As a D*action participant and GrassrootsHealth follower, you probably already have an idea of how your vitamin D level may affect your health...
How could your Omega-3 Index level affect your health as well? What difference does it make to ME? Well, I'm at that age where 'cognitive decline' is said to have a higher risk--can that happen to me? What about its impact on stress? What about reducing the pain of arthritis? As soon as we started exploring the potential of this project, I saw the potential for tremendous benefits. One of the major delights in investigating the effect(s) is to know that there is indeed something we can measure, to get a quantifiable result. In this case, the Omega-3 Index.
There are several major types of omega-3 fatty acids in our diets. One type is alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and other major types are eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The body partially converts ALA to EPA and DHA. The Omega-3 Index is a measure of omega-3 fatty acids, EPA+DHA, in the membrane of red blood cells. Watch this
video for a fun description of what the Omega-3 Index measures.
Just as with vitamin D deficiency, omega-3 deficiency can put you at risk for many chronic diseases. Both nutrients are essential to your everyday health, but, t
he typical diet for most individuals, up to 80-90% in some countries, does not provide enough EPA and DHA to provide these benefits. This has left a majority of the population deficient - with most countries and regions around the globe having Omega-3 Index levels that are considered low to very low.
By taking simple dietary steps like increasing your consumption of foods or supplements rich in the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, your Omega-3 Index will rise. However, similar to vitamin D serum level response to supplementation, there is a wide variation in response between omega-3 intake and a resulting Omega-3 Index level; there is no way to tell if you are getting enough omega-3s unless you test your levels.
The chart below shows the variability in Omega-3 Index response to a daily dose of EPA and DHA over a course of approximately 5 months. Observe, for example, the wide range of response, from about 0% change to about 5% increase, at a daily dose of 600 mg/day.
In the privacy of your home you can now check your vitamin D and Omega-3 Index levels together with our easy-to-use test kit. You simply provide two blood samples, mail them to GrassrootsHealth, and 7-10 days after receipt back at the office with a completed online questionnaire, your levels will be available to you online. The process requires a new registration and login, with a new questionnaire, payment system, and results dashboard, built to improve the user experience. While your previous vitamin D*action data will be combined with the new data gathered as part of D*action+Omega-3, you will be given a new participant ID to use on your blood spot cards, and, your vitamin D and Omega-3 index payment process, questionnaire, and results will all be available only through this new account.
Join the new GrassrootsHealth nutrient field trial: D*action+Omega-3, and be a force for change in your health and the health care system!
