Okay im confused. Why are fish oils consdered better than flax oil. I checked some of the labels in a health food store today and per gram of flax oil there were 600 millgrams of omega 3’s compared with fish oil that only had about 300 milligrams of omega 3 per 1 gram. If it is the omega three that we are after why is it that fish oils are considered better when flax oil has a higher concentration?
Thanks for any help!
There are different Omega-3 fatty acids. The Omega-3 is just a classification. With flax seed oil, the Omega-3 fatty acid Alpha-Linolenic Acid is converted to EPA and DHA. EPA and DHA are the Omega-3’s contained in fish oil. EPA and DHA are the stuff that we need/want. The conversion from A-Linolenic Acid to EPA and DHA is less than 30% (someone correct me if I’m wrong). Go look through the Previous Issues and look at any of the articles that have “Fat” in the title.
Just in case anyone has anything else to add!
I just wanted to add that in addtion to what D Rock said (all which is absolutely correct, by the way) fish oil also provides a host of other benefits, include improved immune system function, faster recovery, hightened testosterone, and joint health.
Of course, some of this is a result of the higher concentration and availability of the EPA/DHA. All in all, fish oil is not something you should be excluding from your diet.
Hope this helps.
I have a detailed writing sample on this very issue that will answer all your questions. Feel free to email me at the address at the bottom of my article and I’ll send it your way. Here’s the link:
www.johnberardi.com/updates/ sep272002/na_budgeting.htm
Thanks everyone. Eric I just sent you an email.