I just got some Fatty acid caps that contain fish, flax,and borage oil. The suggested dosage on the back say one cap 3 times a day but i know thats not enough. I used to take one tbls. of flax a day. My question is how should i take these to get the same benefits as a did from my usual tbls. of flax.
Well, typically each capsule/softgel is 1000mg. Is this what your’s are?
So, with that in mind, you’d need 14 capsules to equal just 1 tbsp of the oil, at least in terms of equating fat grams.
What is the breakdown of the fats in the product you purchased?
550mg of fish oil
50 mg of borage oil
150mg of flax
250 mg safflower oil.
Jessu i guess these caps aren’t the deal i thought they were
Jake, it’s a good combo – definitely better than nothing – but the dosing recommendations are not going to provide you with much in the way of benefit, not at 3 caps a day.
You might do better purchasing your flaxseed oil and fish oil separately. I get both in liquid form because it’s cheaper than capsules. The taste of flaxseed oil isn’t that bad that you need capsules. Capsules, however, are great for when you have to travel.
I buy flaxseed oil and fish oil capsules myself.
Capsules generally are more expensive, plus you have to take quite a bit.
Keep that in mind.
One thing that seems to work for me is to get most of my fat calories from a high-quality flax oil and then supplement with fish oil caps that are specifically formulated with a nice ratio of EPA/DHA.
The breakdown of the caps that I am currently taking is 360mg EPA, 240mg DHA, and 892mg Linolenic Acid. I’m getting most of my Omega-3’s from the flax oil that I use and I’m taking the fish caps for the other good stuff.
I just started taking fish oil caps and the brand that I’m using is Spectrum Essentials which for all I know might suck, but they seem to have a decent rep and I haven’t barfed or had colon blow as a result of taking them so I guess I trust it.
This isn’t a wise practice. What’s your mono and saturated fat intake like?
I wonder why the manufacturer would combine flax with straight up EPA/DHA. That’s kinda like combining andro and test suspension (IF andro actually worked). I also wonder if the direct EPA/DHA intake would decrease the conversion of the linolenic acid (when capsule form quantities are being ingested) as much as they do linoleic acid. Just a theory…
Cheers!
Thanks for the help guys. As always TT and Thunder come strong
Thunder: I don’t see it as an unwise practice. I get some saturated fats from lean beef I consume occasionally, and a couple of times a week I use olive oil instead of flax. I still get most of my “extra fat” from flax and fish oils. Extra fat relative to whatever I would get in my fish, poultry, and beef intake. I also add raw sunflower seeds to some meals depending on what mood I am in.
There’s also “cheat day” where I get plenty of mono/polyunsaturated fats and a good helping of saturated fats.
Since I’m cutting, I use ECA and a fair amount of caffeine. This interferes with the conversion of linolenic acid to EPA/DHA. I take the caps to help in this regard. I don’t “load up” on the caps nor do I attempt to get even moderate doses of fat from them. They are supplementary for me; I believe in dialing things in but I feel the general knowledge of this mg compared to that mg is ludicrous in the long run. I don’t believe my current diet is going to create any deficiencies.
First of all, beef is only half saturated fat. The other half is monounsaturated fat.
Secondly, you have way too many PUFAs, at the expense of the other fatty acids. Most people fear saturated fat, but technically percentages of fatty acids are important and should be taken into consideration both for health and body composition goals.
I don’t think you get enough saturated fat. In fact, I know you don’t. Ideally you’d be striving for an equal proportion of mono, poly, and saturated fat.
Dietary fat influences the structures of every one of your cell membranes. Yes, too much saturated fat can be bad as it will make the cell membranes rigid and can impair receptor function, cell signaling, etc.
However, too much unsaturated fat, in the form of monounsaturates and polyunsaturates is also bad. Tipping the scales heavily in this direction will make these same cell membranes much more susceptable to free radical damage/lipid peroxidation.
Take that for what it’s worth or ignore it completely. That is just physiology.
I found oil caps that have 1200mg each of flax oil,fish oil, and borage oil, Take 3 caps a day. It costs 18.00 for a 40 day supply.
Levels are as follows
ala 660mg
epa 360 mg
dha 240 mg
linoelic acid 540 mg
gla 288 mg
oleic acid 456mg
Are these any good, or could you suggest something better?
thanks
I’m not seeing how that math is adding up. 1200mg of each oil? 3600mg total? The totals you give are in the 2500mg range. Not to mention, I have never heard of a 2500mg softgel. How big is that pill?
Their not really pills or capsules, more like fish oils eggs. About the size of a egg shaped ping pong ball.
Those #'s have to be for 2 caps or something. Check the serving size.
Phill
Again, I’m sure if I was going to go after a mg to mg comparison of fats and attempt to dial them in perfectly to the dietary protocol that happens to be en vogue, I would go insane and my progress wouldn’t be any better. People eat donuts and drink cokes all day and still live. I, of course, am not interested in just living, but my diet is immaculate compared to your average person which is the way I like it. I’m not going to fret over the hardcore details; its just not worth it.
I’ll wolf down an extra double-cheeseburger on “cheat day” to up my saturated fats.
The totals were for 3 caps/1 serving It was a vitamin world brand, I have also seen a couple other brands with the same makeup.
Which brand/mix would be better?
I agree with Lucid.