Fish Oil or Flax Oil?
Posted by Evelyn Tribole MS RD at 8/30/2008 8:16 AM 
Categories: EPA, DHA, Omega-3 Fats
Tags: fish oil flax oil omega-3
Categories: EPA, DHA, Omega-3 Fats
Tags: fish oil flax oil omega-3
Q. If you do not eat fish or take a fish oil supplement, how much flax meal you would have to eat to meet the recommended amounts of DHA and EPA?
A. While flax meal and flax oil are an excellent source of the omega-3 fat, ALA, the body cannot create enough of the potent omega-3s, EPA and DHA from this plant-based fat. Recent studies show that only a miniscule amount of ALA is converted into EPA and DHA in the body—(the conversion rate is less than half of one-percent, 0.03%). Scientists used to think the conversation rate was about 30 to 50 times higher (or a conversation rate of 10-15%), which would be a significant contribution toward meeting EPA and DHA needs.
Let’s take a look at what this means in real food. If you eat two teaspoons of flax meal, which contains about 1000 milligrams of ALA, ultimately your body would yield only about 27 milligrams of EPA and no DHA. This meets only 4% of the recommendation for EPA and DHA—remember you need 650 milligrams a day. (Americans eat an average of 1300 milligrams of ALA.) The bottom-line: You cannot realistically meet your EPA + DHA needs by just eating flax meal or other plant foods.
_____
A. While flax meal and flax oil are an excellent source of the omega-3 fat, ALA, the body cannot create enough of the potent omega-3s, EPA and DHA from this plant-based fat. Recent studies show that only a miniscule amount of ALA is converted into EPA and DHA in the body—(the conversion rate is less than half of one-percent, 0.03%). Scientists used to think the conversation rate was about 30 to 50 times higher (or a conversation rate of 10-15%), which would be a significant contribution toward meeting EPA and DHA needs.
Let’s take a look at what this means in real food. If you eat two teaspoons of flax meal, which contains about 1000 milligrams of ALA, ultimately your body would yield only about 27 milligrams of EPA and no DHA. This meets only 4% of the recommendation for EPA and DHA—remember you need 650 milligrams a day. (Americans eat an average of 1300 milligrams of ALA.) The bottom-line: You cannot realistically meet your EPA + DHA needs by just eating flax meal or other plant foods.
_____
Copyright © 2010 by Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD Published at http://www.EvelynTribole.com
Rights to Reproduce: As long as you leave it unchanged, you don’tcharge for it, and you include the entire copyright statement, you mayreproduce this article. Please let us know you have used it by sending awebsite link or an electronic copy to Etribole@gmail.com.
Comments