China: here are the doses for Omega 3 intake

250 to 2000 milligrams per day. That's the recommended intake of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexanoic acid) for adults, newly established by the Chinese Nutrition Society. This is a long-awaited move for a country where consumption of omega-3 fatty acids is still very low.

The official Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) were published in early June in the "2013 Chinese Handbook of DRIs." The recommendation is part of a larger, as-yet-unpublished document with which the government will release more information and explain the rationale for the recommended levels.

The importance of Omega-3s 

Multiple diet-disease relationships have been identified in recent years, and this knowledge has become the subject of major policy agendas. Polyunsaturated fatty acids have historically received less attention from health policy than saturated fats and cholesterol. In recent decades, however, it has been discovered that Omega-3 EPA and DHA, found primarily in fatty fish, play a key role in the prevention of cardiovascular disease and inflammation, and in brain and retinal development.

DRI: here are the recommended doses

In addition to the adult doses of 250 to 2000 mg per day, the Chinese publication also established appropriate intake levels for different population groups. For children from zero to four years old, the recommended dose is 100 mg daily of DHA, and for pregnant and lactating women 250 mg daily of EPA and DHA (including 200 mg of DHA) . No indication, however, has been issued for children and young people aged four to 18 years. In this regard, GOED a nonprofit association that promotes the consumption of adequate Omega-3 levels, submitted a letter to the Chinese Nutrition Society urging it to issue recommendations for children as well. 

An important document for Chinese consumers 

The recommendations are important for 'consumer education in China, where there is a strong need to increase EPA and DHA intakes. Recently, the Global Burden of Disease, a project of the World Health Organization estimated that 188,000 people died in China during 2010 due to low intakes of Omega-3. In addition, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal, carried out to quantify global consumption of essential fats in different countries between 1990 and 2010, the average daily intake of Omega-3 in China is only 37 mg, an amount significantly lower than the new recommendations.

Sources: Renata Micha, et al, "Global, regional, and national consumption levels of dietary fats and oils in 1990 and 2010: a systematic analysis including 266 country-specific nutrition surveys" British Medical Journal 2014; 348 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g2272 Published April 15, 2014