What are our Omega-3 essential fatty acid requirements?
The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine released some information about our omega-3 fat requirements in 2002. The requirements are found in Chapter 8 of the publication, Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrates, Fiber, Fat, Protein and Amino Acids (Macronutrients). This publication can be found here. The Food and Nutrition Board indicates that data to set a nutrient intake value are not sufficient, but based upon consumer dietary surveys, they have identified an average intake that is known to be consumed by healthy people. This value is called an adequate intake or AI. An AI for omega-3 fats has been set for infants because it is based on human breast milk omega-3 essential fatty acid content, however for human over 1 year of age, an AI has been set for only one of the omega-3 fats, ALA. Individuals should aim to include an intake equal to the AI for specific age and sex categories. These are shown in the following table.
