Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is the omega-3 fat found in plants such as flaxseed, chia, walnuts, soybean and canola oil. It is the only essential omega-3, but the body converts less than 15% of it into EPA and DHA, the omega-3s in fish oil.
Also known as: ALA omega-3, plant omega-3, linolenic acid.
ODS lists an Adequate Intake of 1.6 g a day for men and 1.1 g for women (1.4 g in pregnancy, 1.3 g while breastfeeding). Food amounts per ODS: flaxseed oil 7.26 g per tablespoon, chia seeds 5.06 g per ounce, English walnuts 2.57 g per ounce, whole flaxseed 2.35 g per tablespoon, canola oil 1.28 g per tablespoon. No upper limit has been set for any omega-3.
It is sold in the US as a dietary supplement. Under the 1994 dietary supplement law (DSHEA), FDA does not approve dietary supplements before they are marketed, and the maker, not FDA, is responsible for safety and labeling. ODS says most US adults get the recommended amount from food; average intake is about 2.06 g a day for men and 1.59 g for women.
What studies show: a 2012 meta-analysis of 27 observational studies (251,049 people) found that people with the highest ALA intake or blood levels had about 14% lower risk of heart disease than those with the lowest, but results varied a lot between studies and the authors called for randomized trials (Pan 2012). Observational studies cannot show that ALA itself caused the difference.
Safety: ODS says the Institute of Medicine did not set an upper limit for any omega-3. The sources here do not describe drug interactions.
We could not find a single published half-life or time to peak for ALA that applies to a supplement dose, so we do not list one. ODS says dietary fats like ALA are about 95% absorbed and travel in the blood in lipoproteins.
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