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The risk of many chronic
diseases would be reduced by increasing the consumption of n-3 fatty
acids. If dietary advice is to be followed, economic and environmental
concerns regarding the limited supply of marine oils dictate that
alternative oils containing n-3 fatty acids must be found. Several
prairie crops, including flax and canola contain relatively high amounts
of n-3 fatty acids. However, there are questions regarding the
physiologic efficacy of the n-3 fatty acids found in these plants which
contain primarily α-linolenic acid (ALA) as the sole source of n-3 fatty
acid, whereas marine oils contain the very long-chain n-3 fatty acids,
eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
It is also clear that the
risk of many chronic diseases would be reduced by increased consumption
of vegetables and fruits containing high amounts of nutrients and
fibre. Recent dietary recommendations have increased the recommended
amount of fibre that should be consumed by the average Canadian. One of
the ways to increase the intake of fibre is by increased consumption of
pulse crops. In addition to improving cardiovascular health by
improving blood lipids, this also would increase the consumption of ALA.
The purpose of this
project therefore, is to determine how the n-3 fatty acids from these
crops are metabolized in comparison to how the n-3 fatty acids from
marine sources are metabolized.
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