Which fatty acids?

[Gel2]

I've been taking 2000mg Flax Seed oil a day now for a while and am wondering is this the best thing I can take or is there a better, broader type of Omega 3 to take?

 

[jimmy82_]

I've been taking 2000mg Flax Seed oil a day now for a while and am wondering is this the best thing I can take or is there a better, broader type of Omega 3 to take?

try fish oil too. i take flax and fish everyday

 

[d3track]

eat fish
honestly

you get the fats and protien then

 

[BrandonXJ]

I really just stick with fish oil.. flax (and most plant oil) is mainly ALA, which gets converted to EPA and DHA, and in humans that conversion is pretty ineffecient, I think something like 15-20% of ALA converts to EPA and like 5% to DHA. Not to mention there are vitamin and mineral co-requirements for this conversion to happen, so if you're not taking a multivitamin or two, your just wasting the oil. Fish (and most marine) oil has the EPA and DHA present up front, no conversion from ALA needed.

 

[javaguru]

Eat salmon or use the caps. I replaced my flax with salmon oil a long time ago.

 

[donn1974]

Whole flax seed have additional benefits beyond the oil, mainly the ligans. You'd have to grind the flax seed up before eating because the husk is made of cellulose and we can't digest that. Great source of fiber as well.

The other guys are right, fish oil is probably better if you simply want the omegas, long chain fatty acids are better, flax seed is mostly short chain fatty acids.

Hope this helps a tad,

Donn C.

 

[Gel2]

Thanks for the input, I think I got it sussed now.

Daily I now take :

2000mg Salmon Oil (EPA 160mg DHA 240mg)

plus

Omega 3-6-9 complex which contains, 7mg Vit E, 800mg Flaxseed Oil, 800mg Starflower Oil and 800mg Fish Oil.

Broken down the salmon oil and the complex contains,

Omega 3 : 440mg ALA, 400mg EPA, 400mg DHA
Omega 6 : 360mg LA, 192mg GLA
Omega 9 304mg Oleic Acid

Does that sound better?

 

[bulldog3434]

where do you get your fish oil at and how much is it?

 

[Gel2]

I buy it from Holland and Barrett in the UK.

Practically all the supplements in the UK are more expensive than the US.