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How does Flax Oil compare to Fish Oil

Q: I take flax oil from natures way with 7.5grams of Omega-3 as Alpha-Linolenic acid; Lignan rich flax providing 15 mg  Lignans; Omega 9 fatty acids 2.2 g as Oleic acid, Omega 6 fatty acids as Linoleic acids2.0g  and thats one serving an dI try to get to 3 servings perday…Hows that compare with fish oil  recommendations?

A: Adding flaxseed oil to your diet is a great idea as Alpha-Linolenic Acid has some great health booster properties. But even those flaxseed oil and fish oil both contain omega-3 fatty acids they are very different and they act differently in the body. So you can’t really compare them – you need them both!

I’ve written about the differences between Fish Oil and flaxseed oil (click here for the other post)before so make sure to check those out as they go into detail about how they are both different (and important).

The Wonders of Fish Oil

Keith Scott has recently put together a great list of the reported benefits of fish oil. Check it out below:

Reported Benefits of Supplementing with Fish Oil:

• Fat Loss and improved body composition – Research has shown that fish oil seems to turn on the body’s fat burning mechanism and even better, it was shown that most of the fat loss was in the abdominal region. Yes, your belly fat!*
• Fights Inflammation – reduces the inflammation causing substances in the body. Inflammation will kill you eventually. It wreaks havoc on your body and long term health. Not to mention it is responsible for painful conditions around the body. Fish oil can help with muscle soreness and joint pain
• Improves Cardiovascular health -Fish oil lowers triglycerides, reduces the likely hood of blood clots, can lower high blood pressure, reduces chance of stroke.
• Mental Health – Reduces depression, and elevates the mood. It was even found that fish oil supplementation in children with ADHD dramatically improved their symptoms.
• Healthy Eyes – Fights Macular Degeneration, Glaucoma and dry-eye syndrome
• Boosts the immune system – Less time being sick, and better fight against colds and other illness.
• Increase s.ex drive – Do I really need to explain this any further?
• Helps with menstrual pain – Women rejoice!
• Improves digestion – So many people out there live with digestion problems. This supplement can really help with some of those issues.
• Fights Osteoporosis
• Helps to prevent cancer
• Lowers the risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease
• Helps with Asthma
• Helps with Multiple Sclerosis
• Helps with skin problems – Eczema, and psoriasis. I can personally attest to this benefit. All of my life I battled with Eczema, and never won until I started using fish oil. Now, I rarely get an outbreak and if I do, it is short lived.
• Helps with Diabetes
• Can lower stress
• Reduces headaches
• Helps with Fibromyaglia

Omega-3 Fat and Brain Function

This video just got sent to me by a fellow scientist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIgNpsbvcVM

Fish Oil Capsules Just As Good As Fish Oil

Good News for all of you that don’t like fish! A new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that whether subjects took fish oil capsules or ate fatty fish the results were the same. This 16 week study lead by researcher Dr. William Harris found that omega-3 fatty acid levels in the blood rose equally in both the fish and fish oil groups. This study reaffirms the notion that fish oil capsules as good of a way of getting your daily omega-3s as eating fatty fish.

Fish Oil Helps Control Blood Sugar Levels..ummm…No

I’ve been on a real fish oil kick lately with the Naked Nutrition Blog (probably because I’ve been reading tons of papers regarding omega-3s for various projects).  Today I wanted to look at another myth regarding fish oil supplementation.  Previously I have written about how despite what other say..

1. Fish Oil does NOT lower C-Reactive Protein

2. Fish oil does NOT really help with improving insulin resistance

Today we will look at how fish oil does NOT help control blood sugar levels.  In 2006, nutrition juggernaut Dr. Alice Lichtenstein (and some others) wrote a review article that focused on the effects of omega-3 fatty acids and serum makers (e.g. things in our blood) on cardiovascular disease.

One of the areas they looked at was blood sugar control.  In regards to controlling blood sugar levels the two markers they examined were Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and fasting blood sugars (FBS) levels.  HbA1c is a long term marker of blood glucose control and FBS is what it sounds like – what your blood sugar levels are when you haven’t eaten for a while.  The researchers looked at 28 different randomized clinical trials and found that fish oil supplementation yielded a wide range of results ranging from a 29mg/dL decrease to a 25mg/dL increase in FBS.  The findings surrounding HbA1c weren’t that exciting either as there was a small (and clinically insignificant) effect.

After doing some more of what I call “statistical voodoo” the researchers concluded that fish oil caused a nonsignificant increase in FBS and HbA1c.  So not only does fish oil have no effect on blood sugar control it actually has a minor (very minor) negative effect.

As you know I love fish oil and believe that everyone should take it on a daily basis.  There are TONS of good reasons why you should take it but controlling blood sugar levels is not one of them.

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