Fish Oils

[*Star*]

I apologize if this is a really stupid question but should I be taking fish oil AND flax oil? What is the difference between the two as far as benefits? And what is the difference between EPA and DHA?

I am going to be purchasing some supplements from the vitacost website this week. Is this a good product, or should I look for something else?

http://www.vitacost.com/NSI-Complete-EFA-Fish-Oil-GLA-Flax-EPA-DHA

Thanks for your help :)

[dane]

Ala is the essential fatty acid that is converted to DHA/EPA. Taking flax means it has to be converted, taking GLA and La and all that--same thing. Better and more efficient (and more financially sound) to just skip allllll the middlemen and take a straight EPA/DHA fish oil supplement.

Most of the cheaper brands of fish oil give you 180mg of EPA and 120mg of DHA per capsule, so you can see right away the supplement you posted is inferior--you have to take 3 of your caps to get this measly amount.

The dosage recommended for heart benefits is 1g total of EPA/DHA, so you have to keep that in mind whencalculating how many caps to take. If you plan on taking the 1g dose, than any regular brand of fish oil will do.

If you want to take a higher dose (like 3-5g for inflammatory conditions), then you should look into a more concentrated, refined product, so you can avoid any potential contamination problems (PCB's, Mercury, etc.)

I take 3g a day of concentrated fish oil; each cap has 400mgEPA/200mgDHA. I buy mine from www.pgfo.com

[pauleo]

Flax oil contains an omega fatty acid called ALA. Fish oil contains other omega fatty acids called EPA and DHA. Your body converts ALA into EPA and in turn converts that into DHA, and uses the EPA and DHA to make cell membranes. It's very important for health.

There's an argument that some people have difficulty converting ALA into EPA and DHA, and therefore that it's better to take fish oil than flax oil. I never saw much support for that argument though, so I don't know how true it is.

You could get both by having a tablespoon of flax seeds every day (you must mill them or they pass straight through), and a fish oil supplement. Carlson Fish Oil has a good reputation - an important issue is that the fish oil does not have mercury contamination.

The supplement you list is complete EFA which includes omega-6. Most people already have too much omega-6 in their diet and don't need to supplement. But that's another discussion altogether - many people are consuming too much omega-6 in vegetable oils, but it's important to distinguish whether it is good quality omega-6, not from cheap oils that contain oxidized fats or trans-fats.

[jschwab]

In my opinion, flax oil only makes sense for vegans (and I am still not convinced it does much for them. We consider flax actively harmful at this point.

Janine

[pauleo]

In my opinion, flax oil only makes sense for vegans (and I am still not convinced it does much for them. We consider flax actively harmful at this point.

Janine

Could you say more about how it's harmful?

[jschwab]

Could you say more about how it's harmful?

Sometimes I make decisions that I have researched alot and then I can't remember what the reasoning was. I think it relates to its nature as a vegetable oil and the fact that it is highly processed. It is linseed oil, essentially.

Janine

[Dodger]

Flax oil contains an omega fatty acid called ALA. Fish oil contains other omega fatty acids called EPA and DHA. Your body converts ALA into EPA and in turn converts that into DHA, and uses the EPA and DHA to make cell membranes. It's very important for health.

There's an argument that some people have difficulty converting ALA into EPA and DHA, and therefore that it's better to take fish oil than flax oil. I never saw much support for that argument though, so I don't know how true it is.

Based on this study (http://www.jlr.org/cgi/content/full/46/7/1474), the ALA has a 7% conversion rate into EPA. Almost no DHA is made.