Are There Any Benefits Of Flaxseed Oil Supplements?
There are quite a few different omega three polyunsaturated acids. The major one of use to us is called DHA. DHA stands for an acid by the name of Docosahexaenoic acid. DHA is the main polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acid found in the human brain.
Also important, though less important than DHA, is another Omega 3 fat called EPA, or Eicosapentaenoic acid. Both EPA and DHA are found in fish and some other marine sources, and it's the DHA in particular, but also the EPA, that is the main component of fish oil capsules, and the reason why they are so good for us. Health Benefits Of Flax Seed Oil
But these 2 are not the only Omega 3 fats. There's also some plant based Omega 3 fats. ALA, or Alpha-linolenic acid, is an Omega fat that is found in plants and particularly in flaxseeds. So the benefits of flax seed oil are often promoted along with the benefits of fish oil.
Lets examine the health benefits of flaxseed oil and see if you ought to be taking flaxseed oil supplements. Note that it's not only in flaxseeds that ALA is found, there are other plant sources of ALA, such as walnuts, but flax seeds are a good source and the oil, containing ALA, can be extracted from the seeds to make flaxseed oil supplements.
The main benefit of flax seed oil supplements is in the ability of the human body can change the ALA into DHA and EPA. The ALA cannot be used directly by the body but the body can convert it into DHA and EPA.
The difference between DHA, EPA and ALA lies in their carbon bonds. For various highly chemical reasons the body can make use of DHA and EPA directly, but cannot make use of ALA. However the body is able to convert ALA into DHA and EPA.
There are no proven health benefits of flax seed oil supplements except in the ability of the body to convert ALA to these other two omega 3 fatty acids.
Therefore the medical benefits of flaxseed oil lie in the ability of the body to convert the ALA. Unfortunately the body is not very efficient in doing this, and only a small proportion of the ALA is actually converted. Of course if you took a lot of flaxseed oil supplements your body may be able to convert enough to satisfy the need for an adequate amount of DHA and EPA.
But it's much better to get the right Omega 3 fatty acids directly from fish oil supplements that it is to get them from flax seed oil capsules. It is more efficient, and you will get better value from the money you spend on your fish oil supplements.
However, there are people to whom taking flax seed oil supplements is an advantage. Vegetarians who are unable to eat fish are able to get their Omega 3 healthy fats from taking flax seed oil supplements.
For vegetarians who don't eat fish it's much better to take flaxseed oil supplements than it is to get no Omega 3 fats at all. If vegetarians eat no fish at the moment, they will be very deficient in the important healthy, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and so should be taking some form of Omega 3 supplements.
However, you can also get vegetarian Omega three capsules that are sourced from marine sources that do not have fish oil. These come from algae which is where the fish get their Omega 3 fats from originally in any event.
So it is possible to get marine based vegetarian Omega 3 supplements. Whether these are better than flax seed oil supplements will be the subject of another article.
So, in answer to the question about the benefits of flaxseed oil, yes there are benefits. But these benefits are derived from the DHA and EPA that the body gets from converting the ALA in flax seed oil. So why not take that DHA and EPA directly?
By all means eat plenty of flax seeds but taking flax seed oil supplements is not as good value as taking the best fish oil supplements unless you happen to be a vegetarian.
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