More Good News on Omega-3s

[Neill Smith]

Omega-3 fatty acids protect against diabetes: study

[Mike ODonnell]

and I hear they make men look more attractive to women too! (that would sell more Fish Oil if they adopted that marketing strategy...)

Seriously Fish Oil does everything.....cures* all.....and protects against everything....oh yeah also saves muscle.....pretty sure I'm sold on it!

*This statement has not been evaluated by the FDA, and this product is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.

[David Aguasca]

man, i wish i had know that 3 years ago...it's a little late for me now!

[Brandon Enos]

Is there much difference between fish oil and flax seed oil; is one better than the other? Also, recomended brands?

[Garrett Smith]

Brandon,
Here's a short article on the difference:
http://www.aboutomega3.com/the_ultim..._fish_oil.html

Personally, I use:
ProThera liquid fish oil (~2900mg EPA+DHA per teaspoon!)
Green Pastures Blue Ice Gold Therapeutics liquid (5000iu A, 500iu D in 1/5 teaspoon, plus some Activator X butter oil)
2-4 Tbsp fresh ground organic flaxseeds in my shake (I don't have this everyday)

If you're interested in the oils above, just PM me.

[Mike ODonnell]

Originally Posted by Brandon Enos

Is there much difference between fish oil and flax seed oil; is one better than the other? Also, recomended brands?

Flax is an Omega 3 at the top at of the chain, Fish is at the bottom with EPA and DHA. Alot of Flax down converts into very little EPA/DHA. Flax is ok for calorie wise, not a good substitute for getting your EPA/DHA.

[Scott Kustes]

Originally Posted by Mike ODonnell

Flax is an Omega 3 at the top at of the chain, Fish is at the bottom with EPA and DHA. Alot of Flax down converts into very little EPA/DHA. Flax is ok for calorie wise, not a good substitute for getting your EPA/DHA.

5-10% of the ALA in Flax converts to EPA/DHA. Ironically, saturated fat intake improves the conversion rate, yet most people taking flax are deathly afraid of saturated fat. I seem to recall Greg or Robb saying that too much flax can actually adversely affect your body's ability to process EPA/DHA....anything on that anyone?

[Greg Battaglia]

Scott I believe you are referring to this:

Flax provides a form of n-3 fatty acid that is 18 carbons long and out body needs varieties that are 22-24 carbons long. Our enzyme systems are very inefficient at this process so even if one takes a lot of flax oil it does not make much EPA or DHA (the stuff in fish oil and the fatty acids we WANT).

Part of why we want n-3 fatty acids if for the anti-inflammatory effects...well, supplementing with flax oil actually increases the amounts of inflammatory cytokines that we are trying to suppress! One step forward, two steps back. Flax oil will prevent a vegan form keeling over from fatty acid deficiency but it will not optimize performance, health or longevity.

I was able to find a few studies that actually contradict what Robb said, and one that support it. Not saying he's full of it, maybe he can reference a study if he reads this. but here's what I found:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/en...RVAbstractPlus
Summary: Basically, flax oil supplementation slightly decreased the AA/EPA ratio as the fish oil greatly decreased the AA/EPA ratio. So flax oil actually helped somewhat, but not nearly as well as fish oil.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/en...ubmed_RVDocSum
Summary: Flax oil supplementation created improvements in arterial function despite a rise in LDL oxidation.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/en...RVAbstractPlus
Summary: Fish oil supplementation produced improvements in both small, dense LDL and EPA & DHA levels. Flax produced none.

These studies say nothing about cytokine levels, but they do directly measure cardiovascular improvements, and that's the main issue after all. I'm finding that both flax and fish oils reduce inflammation, just that fish oil is better at it. Maybe Robb could chime in and set it straight.

[Scott Kustes]

I'd love for Robb to chime in on this. I couldn't find anything concrete either.

[Mike ODonnell]

Flax gives me gas.......there's my research.