Environmental Working Group has released a mercury calculator that can tailor how much fish you should be eating for adequate Omega 3 Fatty Acids and how much you can eat safely to avoid toxic Mercury exposure. This is especially great for pregnant women and breastfeeding moms (as you can read about in my previous post) however for optimum health, all women need Omega 3 fatty acids.

If you haven’t already heard, Omega 3 fatty acids are essential fatty acids for good health and for decreasing inflammation. Women that have health problems that are caused by or worsened by inflammation should all ensure they are getting enough Omega 3 fatty acids. Inflammatory conditions are many, but some common ones that affect women include, menorrhagia (heavy bleeding), dysmenorrhea (painful menstrual cycles), fibromyalgia, thyroid disorders, arthritis and more.

The balance in the standard American diet of Omega 3 to Omega 6 is abysmally low which has been associated with heart disease, inflammatory diseases and more. As with many vitamins, it is much more effective when the Omega 3’s are obtained from whole food sources. Find a complete grocery list of foods containing omega 3’s here from Web MD. The EWG calculator is also nice however because it also gives some limited information about which sources are sustainable. For more detail on specific fish and sustainability based on where they are harvested, keep in mind the best source is seafoodwatch.org of the Monterrey Bay Aquarium.

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