The Science Behind Omega-3 Fatty Acids as a Functional Food in Eggs Andrew Braker 3/14/13

Introduction: Functional foods were first acknowledged in Japan in the mid 1980s, and at that time was defined as a food containing ingredients that beneficially helped a specific function while also being nutritious.1 However in the United States there is no FDA or university established definition for these types of foods. The only country that does regulate functional foods is Japan. The closest definition the United States has is defined by the American Dietetic Association, which states, that a functional food is a food that includes whole foods or fortified, enriched or enhanced foods that have a potentially positive effect on health. These foods are separated into four different categories, conventional foods, modified foods, medical foods, and foods for special dietary use.2 Conventional foods are foods that are unmodified foods usually plant based. Some conventional foods include tomatoes containing lycopene for lowering the risk of cancer, or cranberries containing benzoic acid to treat urinary tract infections.3 Modified foods are food that can be fortified, enriched, or enhanced. Examples of these foods are calcium fortified orange juice or omega-3 fortified eggs and milk. Medical foods are foods that are formulated to be consumed, such as phenylketonuria formulas free of phenylalanine. The final types of fortified foods are foods for special dietary use and include gluten free and lactose free foods.2 Many Americans are lacking the consumption of omega-3 fatty acids in their diets. A possible reason behind this is because the western diet does not include very many foods high in omega-3.4 The western diet is higher in omega-6s, with around a 20 to 1 ratio compared to

the omega-3s which are consumed. The World Health Organization recommends the ratio be closer to 4 to 1.5 The United States realized this was an issue and began fortifying foods with these fatty acids in items such as eggs.4 A few reasons why the United States began using eggs is because eggs are an inexpensive product readily available in grocery stores, and they are consumed in high quantities by Americans. The USDA recorded that more than 70 billion eggs were eaten in the United States in 2000.6 To produce these fortified eggs farmers need to give certain feed to their hens. These eggs also have better health benefits then regular conventional eggs, but sometimes can make the product taste less appealing. Structure and Sources: Omega-3 fatty acids are long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids that have between 18 to 22 carbon atoms with multiple double bonds, a methyl and carboxyl end. Many times when reading about omega-3 fatty acids the author abbreviates it by using n-3. This indicated that the double bonds begin on the third carbon atom closest to the methyl end. The length of the carbon atoms and amount of the double bonds makes for different types of omega 3s. There are three types of omega 3s: a-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).7 ALA has the shortest carbon chain at 18 carbon atoms and has two double bonds. This type of omega-3 can be consumed through plant foods and oils.7 The highest sources of ALAs are flaxseed, walnuts and soybeans.8 ALA does not have as many health benefits as does EPA and DHA. However, ALA has been thought of as being a substrate for the synthesis of omega-

3s EPA and DHA. The conversion of ALA to EPA and DHA happens when ALA removes a hydrogen atom by 6-desaturase, followed by the addition of two carbon atoms by an elongase. To get ALA to DHA more steps of desaturation and elongation have to happen.9 Although these conversions are not very efficient, causing only 5-10 percent of ALA to go to EPA and DHA.10 Unlike ALAs sources being plants, DHA and EPAs sources are very similar and are from animals, mainly seafood. The best sources of these omega-3s are salmon, herring, and mackerel.8 Although they are consumed through the same sources, DHAs and EPAs have different chemical structures. DHA fatty acids have a 22 carbon chain with six double bonds and EPA has a 20 carbon chain with five double bonds. These omega-3s have improved health benefits when compared to ALAs.7 Health Benefits: Omega-3s have the role of being anti-inflammatory by helping to prevent serious and deadly diseases. Three main diseases associated with low intakes of omega-3s are Alzheimers disease, cardiovascular disease and poor fetal development. Alzheimers disease is the most common cause of dementia. This disease can happen during the older years of life around the ages of 65. There is no cure for the treatment of Alzheimers but research suggests that DHA can help decrease the risk of getting it. Studies have shown that when elderly people consume fish at least once a week they had a 60 percent lower chance of getting Alzheimers disease over a four year period.11 A common side effect of Alzheimers is accidental weight lose and studies show that supplementing EPA and DHA had a positive increase with weight gain.12

In the United States cardiovascular disease causes 38 percent of all deaths. Consuming omega-3s helps to reduce the risk of coronary artery events such as heart attacks, stroke and sudden cardiac disease due to arrhythmias.12 A study was done where the subjects that were consuming EPA supplementation had a 19 percent decrease in the chance of a major coronary event. It has also been proven that it helps with lowering blood triglycerides by inhibiting peoples bodies to make them. People with very high levels of triglycerides should take omega3 supplementation since its hard to consume enough in the diet to help lower their levels. 13 The use of omega-3s is critical for the structure, growth and development of a fetuss brain and retina during the third trimester to the first six weeks after birth. DHA is the important one because it helps build the central nervous system. It develops the neural tissue for the brain and the major fatty acids in the retina.13 For these reasons the FDA approved infant formula to be fortified with DHA. Also during breast feeding fish oil supplementation might help reduce the risk of allergies in babies since fish oil is related to lowering the bodys cells associated with inflammation.12 Process of Omega-3s into Eggs: Obtaining eggs with higher omega-3s begins with the feed given to the hens. The most common feeds used contain flaxseed and fish oil. On average a conventional egg has 60 mg of omega-3s while an enriched egg has around 350 mg.14 A study done by Al-Nasser wanted to test to see how incorporating flaxseed into a hens diet would result in production and performance. A past study that was reviewed by Al-Nasser saw that flax seed didnt just

improve the amount of omega-3s but also improved production and weight of the hens eggs. His own studies consisted of feeding hens different amounts of flaxseed for 32 weeks and seeing when the eggs started to change. Each hen was 24 weeks old, the age of the hen is important because the older the hem the more amount of ALA can be converted into DHA because older hens have larger livers.(5,9)The hens were divided into 4 groups each receiving either 5, 7.5 or 10 percent flaxseed in their diet, the other is the control which received no flaxseed. His findings were hens that received 10 percent flaxseed had produced omega-3 eggs after four weeks and increased even more at eight weeks where it peaked. The hens that got 5 and 7.5 percent flax seed didnt see significant increase until the eighth week. Not once during the experiment did these hens produce eggs at a higher rate or have an increase in eggs weight.5 Another study done wanted to see the difference between adding flaxseed and fish oil, and what ingredient increases ALA, EPA and DHA the most. This study separated hens into three groups. Group one received 1.5 percent flax seed and 3.5 percent fish oil, group two received 2.5 and 2.5, and group 3 received 3.5 and 1.5 respectively. The results found that group three eggs had the most ALA, while group one had the most amounts of DHA and EPA. These were the expected results because fish oil has a higher content of DHA and EPA, while flaxseed is higher in ALA.10 As discussed before in the health subheading section, DHA is a very important factor in fetal growth. Fish oil contains EPA and DHA, but when giving fish oil to hens the hen eggs

contain mainly DHA whereas EPA is in much smaller amounts. This can conclude that DHA might be the preferred omega-3 that is incorporated into the membrane. Therefore hens possibly use DHA the same way as humans do, when talking about fetus development.9 Sensory Evaluation: Hens that are given different feeds to increase the amount of omega-3s in eggs could produce eggs with an off taste. A study done by Lawlor tested eggs that were fortified with fish oil, after a sensory evaluation was done. The study was done because there has been evidence that these eggs give off a fishy odor and fishy off flavors. The hens were either given feed with fish oil or without it for 21 days. Eggs from the experiment were prepared two ways before being consumed, one way was hard boiling them, and the other was scrambled. Eight trained tasters tasted the different eggs for the sensory evaluation. The results found that in the hard boiled eggs with fish oil, had a sulphuric odor and flavor, an egg aftertaste, and a strange egg flavor. There was no difference in flavor between the control and fish oil scrambled eggs.15 West Virginia University tried another way to fortify eggs with omega-3s instead of through hen feed. They decided to compare whole eggs (control) in opposition to experimental eggs they made, and perform a sensory evaluation between them. The experimentally eggs used whole eggs but only the egg whites, the yolks were discarded. Instead the yolks, the eggs were substituted with flaxseed, mendhaden, algae, or krill oil and mixed with the egg whites. The reason for this study was done because the experimental eggs would have a lower

cholesterol level since the yolk was taken out and substituted with some type of oil. The experimental eggs also were mixed with annatto which is a yellow pigment. This was used so the experimental eggs looked just like the control eggs, due to the yolk being gone. The experimental egg mixture and the control eggs were then put into cheese stick molds and cooked. The eggs were then evaluated on texture, color change, flavor and mouth feel. (16,17) Texture used three different ways of measurement, Kramer shear test, torsion test, and texture profile analysis. The results were that both the experimental eggs and the control eggs were very similar. This could be because the yolk phospholipids and the phospholipids of the experimental oils both emulsified the fats in the egg products.17 There was only a change in color to the control eggs which had a greenish tint. The green tint is from the configuration of ferrous sulfide from iron and sulfur in the egg yolk. For flavor and mouth feel 56 participants were chosen to rate the eggs, but menhaden oil was taken off the list due to a high fish odor. Krill oil was also taken off since it gave the egg stick a reddish color due to the pigment astaxanthin. The participants rated the whole egg a 5.9 out of 9, the algae oil egg a 6 out of 9, and the flax seed oil egg a 5.7 out of 9. So the results showed that both the experimental eggs and the control eggs were rated very similar in flavor and mouth feel.16 Conclusion: In conclusion omega-3s are important for consumption to prevent cardiovascular disease, Alzheimers disease, and for the growth and development of a healthy baby. Since so many peoples diets are westernized, people need to start consuming more omega -3s and less

of omega-6s.13 When consuming more omega-3s try to consume animals sources that contain EPA and DHA instead of plant sources containing ALA. Putting ingredients such as flax seed and fish oil in a hens feed increases the amount of omega-3s produced in eggs. Although when using some ingredients in hen feed it could change the outcome of the product by giving it a different taste or odor.15 Future applications of omega-3 eggs could be items for sale such as the experiment done by West Virginia University.17 Whereas instead of feeding hens omega3s, add it directly to the egg whites, sort of similar to the container of liquid egg beaters in stores. I believe that since we are seeing such a small amount of people meeting their recommended daily values, companies could take this opportunity to start fortifying different products with omega-3s. Application to Dietetic Practice: This research can be applied to the practice of dietetics because eggs are such a highly consumed food in the United States and because people are consuming such low amounts of omega-3s. Dietitians can recommend their patients invest in buying omega-3 fortified eggs instead of the conventional eggs. While in Publix I came across only one type of egg that was fortified with omega-3s and the company was 4 Grain. I was surprised to only find one type of these eggs compared to about ten other brands. The good news was that they only cost $2.79 and the conventional eggs cost $2.19, so only a 60 cent difference. If your patient doesnt consume eggs then a dietitian can recommend them to buy fortified milk, high fatty fish or fish oils. Patients would have to be careful when consuming fish since it can contain high amount of

mercury. Same thing goes with fish oils even though most of the time companies take the mercury out not all companies do. One final thing a dietitian could recommend is when baking or cooking with eggs try using the flaxseed as an alternative, since its a great source of omega3s.

Reference:

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