Natural Alternative | Omega-3 Fatty Acids | Heart Health Blog

Best Source of Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Question:

Do you consider the oil in flax seeds to be superior or inferior to fish oil? Some experts say Fish oil is better and that Flax oil is bad.

Answer:

Neither. There are advantages to both:

Fish oil is good because it is already broken down into the forms of Omega-3 fatty acids that your body can use, EPA and DHA, especially for heart health.

Flax oil's Omega-3 fatty acid comes in the form of alphalinolenic acid, which your body breaks down into EPA and DHA. For most people, this is not a problem. For some it is. On the other hand, flax oil is high in lignans, phytochemicals shown to have significant anti-cancer properties. Note: flax picked up a bad rap several years ago based on a bogus study that said it may promote prostate cancer. For more information, check out my newsletter: Prostate Cancer and Flax Seed. Actually, prostate cancer aside, the newsletter is a great primer on fats and oils in general.

And while you're at it, don't forget Krill oil. Krill are small shrimp-like creatures. Their oil contains phospholipids specially integrated with omega-3 essential fatty acids. This unique structure provides important cell membrane building blocks in the ratios used by the body and may be far better utilized than stand alone phospholipids or other omega-3 oils.

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