DarkFalcon

Thought this deserved it's own thread...
Flax Oil vs. Fish Oil
Dear Friend,

Here is another "love letter" that brings up some important misinformation that people are spreading.

Dr Dave, Hate to break the news to you, but you are not the only game in town. I get an email newsletter (that I pay for) from DR D**** W****** and he basically says that people who are pushing fish oil are full of it. He even wrote an article called "The Fish Oil Farce". He's much better known than you are so why should I believe you instead of him? You say fish oil is so great, he says not! Chris E. via internet

Chris, believe anyone you want but here are some facts just incase you are interested.

Flax seed oils are plant derived. They are a decent source of essential Omega 3 fatty acids.

They contain about 73% Omega 3's and the rest is omega 6 and 9.

But there is one problem: because they come from plants, they are 18 carbon molecules. People need 22 carbon molecules to use in their bodies.

18 carbon molecules are of no use by themselves.

The human body is capable of converting them into 22 carbon molecules by a series of very inefficient steps.

If we are generous, we could say that maybe 3% of plant Omega 3's get converted into useful 22 carbon "human" Omega 3's. This means that if you are trying to get what I feel is the minimum amount of Omega 3 for a healthy diet, 3 grams (or 3 caps of my Fish Oil) you would need to consume 100grams of Flax oil or about 4 ounces (2 shot glasses full).

What happens to the other 97grams? Well they wind up being non absorbed and eventually wind up in the stool.

This is why Flax seed oil is such a good laxative. By remaining nonabsorbable it pulls water from the gut and makes the stool soft and easy to pass.

In my opinion that is the only good reason to take flax seed oil. Now Fish Oil can also enhance the stool movements by increasing the hormones that cause the gut to move things from one end to the other (CCK and others).

One of the things I also remember very distinctly about flax oil was that it has been implicated in causing prostate cancer!

When I was studying for my anti-aging certification I remember one of the doctors came in waving the article saying," Flax is out guys, it may cause prostate cancer.

Of course my question was if it causes prostate cancer what about breast cancer since they seem to have similar pathways.

Everyone in the room shook their heads in agreement.

Finally there is the issue of the wealth of studies that support Fish Oil over Flax hands down.

A recent search of the National Public Library of Health yielded the following comparisons for research articles supporting the use of Fish Oil vs. Flax seed Oil.

Heart disease treatment and Prevention:

Fish Oil 854 references, Flax seed oil 1 reference.

Stroke prevention:

Fish Oil 87 references, Flax seed oil 0 references

Arthritis:

Fish Oil 197 references, Flax seed oil 1 reference

Cancer:

Fish Oil 792 references, Flax seed oil 5 references

Depression:

Fish Oil 139 references, Flax seed Oil 0 references

Diabetes:

Fish Oil 369, Flax seed oil 2 references.

Finally, there is the fact that Fish Oil which contains 100% 22 carbon essential fatty acids (EPA and DHA) is the actual endpoint of all human fatty acid metabolism on the "good" anti-inflammatory side. This is why it works so well for the aches and pains of arthritis.

Flax oil requires all of those conversion and elongation steps to get from its main compound Alpha linolenic acid to EPA and DHA.

Why make your body work so hard, when you can get it all in one capsule?

Here is the reference implicating Flax Oil in prostate cancer:

1: Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Jul;80(1):204-16.

Dietary intake of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids and the risk of prostate cancer.

Leitzmann MF, Stampfer MJ, Michaud DS, Augustsson K, Colditz GC, Willett WC, Giovannucci EL.

Nutritional Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. leitzmann@mail.nih.gov

BACKGROUND: Laboratory studies have shown that n-3 fatty acids inhibit and n-6 fatty acids stimulate prostate tumor growth, but whether the dietary intake of these fatty acids affects prostate cancer risk in humans remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: We prospectively evaluated the association between intakes of alpha-linolenic (ALA; 18:3n-3), eicosapentaenoic (EPA; 20:5n-3), docosahexaenoic (DHA; 22:6n-3), linoleic (LA; 18:2n-6), and arachidonic (AA; 20:4n-6) acids and prostate cancer risk. DESIGN: A cohort of 47 866 US men aged 40-75 y with no cancer history in 1986 was followed for 14 y. RESULTS: During follow-up, 2965 new cases of total prostate cancer were ascertained, 448 of which were advanced prostate cancer. ALA intake was unrelated to the risk of total prostate cancer. In contrast, the multivariate relative risks (RRs) of advanced prostate cancer from comparisons of extreme quintiles of ALA from nonanimal sources and ALA from meat and dairy sources were 2.02 (95% CI: 1.35, 3.03) and 1.53 (0.88, 2.66), respectively. EPA and DHA intakes were related to lower prostate cancer risk. The multivariate RRs of total and advanced prostate cancer from comparisons of extreme quintiles of the combination of EPA and DHA were 0.89 (0.77, 1.04) and 0.74 (0.49, 1.08), respectively. LA and AA intakes were unrelated to the risk of prostate cancer. The multivariate RR of advanced prostate cancer from a comparison of extreme quintiles of the ratio of LA to ALA was 0.62 (0.45, 0.86). CONCLUSIONS: Increased dietary intakes of ALA may increase the risk of advanced prostate cancer. In contrast, EPA and DHA intakes may reduce the risk of total and advanced prostate cancer.

PMID: 15213050 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Please note the phrase dietary ALA "may increase the risk of advanced prostate cancer. Also note, " In contrast EPA and DAH (fish Oil) intakes reduce the risk of Total and Advanced Prostate cancer.

Now as to the author of the Fish Oil Farce. Personally I am not comfortable endorsing or selling a product that has been implicated in causing prostate cancer.

I am not comfortable endorsing or selling a product that has a very flimsy data base at treating or improving some of the major conditions of aging when there is something so obviously far superior available.

I also don't see the point of entering the chain of essential fatty acids several steps up from the ones that are used (DHA and EPA) and making the body work like crazy to get to the endpoint that is already available as Fish Oil.

Every time I point out these differences to people, there are always a few who are made very angry by my statements. Somehow they manage to ignore the references.

I would ask those few of you out there to do the research first before you send me a "love letter".

For those of you who are on a strict vegan diet and do not wish to consume fish oil products, then plant omega 3's are all you have to fall back on and I understand!

All the Best from the King of Pharmaceutical Grade Fish Oil, Dr Dave.


Dave Woynarowski, M.D.

crazycacti

it would be interesting to see what this author says about dosage, i have my opinions - what does everyone else think?

Thing

I've been reading up on fish oil vs. flax for a few weeks now and I think I'm going to change over to fish oil soon. I just hate the nasty after burps from fish oil.
ROB

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crazycacti

try refridgerating them - helps loads

LatsMakeTheMan

Hmm.....can't say I've ever had that. Not that I've noticed anyway. But the pills do taste/smell really "fishy." I try to swallow them down without tasting them.

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builtbeast

Interesting find DF. Right now I'm taking both Flax and Fish Oil.

There are a lot of studies on pubmed, it is really inconclusive. Until there is move evidence against it I think I'm going to keep using Flax.

Tron

Ummm thats some compelling evidence there. To bad to cause I love the taste of flax seed. I usually just grab the bottle and take a swig. The fish oil I take in capsules but it still get that fishy taste going on.

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warriors

Dude if you like the taste of Flax Seed then you must have some messed up taste buds

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Tron

I think it has to do with the brand cause I just got some new flax and it tastes kinda bitter. But my usual brand I really do savour the taste. Good stuff.

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DarkFalcon

Absolutely, some brands of flax are sick while the good ones have an almost nutty flavor. The really bad ones taste like motor oil and I burp them up for a few hours after.

Pj-Macx

Oh.. the only Flax I have ever tasted.. tasted like burnt motor oil... so I have not tried it since..

Guess I should get a few names of some of the better ones.. and try it again..

By the way... Nice article DF...

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Vegeto

Mmmmm, who hasn't tried burnt motor oil, slurrp. LOL, I don't know what motor oil tastes like, but I do know nasty flaxseed oil. It even varies within the same brand.

I used to take Health From the Sun fishoil caps, the discontinued last I checked. Any one recomend other brands?

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DarkFalcon

Haven't tried it since I can't seem to find it here in Canada but from what I hear this is the cat's ass of Flax oil.. http://www.barleans.com/

Tron

The brand I like best is Health From the Sun Liquid Gold Flax Oil. Good fer what ails ya.

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DarkFalcon

I'll have to see if they carry it up here. :bigthumbu

builtbeast

Right now I'm using Rexall Flax liquid, I don't think it tastes bad at all. :bigthumbu

Total Newbie

I dont get most of it, what is the conclusion FLAX is better?

DarkFalcon

No, the conclusion was that Fish Oil is superior. :nosthumbs

Total Newbie

Oh, I asked another member this question he directed me to this page saying that flax was better, so i was confused. Thanks for clarrifying :nosthumbs: