Flax Seed & Fish Oil: How Much?

Background: I am 44, ok 45 in about a week, generally eat well (I love to cook so we rarely eat out and we eat pretty healthy), get regular exercise, am peri-menepausal with anger and night sweat problems and for the 1st time ever, my skin is having a very hard time with the dry winter notwithstanding the oodles of lotions, creams, baby oil and aloe vera applications it is getting. So, I have decided it is time to start taking fish oil and flax seed supplements. For now, I have the flax oil caps, but will probably buy the milled seed to work into our food and use the caps mostly for the days the seed does not get added.

For the oils, both recommend 1-3 per day and I have heard that 3 is best. But do I really want to be taking 3 each of BOTH the flax and fish oils? And when I start adding the seed, how much vs. the fish oil caps? I don't want to overdue it. My cooking does involve regular, indeed frequent, use of olive oil.

Hi Norsegoddess!

The Omega-3 Fatty Acids are a family of fats. Each one is essential to your health. Just as each member of your family has similarities and differences, so it is with the omega-3’s. In order for your body to function properly, all 3 must be present in your diet.

DHA and EPA are important for brain and nervous system structure. 15% of the dry weight of a healthy, nourished brain is DHA. DHA is found in mother’s milk, supplemented baby formula, fish, omega-3 eggs, fish oil-supplemented margarine, and fish oil/marine algae supplements.

ALA is important as a brain and nervous system protector. This kind of omega-3 fatty acid protects DHA and EPA from breaking down and leaving the body. ALA is found in flax, flaxseed oil, soybeans, nuts, and canola oil. A small amount of ALA is converted into DHA, but this is not enough to function for a substitute.

Supplementation of omega-3's is not a one-size-fits-all thing. A lot depends on what the rest of your dietary intake looks like. The IDEAL ratio of omega 3's to omega 6's is 1:2 or 1:1. Unfortunately, the average american diet consists of more like 1:20!!! If your ratio is out of balance, one of the following things need to occur: 1) keep omega 3 intake the same and radically decrease omega 6's; or 2) keep omega 6's the same and radically increase omega 3 intake; or 3) increase 3's and decrease 6's.

Bottom line: If your regular diet is already very low in omega 6's, you won't have to supplement with as much omega 3's.

You can find some good info here: http://afterthediet.com/omega3.htm

Here's some info from an ATD newsletter:

The natural consequence of the public “war on saturated fat” in years past has been an increase in the omega-6 (n-6) intake. With this shift in fat intake, researchers have a better understanding of n-3 fatty acid function. A high n6:n3 ratio (.10) appears to promote inflammation and oxidation in the chronic disease processes listed at the beginning of this article. Experts estimate that the American diet may have an average PUFA:n3 ratio as high as 17:1; a beneficial ratio may be closer to 2:1. [citations omitted]

. . . [c]onsider that the inclusion of fish in a meal improves the balance of total fat, saturated fat, and polyunsaturated fat as well as increasing n-3 availability. It is the n6:n3 ratio, not the total amount of n-3 consumed that is important; it will require more total DHA and EPA to achieve this ratio of the strategy is simply to add supplements to an n-6-rich diet. The most efficient choice, requiring less supplementation, would be to a diet that includes regular consumption of fish.

Even very low fat diets can have very high n6:n3 ratios. Some of the highest ratios, ironically, can be found in vegan vegetarian diets. Unless a vegetarian is diligent about including n-3 fatty acids in the diet, this ratio can very easily escalate. Vegan vegetarians have been found to have lower tissue DHA than nonvegetarians. [citation omitted] Vegetarians who suffer from chronic diseases such as arthritis, sleep disorders, bowel dysfunction, hormone imbalances, and autoimmune disorders may benefit from at least using a marine algae-based fatty acid supplement. These supplements do not contain EPA, but once tissues are saturated with DHA, retroconversion can promote EPA synthesis. [citation omitted] It may take longer to achieve benefits with this strategy, but for the staunch, uncompromising vegan, it may very well be the only way out of chronic medical problems.

Marketing and industry interests have created much confusion about ALA, DHA, and EPA. While ALA has many documented benefits, is very low conversion to DHA and EPA does not render it an adequate source of these two fatty acids. . . In addition, large quantities of ALA may provoke other problems . . . The best practice appears to be to increase DHA and EPA intake and to balance that with a moderate intake of ALA. Because the important issue is the ratio between the two kinds of oils, dietary strategies should include decreasing n-6 sources as well as increasing n-3 sources.

Hope this helps! :)

Thanks Michele, that is helpful!

Generally 2 tablespoons of ground flax seed per day is what I see recommended. It's also got some other good nutrients in addition to the Omega-3s.

I'd personally suggest the flax seeds or oil over the fish oil because of the potential risk of heavy metals and other toxins in fish oil supplements.

Store the oil and/or seeds in the refrigerator to keep them from going rancid.

It's easy to grind your own flax seeds in a spice grinder, or the food chopper attachment for a hand blender (best kitchen appliance EVAH). Takes about 15 seconds from fridge to cereal bowl. If you buy them pre-ground, even if they're ground in nitrogen at the factory, packaged in nitrogen and refrigerated continuously, the fatty acids start to oxidize the minute you open the package, and you lose some or all of the benefit.

Plus, they're way cheaper if you buy whole flax seeds in bulk.