Omega 3 From Plants - A Better Choice

Most people are aware of the benefits consuming omega 3 fatty acids rich aliments has on their health. When asked about the best omega 3 sources, invariable most of the people asked will answer that fish oil has the best concentration of essential fatty acids. But these people should know that a series of plants are also great omega 3 sources and some of them, such as flax and whole grains, may represent a better choice for fatty acids.

While they are very important to the body, omega 3 fats are unstable and can turn rancid very quickly. Whole grains also contain large amounts of Vitamin E, a vitamin which prevents the omega 3 fatty acids from turning rancid. Most Fish oil does not contain any Vitamin E and that is why it can turn rancid faster.

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Many studies, including a prestigious one, such as The Lyon Heart Study, the GISSI Prevenzione Trial, and in The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Study, have proven omega 3's efficiency in preventing heart attacks and reducing pain in inflammatory diseases, such as arthritis or psoriasis.

There are other differences between the omega 3 fatty acids found in fish and those found in plants. Fish are rich in long chain fatty acids, while plants are rich in shorter chains fats. Long chain fatty acids which are extracted from fish are stronger, but the short chain fatty acids (mostly ALA - alpha - linolenic acid) obtained from green plants are transformed by the body in long chains fats. It is true however that the long chain fish omega 3 is more rapidly absorbed by the body and transported to the cells compared to short chain acids.

Given the differences between the two main sources of omega 3 fatty acids, it is important to increase both the amount of fish and the amount of vegetables in your diet, so you obtain the necessary quantities of fatty acids, and the vitamins which protect them.

When entered in the human body, omega 3 breaks down rapidly when exposed to the oxygen and large quantities of Vitamin E, found in plants, are necessary to prevent the fatty acids from turning rancid. Because of this, on the long term, your body will store more short chain omega 3 fatty acids obtained from vegetables than long chain fatty acids obtained from fish sources.

Omega 3 From Plants - A Better Choice

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Fish Oil Vs Flax Seed Oil - Which is Better?

Your presence here indicates that you are a health conscious person and you probably know that both fish as well as flaxseed oil contains essential omega3 fatty acids. However, to make a smart choice and to reap the maximum health benefits you want to be familiar with fish oil vs flax seed oil. Let us begin then.

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Fish oil vs flax seed oil will make sense only if you know which form of omega3 fat is the most vital and both these nutritional supplements contains which forms of omega-3.

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There are three forms of omega3 fatty acids - ALA, DHA and EPA. Of these three, ALA is burnt as energy and the body absorbs EPA and DHA more readily. Studies have proven that DHA is the most important omega3 fat. This is because many body organs like human brain, retina of the eye, neuron's plasma membrane have DHA as major constituent.

Fish-oil is extracted from cold-water fish like hoki, tuna, salmon, mackerel, etc. that are naturally rich in both DHA and EPA fats. Flaxseed oil, on the other hand has only ALA fat. Although, the body can convert ALA to DHA and EPA, experts still are not in favor of flaxseed oil. This is because; most of the ALA is used as energy and approx. 5% is left for conversion. Moreover, the conversion process is not very effective.

This means that to attain optimal levels of DHA, one has to eat flaxseed in huge quantities, which could be boring, expensive, and impractical. The straightforward option is to consume fish supplements.

Fish oil vs. flax seed oil is incomplete if I do not mention about the wide range of quality of fish supplements available in the market. Market today has high as well as second-rate fish supplements. You really have to be very cautious while taking your pick. Inferior ones are no better than flaxseed oil; instead, they are worse.

Increasing pollution in ocean waters results in accumulation of heavy metals like mercury, lead, arsenic, etc. in the fish flesh. If manufactures do not follow proper refining techniques while extracting oil, impurities are passed on the oil. Consumption of substandard fish supplement could lead to toxic poisoning.

For best results look for supplements that have undergone the molecular distillation process. This is the only filtering process known to human kind that can filter out all the unwanted and harmful toxins from the oil, leaving behind a high quality concentrated pharmaceutical grade oil.

Look for COA (Certificate of Analysis) published by the manufacturer to understand the toxicity of oil.

In conclusion, in "fish oil vs flax seed oil" war, well-distilled fish oil wins. Visit my website Omega 3 Brief to learn more about high DHA, fresh and pure hoki-tuna blend supplement.

Fish Oil Vs Flax Seed Oil - Which is Better?

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3 Reasons Fish Oil Is Better Than Flax Seed Oil

Fish oil and flaxseed oil promise to provide a multitude health benefits to anyone who takes it regularly. Both are excellent sources of good omega-3 fatty acids. But which is better than which? Not all of us have the luxury of time and finances to try and test both and see which one is best to take. So here is a piece of advice put bluntly: fish oil is a better investment for health than flaxseed. Here are three reasons why fish oil is still superior to flaxseed oil.

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1. Flaxseed contains high levels of ALA, but the other one active ingredients are EPA and DHA.

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Flaxseed primarily contains the omega-3 fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). ALA is not readily absorbable by the body. When consumed, it enters the body, gets desaturated, and acted upon by enzymes which convert ALA to EPA and then to DHA. The conversion is only partial, and it has been found that ALA in flaxseed is poorly changed to EPA, and conversion to DHA is virtually zero. so the real active EPA and DHA you get is only a fraction of the original dose you started with. Of all the omega-3 fatty acids, DHA and EPA are the ones that directly provide health benefits, while the other one directly provides you what your body needs.

2. Claims about flaxseed oil are unsubstantiated.

Sure, there are reports on the benefits of flaxseed, but these product claims are still unsubstantiated. There has not been any placebo-controlled, definitive clinical study that proves the effectiveness of this in giving health benefits. Omega-3 fatty acids indeed offer health benefits of different sorts, but it has only been fish oil that is proven to work, thanks to hundreds of clinical studies conducted and continuously being performed.

3. Flaxseed oil may be carcinogenic.

Flaxseed oil is said to promote healthier cardiovascular function, lower blood pressure and improve skin texture. However, flaxseed oil reportedly brings about unwanted side effects - from simple allergic reactions to stomach upset and flatulence, to increased risk for breast cancer.

This is not to say that fish oil is free from unwanted side effects. Depending on where the fish was sourced from, contamination with mercury and other toxins may be present in the fish. This is the reason why consumption of high amounts of fish is highly discouraged. The better option is to go for high quality ultra-refined fish oil supplements instead. These supplements contain the purest form of omega-3 in high, potent amounts to ensure results.

You don't have to get confused which to choose. It still reigns supreme when it comes to omega-3 supplements. So choose your way to health today - take your daily dose of it and enjoy all the health benefits only omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA can provide.

3 Reasons Fish Oil Is Better Than Flax Seed Oil

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Fish Oil vs Flaxseed Oil - Which is Better?

A common question that I receive is what is the difference between fish oil and flaxseed oil? First here are some basics. The "money" fatty acids in fish oil are EPA/DHA; these are long chain omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids. Flaxseed oil contains the short chain n-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). While these three fatty acids may seem similar because they are all n-3 fatty acids but in fact they function very differently physiologically.

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One cannot apply findings such as weight loss, triglyceride lowering, protection from sudden death, improvements in joint function seen with fish oil supplementation to flaxseed or ALA supplementation (or just increased intake). People will argue (especially those that sell flaxseed oil and flaxseed oil supplements) that ALA can be converted to EPA and then DHA via elongation and desaturation (basically makes the fatty acid longer and adding more double bonds). However this conversion is EXTREMELY poor, especially in men (estimated by some to be as low as 1-2%). The bad news is that the conversion gets even worse the older you get.

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ALA does have unique and beneficial effects as well so consuming both EPA/DHA and ALA is recommended. Three good sources of ALA are walnuts, flaxseed/flaxseed oil, and canola oil. Flaxseed oil does not have a pleasant taste so a great option is garlic-chili infused flaxseed oil. It is awesome on salads. You also do not want to heat or cook with flaxseed oil because it is very prone to oxidation. I commonly get emails from people that state that they don't supplement with fish oil but instead supplement with flaxseed oil capsules. As you know from my previous entry exchanging fish oil for flax is not an equal trade. It is also very important to realize that these people are wasting a tremendous amount of money. When supplementing your diet with fats capsules are by far the most expensive way to go (because you have to pay for the capsules and the fatty acids). ALA is also readily oxidized (e.g. burned, turned into, etc) to energy. Studies have shown that up to 35% of ALA is immediately oxidized for energy - that's expensive energy! Adding flaxseed oil and ALA to your diet is a wise choice just don't use the capsules as it is NOT a very cost effective approach.

Fish Oil vs Flaxseed Oil - Which is Better?

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