Flaxseed oil and fish-oil capsule consumption alters human red blood cell n-3 fatty acid composition

"A daily 2.4 gram dose of ALA-rich flax oil is enough to raise overall levels of omega-3 fatty acids, suggests a new study that supports inclusion of ALA-rich sources in the diet."

Results
As the researchers expected, the fish oil supplements produced increases in EPA and DHA.

Meanwhile, the higher dose flax oil supplements were associated with increases in ALA, EPA and, in the 2.4 gram group, DPA. No increase in DHA levels in red blood cells was observed in the flax oil groups, indicating the very low conversion of ALA to DHA, said the researchers.

A 2.4 gram daily dose of flax oil increased EPA 1.4-fold, while the

 higher dose increased EPA 1.3-fold after six weeks. For the fire-fighters receiving the fish oil supplements, EPA levels increased 1.6 fold for the 0.6 grams per day group after two weeks and remained high for the rest of the study. Supplementation with 1.2 grams per day of fish oil also increased EPA levels 1.6-fold after two weeks, but levels had increased 2.1-fold after 12 weeks.

The researchers did not note any differences between the groups with regards to levels of inflammatory markers or cholesterol profiles at the end of the study.

“Our results clearly indicate that 2.4 g flax oil per day is sufficient to significantly increase red blood cell phospholipid omega-3 fatty acids, which suggests that a similar effect may be occurring in other tissues,” wrote the researchers.

“The similarity between the greater concentrations of EPA and DPA in the group receiving 2.4 g flax oil/d than in either fish-oil group suggests that dietary ingestion of plant-derived omega-3 fatty acids is sufficient to meet the dietary needs of humans.”

Please go here to read the full research report.

__________________

Gary comments:

Flax oil is a delicious oil that does not need to be expensively delivered in capsules.  Drizzle flax oil on your toast, on your muesli, mix with avocado or cottage cheese and drizzle onto your potato and pumpkin.  Give it to your kids in their food.  There are so many health benefits, including reducing inflammation, managing eczema and asthma, for brain power and for clear skin, strong hair and nails.  Got the idea!

Here is the link to flax oil sales, if you want to get some.

Your email address:


Powered by FeedBlitz

Do you have a question?
Email Gary: gary at myotec.co.nz (Replace the "at" with @ and remove spaces). Please include any relevant background information to your question.