Omega 3 or Omega 6 - which is more important to supplement?

[Man On Bike.]

I prefer the taste of cannabis seed oil, and this is 'rich in omega 6' it says on the bottle. Flax seed oil tastes horrible to me but this one is described as 'rich in omega 3'.

Which is the best oil to take? I remember being told that either omega 3 or 6 was already fairly prominent in a normal diet, so only one or the other was really worth supplementing.

[terra012]

Omega 3!!! There's plenty of omega 6 around already.

"The primary sources of omega-6 are corn, soy, canola, safflower and sunflower oil; these oils are overabundant in the typical diet, which explains our excess omega-6 levels. Avoid or limit these oils. Omega-3, meanwhile, is typically found in flaxseed oil, walnut oil, and fish." (from http://www.mercola.com/article/omega3.htm)

(Personally I'm not entirely convinced about the "avoiding" omega 6 bit - unless you're getting overly massive amounts of it)

[Man On Bike.]

flax contains plenty alpha linoleic acid (ALA) but is it also rich in GLA , EPA and DHA? If not where can I get those fatty acids from?

[XkillerX]

flax seed oil tastes horribly the first month until you get used to it. after that you'll find yourself sticking it on just about everything

note: it's best taken on its own. do not combine other fats or oils when consuming flax seed oil.

[terra012]

note: it's best taken on its own. do not combine other fats or oils when consuming flax seed oil.

How come? (Just wondering about the chemistry)

[Man On Bike.]

yeah, why not?

[erske]

As far as I know flax does not contain the longchain acids (dha, epa, etc...) But at least adults can elongate the ala to form those...

algea sources of dha: http://consumer.martek.com/findinglifesdha/

[XkillerX]

i cant find the url, from the top of my head it has something to do with the omega 3 : omega 6 ratio. if you take too much omega 6 (which is abundant in vegan diet) it will surpress omega 3 absorption.

[stupidnicknameboy]

In Germany there is an oil called Becel. It is meant to be rich in both omega 3 and omega 6, and it contains:

sunflower seed oil, rapeseed oil, and linseed oil.

It is availbale for frying or as a sort fo margareine.

It is also very tasty!

[Veganitaliana]

From what I understand, Omega 3s are found in the leaves of plants; whereas, Omega 6s are found in the seeds of plants. The fish, by the way, get it from the leaves of algae. The problem today, is that people eat more seeds (think of all the oil- which is concentrated seeds) and not enough leaves so there's an imbalance between the Omega3s and Omega 6s.

A long story to say-eat more leafy vegetables and less fatty seeds-especially oils.

Ciao

[Man On Bike.]

i cant find the url, from the top of my head it has something to do with the omega 3 : omega 6 ratio. if you take too much omega 6 (which is abundant in vegan diet) it will surpress omega 3 absorption.

I knew about omega 6 suppressing omega 3 absorption... but I didnt think about that when you said not to take flax with other oils. it makes sense now! thanks.

[Dave Noisy]

Mercola is a very dubious source, fyi.

And i'll second the votes for O3's - we typically get way too many O6's.

[veganrunner]

hemp oil is also very high in omega 3's. just keep eating your cannabis oil and youll be fine

[Dave Noisy]

What if we all just ate three times as many Omega 1's?

[Man On Bike.]

that's totally not funny, dave.