriched eggs are also likely to have lower cholesterol levels, as well as lower levels of monounsaturated and saturated fatty acid levels.
These essential fatty acid enriched eggs provide many benefits for your physical and mental wellbeing as the essential fatty acids are vital for the proper functioning of the body and brain. By eating these enriched eggs you are less likely to get heart disease, stroke and depression as well as many other diseases. The omega 3 levels will also help to reduce your bad cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.
Omega 3 is also essential for proper brain functioning and besides preventing or relieving symptoms of depression eating omega 3 enriched eggs may also add to general mental alertness and ability to concentrate as well as helping children who suffer from attention deficit disorder.
When chickens are fed flax seed which contains the omega 3 fatty acid ALA, they break this down into EPA and DHA and their eggs are good sources of these two fatty acids. This is important for diabetics as diabetics are unable in many cases to make this conversion of omega 3 fatty acid and EPA and DHA are often the more active omega 3 fatty acids in providing benefits to the body and mind.
Morris in "The novel egg: Opportunities for flax in omega 3 egg production" writes, "One omega 3 enriched egg provides on average about 0.34 grams of ALA and 0.13 grams of EPA and DHA. By itself, an omega 3 enriched egg provides a significant portion of the Adequate Intakes of ALA for all age groups. For young children under the age of 3 years, for example, one omega-3 enriched egg provides half (49%) of the Adequate Intake. For boys and men, one omega 3 enriched egg provides roughly one-quarter (21-28%) of the recommended Adequate Intake. For girls and women, an omega 3 enriched egg provides about one-third (31-34%) of their Adequate Intake of ALA"
Essential fatty acid enriched eggs can help supplement these important fats that are needed for optimal body and mind functioning. They are able to protect against heart disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, depression and attention deficit. Omega 3 enriched eggs also provide omega 3 in a form that is usable by diabetics, namely EPA and DHA. The amount of ALA in omega 3 enriched eggs makes up a large amount of the recommended Adequate Intake. By adding essential fatty acid enriched eggs to your diet you are therefore providing yourself with many benefits for physical and mental wellbeing.