fish oil vs flax seed which one is better?

[DeviLFisH]

in terms of benefits? which contains more?

[KJ43]

Why does one have to be better? Do you have to choose between one or the other?

I use both fish oil and milled flax seed in my diet.

[fttfbass]

I use milled flax seed in my oatmeal, flaxseed oil in my post workout shake, and a couple fish oil capsules after my meals. They all have great benefits. It's hard to choose just one.

[Chiggers]

apples or oranges

[DeviLFisH]

noted , because presently I just take whey protein , fish oil and vit C

[SteveFreides]

I take a product labelled "Complete EFA" from Trader Joe's - I have no idea, really, all seems good.

I also take a few spoons of coconut every morning now, too - tastes great, and does a fantastic job of getting rid of late afternoon hunger for me.

-S-
KBNJ.COM - Steve Freides, RKC II

[pekiti&bells]

Originally Posted by DeviLFisH

in terms of benefits? which contains more?

not to be obtuse

a couple resources

for fish oil - Omega Research

on flax oil, E. Udo pioneered the current permutations of Flax oil and he is still a recognized expert (most of the current producers are using his tech, or were helped to set up shop by Mr Udo) http://www.udoerasmus.com/

fish oil is more of a therapeutic oil, being in a state that the body can utilize immediately, thus better for inflammatory responses

plant based borage oil is more of a foundation oil, which the body must process, but gets more out of in the long run

that is the short answer

[RyanH]

There are only 2 essential fatty acids in human nutrition. The fish oils- EPA and DHA aren't essential. Alpha Linolenic (Omega-3) acid (ALA) and linoleic (Omega-6) acid (LA) are the essential fatty acids. The other fatty acids are all made from these 2 (see chart below).

EPA and DHA can be made from alpha linolenic acid (ALA-think flax seed), but our bodies usually don't do a good job of it. Linoleic acid (LA) is found quite commonly in many items of our diet, cooking oils, etc., so deficiencies in omega 6 are rare in our country. Your best bet is to take fish oil and some type of flax oil/seeds to cover all your bases. I would personally try to get about 3000 mg combined EPA & DHA per day.

[PeterHuntRKC]

Originally Posted by DeviLFisH

in terms of benefits? which contains more?

Hello, Chin:

Don't sweat the flax seed stuff. Get Flameout.

Regards,
Peter.

[mc]

flax seeds, crushed, are great. but it's kinda about what can be derived from them. ALA's do not efficiently convert into DHA/EPA that you also need and get in fish oil (or better yet, algae oil).

So it's kind of about bioavailability.

I'm keen on algae oil because it has a higher DHA ratio than fish oil, is karma-light, and epa that's needed can be derived efficiently from the DHA - and it's the DHA that is one of the main omega 3 components we need and that does all the good stuff.

Likewise if the body needs ala for some stuff it won't bother to convert the ala to dha, so the dha goes missing.

So since we also need ala's which fish oil doesn't have so nice to have the flax oil part of the omega 3's - that said - i also like taking flax in as crushed flax seed for the side benefit of fiber - and the seeds need to be crushed or we don't get anything out of them.

so my choice? trader joes crushed flax seeds with dried blue berries and v-pure algae oil.

hope that helps.
mc