Omega-3 and Omega-6

I read the other day on a flaxseed website that you don’t need fish – just take “heart healthy” flaxseed. Neither the FDA nor science has yet to give ALA (flaxseed is 57% ALA) or flaxseed itself a heart healthy classification. A “heart healthy” claim was given for EPA and DHA from fish. Here’s another statement found on a flaxseed website:

“ALA, may be even more effective than the EPA and DHA found in fatty fish and fish oils in lowering the risk of some coronary vascular disease problems.”

Perhaps the writer was referring to this study.

“CONCLUSIONS: In healthy elderly subjects, ALA might affect concentrations of LDL-cholesterol and apoB more favorably than EPA/DHA, whereas EPA/DHA seems to affect TFPI more beneficially.”

In this study, a group of heart healthy adults were given a diet “rich in ALA” – 6.8 grams daily. By contract, the EPA and DHA given in the study was 1.05 grams per day. Using this study in reference to flaxseed is rather misleading as the properties of flaxseed are 57% ALA. To consume the amount of ALA used in this study through flaxseed would take ingesting nearly 12 grams daily of flaxseed. I can’t imagine anyone recommending 12 grams of flaxseed daily or 6.8 grams of ALA.
Many oil comparison charts exist of the properties of flaxseed all within a few percentage points for each ingredient – this is a compiled average:

• Omega-3 ALA 57%
• Omega-6 LA 16%
• Saturated fat 9%
• Monosaturated fat 18%

NCAM, National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine National Institutes of Health lists this information:
What the Science Says

• Flaxseed contains soluble fiber, like that found in oat bran, and is an effective laxative..
• Studies of flaxseed preparations to lower cholesterol levels report mixed results.
• Some studies suggest that alpha-linolenic acid (a substance found in flaxseed and flaxseed oil) may benefit people with heart disease. But not enough reliable data are available to determine whether flaxseed is effective for heart conditions.
• Study results are mixed on whether flaxseed decreases hot flashes.
• NCCAM is funding studies on flaxseed. Recent studies have looked at the effects of flaxseed on high cholesterol levels, as well as its possible role in preventing conditions such as heart disease and osteoporosis.

Several researchers have been vocal that ALA is the less useful Omega-3 in preventing and reversing heart disease. One systematic review study (2006) from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition states:

“Evidence suggests that increased consumption of n–3 FAs from fish or fish-oil supplements, but not of -linolenic acid, reduces the rates of all-cause mortality, cardiac and sudden death, and possibly stroke. The evidence for the benefits of fish oil is stronger in secondary- than in primary-prevention settings. Adverse effects appear to be minor.”

There is great information at the The Mayo Clinic (2/1/08) and the National Institutes of Health (3/1/08) with both benefits and possible concerns with flaxseed. Please note the difference in benefits from flaxseed oil.
The NIH stated:

“Although omega-3 fatty acids have been associated with improved cardiovascular outcomes, evidence from human trials is mixed regarding the efficacy of flaxseed products for coronary artery disease or hyperlipidemia.”

Many say the discovery of the anti-inflammatory properties of EPA and DHA from fatty fish is the most important to mankind of the last 50 years. There are far too many studies to list in this post but a simple Google search will return enough research for a year’s worth of reading as these studies have been on-going for 3 decades.
Much is being written that our bodies can assimilate small percentages of EPA from ALA but it is a plant sourced EPA, challenged by a conversion process that include age, gender, other health conditions, but most of all, that conversion ability is over-powered by Omega-6s we consume in our diets.
This is very important to remember when we see food manufacturers adding a dollop of flaxseed to sport an Omega-3 label in a product that contains predominantly Omega-6s. After these products finish whatever processing method they are going through (and they are going through one or the other, possibly the new interestification) there is nothing left that resembles flaxseed.

What’s the big picture here? As a nation, we have overwhelming inflammation concerns. The tissues and cells of the average American are filled with Omega-6s that cause inflammation in part from 50 years of processed foods. (There’s a link to this science in the book that isn’t publicly available).
We know now that almost every disease has a link to inflammation. If we believe 3 decades of scientific research (and why would we believe otherwise?) it is going to take the anti-inflammatory properties research says are in fish-sourced EPA and DHA to combat this build-up. Would you rather throw glasses of water on a raging fire or open the spiket of a hose?
Three flaxseed manufacturers reported record earnings in the past year. We all know the power of marketing and advertising dollars on consumer purchasing. With food manufacturers struggling to add fish oil to processed foods, there is no question flaxseed is easier to create an Omega-3 label. Short of micro-encapsulation, DHA algae and algal oil, flaxseed is far more economical.
Those of us who have time to read daily health articles tend to think everyone does but it isn’t so. We’re a small portion of the population who share this passion. Hard working, little time for internet surfing, hardly time to sleep consumers rely on information they gather from websites, newsletters, newspapers, commercials, hoping to synthesize the truth along the way.
When we use websites, newsletters, product literature, to sell any product by unfairly reporting the “benefits” we’re misleading the American consumer. The nightly news dishes out their version of today’s events slightly off, just slightly opinionated, that causes alarm, fear and great concern.
As website and blog owners, it is our responsibility to offer information accurately for all those eyes that come along looking for answers. If you are going to make a statement of benefits from any substance, link to the medical community research. Help guide the consumer so he/she can arrive at their own conclusions by directing them to the source. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and preferences but swaying popular opinion through misrepresentation will not help the consumer honestly seeking solutions to health issues.
There’s one thing that we cannot argue with and that’s the depth of scientific and medical studies conducted globally of the health benefits from EPA and DHA. Headlines blazed with the information and one day they may with flaxseed and ALA.

Here’s to Your Health!

Lois Smithers

Author, The Food Industry’s Greed

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