title: Wild berries: a good source of omega-3.
abstract: It has been reported that some wild green vegetables are good sources of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA, an essential omega-3 fatty acid). Using available data from the Norwegian food composition table, the present study shows that three common Nordic berries (blueberry, cloudberry and cowberry) on average contain 0.7 g of fat (=21% of total energy) and 0.25 g ALA (=36% of total fat) per 100 g, which is quite similar to what has been reported for the ALA-rich wild green vegetables. In addition, this study shows that a hypothetical replacement of 5% of Norwegian 8th grade girls' diet, with a similar energy amount of wild berries, would significantly improve the diet - also improve intake of nutrients not commonly associated with berries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. e.t.bere@medisin.uio.no
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bere
mesh_terms: D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000032:analysis*; D005504:Food Analysis; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D009664:Norway; D009753:Nutritive Value; D017962:alpha-Linolenic Acid / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D017962:alpha-Linolenic Acid