essential fatty acids

[Guest guest]

> I want my sister to take flax oil but she claims that she is also getting

> omega 3s in her supplements.

>

In the days of Adelle , the essential

fatty acids seemed simple (if you watched

your spelling). Lenoleic acid, lenolenic

acid, and arachidonic acid.

And the simple way to get them was cod

liver oil.

Now we've got DHA, EPA, omega 3, omega 6,

etc. And we're lost in a sea of detail.

So I seize on any information that seems

to coincide with what little I know

(because keeping cancer free is the goal,

not treating it).

I've taken flax seed oil for years (and

yogurt) without any proprietary interest

in it being the best source of essential

fatty acids. So when I was told that

perilla oil might be a better source of

the omega 3s, I paused.

Then the following give and take made me

consider that the old-fashioned fish oil

might still be the oil of choice. I

quote.

---------

(I am looking for one supplement that will

give me the proper balance of omegas 3, 6,

etc.)

First, looking for one supplement that

will give the proper balance of omegas 3,

6, etc. is not a sensible thing to do,

because the rest of your diet (almost

anyone's diet) is overloaded with omega-6

fatty acids.

What you need to look for is a supplement

that best supplies the omega-3s, which is

what most people desperately need.

Flaxseed oil does supply some omega-3 but

it is " immature " omega-3, not the kind

most needed by the body and it must be

inefficiently converted to the most needed

kind -- eicosapaentanoic acid (EPA).

Still some flaxseed oil is beneficial if

you make sure that it is not rancid by

keeping it in the refrigerator or by using

freshly-ground flax seed, which also gives

you other highly useful nutirents such as

lignans and fiber.

The best source of omega-3 by far is

concentrated fish oil. You can get this in

several forms -- a mint liquid (Super

MaxEPA), and a softgel (Mega EPA). Both

of these also have docosahexanoic acid

(DHA).

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So I continue to want to hear all sides

instead of pet theories. And welcome

statements of researchable facts rather

than testimonials.