I received a good question this week from a client who wanted to know if she could take an Omega 3-6-9 fatty acid “blend” supplement instead of flax seed or fish oil. I’ll give you my answer but first let me explain what the heck the difference is in simple terms so you’re educated on this.
Omega-6 fatty acids are fairly easy to get in your diet as their found in leafy vegetables, seeds, nuts, grains, and vegetable oils. Unless you have a diet that is very low in fat, chances are you’re getting more than enough omega-6 fatty acids and really don’t need to supplement with it.
The same thing can be said for omega-9 fatty acids. This is a “non-essential” fatty acid which means your body can produce it on its own. Because of this you really don’t need to supplement with omega-9 fatty acids either.
Of the three fatty acids, Omega 3’s are the MOST important to supplement in your diet.
This is because they’re harder to get from the foods you eat. Many people have a deficiency with omega-3 fatty acids (and not even know it) especially if their diet is high in processed and refined foods.
Good sources of omega-3 fatty acids include:
- Flaxseed oil
- Fish oil
- Linseed oil
- Walnut oil
- Wheat germ oil
- Soybean oil
- Ground Flaxseed
- Wheat germ
- Salmon
- Walnuts
Why are omega-3 fatty acid important?
- Help to reduce inflammation in your body
- Help to lower cholesterol and triglycerides
- Promotes a healthy cardiovascular system
- Improves insulin sensitivity by stimulating the secretion of letpin
Symptoms of Omega-3 fatty acid deficiencies
- fatigue and a lack of energy
- dry and itchy skin
- brittle hair and nails
- constipation
- depression
- frequent colds and a lowered immune system
- poor concentration
- joint pain
- lack of physical endurance
The absolute best source of omega-3 fatty acids, if I had to pick one, would be flaxseeds. One tablespoon of ground flaxseed will provide you with a full day’s requirement of omega-3’s.
Personally, I prefer flaxseed oil or fish oil and they’ll work just as well. It’s just easier for me to take fish oil capsules or drop a tablespoon of flaxseed oil into my morning yogurt.
My favorites are Barlean’s flaxseed oil and fish oil capsules, both found at Whole Foods.
Back to the story about one of my clients asking if they could substitute the Omega 3, 6, 9 blend supplement instead of a flaxseed or fish oil product. The supplement in question was a product called Udo’s Oil.
My answer was while it certainly wasn’t a “bad” supplement, you could get more bang for your buck with a good omega-3 supplement.
You really don’t need to supplement with omega-6 or omega-9 fatty acids for the reasons I just explained.
So there you have it. My recommendation is for everyone to take a good quality omega-3 product along with Juice Plus (another supplement I’ll detail in another post), use whey protein, eat primal, and call it a day.
That’s basically my diet and supplement strategy in a nutshell.
While you may have specific needs due to vitamin and mineral assimilation issues or health concerns, what I’ve just given you is a solid strategy for supplementation.
Hope that helps. Eat clean, train hard, and live strong!
Shane Doll is a certified Charleston personal trainer, fat loss expert, speaker, and founder of Shaping Concepts personal training studios. You can receive a free no-obligations trial of his Charleston personal training programs to experience the Shaping Concepts difference for yourself.
Tags: omega-3 supplements
Posted:
Thursday, March 18th, 2010 at 8:33 pm
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Category:
nutrition.
Very good article, there’s also Echium oil, you didn’t mention.
Udo’s Choice Omega 3-6-9 Blend is just as costly as your preferenced Barleans. Go check the prices. I usually recommend it over any oil due to the fact that MOST of our clients are NOT on a strict diet and only they know who they are. Most are on high-processed diets and thats just a fact until they get intuned with listening to their body and having hormonal balance. These products are both great and the key is having your EFA’s refrigerated for optimum enzyme reaction since EFA’s are heat sensative. These require refrigeration. Also with Udo’s Choice Blend you get the flaxseed oil, Omega 3 and more important oils like Borage and others. (Its on the label)
I’m curious where I suggested you should consider Udo’s over flaxseed oil because of cost? I by no means was even attempting to compare the products based on price. If you read the post again you’ll see the my objective was to point out that Udo’s oil and other omega 3-6-9 blends were simply not as beneficial as taking omega 3 oil like flaxseed. The majority of people simply don’t need to supplement with omega-6 and 9. I agree that any omega-3 product MUST be refrigerated and that you should only buy the products that are. The fact of the matter is the majority of people have an imbalance with the omega-3 to omega 6 ratio and the so called “blend” products do little to close that gap. I won’t get into a debate on the “best” omega products to take and would simply encourage people that ANY omega product is better than none.
Thanks for the great post. Everything I have read indicates that Omega-3 fatty acids are, indeed, absolutely vital - partly because it counteracts Omega-6 tendency to cause swelling. I know we get a lot of omega-6 in the diet already, but is it really absolutely vital that we get it? Or should we be trying to reduce it?