The influence of n-3 PUFA supplements and n-3 PUFA enriched foods on the n-3 LC PUFA intake of Flemish women.

Food consumption data of Flemish women of reproductive age collected in 2002 showed a large deficit for ALA and n-3 LC PUFA compared to the recommendations (mean ALA and EPA + DHA intake 1.4 g/day and 209 mg/day, respectively) and indicated a need to tackle the problem of low n-3 PUFA intake. Another recent Belgian study demonstrated that enrichment of commonly eaten food items with n-3 PUFA provides the opportunity to increase the n-3 PUFA intake up to 6.5 g/day and decrease the n-6/n-3 ratio. Since a large supply of n-3 PUFA supplements and n-3 PUFA enriched foods exists on the Belgian market, this study aimed at assessing the influence of these products on the n-3 LC PUFA intake for Flemish women of reproductive age. It was found that n-3 supplements are consumed by 5% of the Flemish women. Of all the n-3 PUFA enriched foods on the Flemish market, margarines and cooking fat are most frequently consumed by young women. The results indicated that a big gap remains between the EPA&DHA intake (mean = 276 mg/day) and the recommendation. Seafood remains the most important source of EPA&DHA. Only 11.6% of the population sample reached an intake level of 500 mg EPA&DHA per day. The study showed that other strategies will be needed to increase the EPA&DHA intake in the long term.