As a lot of fish are polluted with mercury, my guess is that getting omega 3 can be the same "problem" for mercury toxic people who want to avoid fish as vegetarians.

I was reading an article online the other day that was mentioning the need to have omega 3 because we are inundated by omega 6 from various sources. It was saying that too much omega 6 and not enough omega 3 can cause problems, including infertility - which was particularly interesting for me having PCOS (supposedly)

Anyway, one non-fish source that I have started taking is pure flax seed oil. I think I read that someone here was getting bad reaction to the flax seed, but can't remember the details?

Any one know of any other non-fish/animal sources of omega 3?

Demi, you might want to check up on the flax seed oil. Flax seed contains weak estrogenic compounds which may exacerbate hormonal problems. There are differences of opinion on this. The article I read most recently said that when a weak estrogenic compound (like flax) adheres to an estrogen receptor, our bodies still produce the same amount of estrogen and that estrogen must go somewhere. If the liver is blocked, as it is in many people - esp people who are not able to excrete toxins such as mercury, the estrogen cannot be broken down and leave the body, so it is trapped in the body and able to wreak havoc. You can find a lot of info on this on www.sensiblehealth.com . <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

More estrogen is the last thing I need! What is an alternative source?

Plant sources of omega-3s include flax seeds, hemp seeds, walnuts, walnut oil, soybeans, and purslane (Portulaca oleracea), a small green plant that most American gardeners consider a weed but whose leaves are viewed as a tasty addition to soups in Mediterranean countries and to salsa in Mexico.

A quarter-cup (1 ounce) of walnuts supplies about 2 grams of plant-based omega-3 fatty acids, slightly more than is found in 3 ounces of salmon.

The following website has two charts listing food sources of omega-3, including plant sources:

Foods sources of omega-3 fatty acids

Pharmaceutical grade EPA/DHA?

Kind of expensive though.

Thank for the replies <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I've been taking the flax seed for a few days, but unfortunately have come down with a flu virus so can't really say if I felt any benefit or not physically, but mentally I think it helped with symptoms, so I might be on the right track in boosting up levels of omega 3.

Well, I didn't have the flu after all, lol. I had a major allergy attack - it's not always possible to tell first thing in the morning which is which. But I'm not sure the cause of it. Either it was because I ate a teaspoon of gone off seeds (that I was supposed to have kept refrigerated for the past 8 weeks that I didn't - and I am usually so obessive about reading the labels and insit on things going in the fridge when others aren't so bothered) or the choking dust in the air in town yesterday got to me. They are demolishing an old building and it was really windy and the dust got in my eyes and irritated my throat. I felt really whacked when I got home, whereas I felt ok before I went out. It could be either things, really. But I had terrible wooshing in my ears and sneezy/drippy nose all day. I took a long soak in the bath and that helped considerably, which makes me more prone to the dust being a problem, especially as I've been eating the seeds for some time without any noticeable problem - although I have had an unusual amount of flus this winter which could have been that. I hope people don't get serious infections from gone off raw seeds.

There was a major panic scare here over Christmas because of some serious bug in the water - no one was allowed to drink tap water. I didn't drink it anyway, but still it was stressful as this bug was so much a problem we couldn't even use tap water to clean our teeth. They've put something in the water now to make sure it's killed, as a safety precaution. But if it can kill thebug, it makes me wonder what it can do to the body.

Anyway, I have digressed, but it has been a majorly stressful day. I had another panic attack earlier today as I had a black spot in my gum and I thought I had a splinter of amalgam stuck in it, and I believe it's more toxic next to the gum (although one of my small fillings touches the gum and has for about 15 years) but my friend says it was just a bloodspot from where I'd bit a couple of days ago, as far as she can see. I'm keeping my eye on it.

I don't know if it's the mercury, but with my anxiety disorder, I tend to just to "worse case scenario" with every thing that happens. Usually my ration side kicks in, but still I get all these terrible thoughts in my head when something happens that I don't think most people think about. My aunt and uncle regularly eat food well passed the sell by date, for example, and don't think anything of it.