'Vegetarians can load up on ALA by eating flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts' says the artcile. This is utter nonsense. Pumpkin seed is one of the worst possible sources of ALA omega-3 fatty acids. It is bad enough that it is mentioned alongside flaxseeds and walnuts in the Psychology Today article, what is just as stunning Vegsource re-carrying the artcile.

Here's why:

Dietary Reference Intakes recommend intakes: 1.6 and 1.1 g ALA per day, for men and women, respectively. (Institute of Medicine, Food and Nutrition Board. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2002)


to get 1.6 g of ALA :

food weight or volume calories ratio of omega-3 to omega-6

pumpkin seeds: 880 g 4760 kcal 1 : 113.875

English walnuts: 17.6 g 115 kcal 1 : 4.1875

ground flaxseed: 7 g (1 tbsp) 37 kcal 1 : 0.25

(figures from USDA SR22 via the freesoftware CRON-O-Meter 0.9.7 and google calculate)