Have you ever noticed that almost every single packaged food item sold at the grocery store contains some form of vegetable oil? I recently walked through the grocery store aisles flipping over packaged foods simply to read their ingredient labels because I was curious, how many products contained vegetable oils?

To be honest, I guess I wasn’t really shocked when I realized that almost every item I picked up contained some form of plant-based oil such as sunflower oil, canola oil, grapeseed oil,  peanut oil, safflower oil, soybean oil, or sesame oil. Even the “healthy” organic foods contained vegetable oil. Pizza? Vegetable oil. Trail mix? Vegetable oil. Ice Cream? Vegetable oil. Fruit Snacks? Pretzels? Protein bars? Vegetable oils!

Now, I am not saying that all vegetable oils, which are high in omega-6 fatty acids, are bad. Nor am I saying that we should never eat them again. In fact, our bodies need omega-6s fatty acids as they're essential fatty acids. Meaning, our bodies can’t produce them so we need to get them from an external source.

So, what's the problem?

The problem is that we are consuming too many omega-6 fatty acids and not enough of their counterpart, omega-3 fatty acids. Which in the long run can become problematic to our health for a variety of reasons.

But, as consumers, this is where things tend to get a bit confusing! I mean, aren’t vegetable oils healthy? And, what's the difference between omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids? And, is there a balanced omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio we should strive to achieve?

Luckily for us, here to help simplify and unpack all of these questions (and more!) is the one and only Ayla Barmmer, MS, RDN, LDN. Ayla is a registered dietitian nutritionist, functional medicine practitioner and the founder, and CEO, of FullWell, a fertility wellness and education brand. Her entire career focus has been to advance the health and empowerment of practitioners, patients and families through nutritional science, functional medicine and evidence-based holistic solutions.

In today’s episode Ayla shares why women should consume more omega-3 fatty acids, especially women who are struggling with period pain, have a hormonal imbalance, or pregnant or breastfeeding, the differences between omega-6’s and omega-3s, how to easily add more omega-3 rich foods to your diet, and why she developed FullWell’s Fish Oil supplement. We also go off on a tangent and talk about her passion for herbal medicine and the differences between nervines and adaptogens.

I absolutely loved chatting with Ayla and know this is a conversation that will inspire and encourage you along your own personal health journey!

The Wise Consumer Show Notes: https://thewiseconsumer.com/omega-3-fatty-acids/