Confused about Oils? Part IV: Fish oil, Flax Oil, Flaxseeds, Oh my!

Part IV:  Fish vs. Flax vs. Oil vs. Seeds vs. Ground vs. Whole

Lewis Family E-Newsletter, January 2008

We return, finally, with the long awaited finale to our Cooking Oils series.  This final topic answers the age old questions:  What is the difference between Fish oil and Flaxseed oil?  And, while we’re at it, what’s the difference between Flaxseed oil and Ground Flaxseeds, and Ground and Whole flaxseeds? 

As a refresher from last newsletter’s article on Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids, fish and flax are both excellent sources of these important essential fatty acids, in particular Omega 3 Fatty Acids.

Omega 3’s are important in hearth health, skin health, depression, inflammation, and a myriad of other health benefits.  These fatty acids are “essential” meaning our body requires them for survival.  It is because of these many health benefits that your doctor might tell you to eat more cold-water fish, or that your cereal now advertises “with flax!”

Issue #1:  Fish oil vs. Flaxseed oil

Fish oil and Flaxseed oil are both excellent sources of Omega 3 fatty acids.  They both come in liquid or capsules, and are easy to take.  The difference between fish oil and eating a piece of fish is that the oil is highly-concentrated, allowing you to get your daily dose of Omega-3s in a few capsules or a teaspoon of oil versus eating a lot of fish.

Which one is best?  We often recommend Fish oil above Flaxseed oil as a daily supplement for a biochemical reason.  Both fish and flaxseed oils are converted in the body to the same end product, an anti-inflammatory molecule that is thought to explain all the health benefits.  However, to get to the final molecule and be used by the body, flaxseed oil has to go through several more steps than fish oil does, increasing the chances that an enzyme system or nutrient cofactor might not be functioning optimally.  Fish oil is very close to the end goal, and works beautifully in most people.

There are some obvious populations, however, where flaxseed oil would be preferred.  Vegetarians or vegans should elect for flaxseed oil and should know that it’s a perfectly fine option for getting those Omegas.  And if you have an allergy to fish, obviously stay away from the highly-concentrated fish oil.

In the real world, what we most often recommend is taking Fish oil for a daily supplement, but then using flaxseed oil with your salad dressings or as a condiment.  There is no problem with having a little of each!

With both these products, because they are concentrated oils, it is very important to take high quality products.  Many inexpensive, poor-quality fish oils that you find at stores or over the internet may have toxic levels of mercury and PCBs in them.  When it comes to concentrated fish oil, it is VERY important that you only consume high quality, third-party tested, purity guaranteed fish oil.  For recommendations on trust-worthy brands and sources, please contact us.

Issue #2:  Flaxseed oil vs. Ground flaxseeds

Think of this like the difference between eating an orange versus drinking orange juice.  They both use “orange” in the name, but you know they are clearly different foods.  The whole fruit has some juice as well as a lot of the fibrous pulp.  The juice (for the sake of this comparison, lets use “without pulp” juice) is just the juice, but it’s made from the juice of quite a number of whole oranges.

Likewise, when you have flaxseeds, you have having the whole orange.  When you use the flaxseed oil, you are taking the squeezed out “juice” (i.e. omega-rich oil) of a bunch of flaxseeds, minus the fiber.  Both are beneficial, both are important, but you take the different forms for different reasons.

Flaxseed oil:  We’ve discussed this above and in last month’s article.  This is your high-potency Omega-3 fatty acid source.

Ground flaxseeds:  You do get some oil with the whole seed, but not much.  This is why flaxseeds alone are not recommended as a source of Omega-3s; the oil or fish oil are much better ways to get the oil.  Ground flaxseeds have many additional benefits that the two oils do not have, which is why ground flaxseeds are probably one of our favorite nutritional supplements!

The short-list of benefits to ground flaxseeds are that it’s an excellent source of fiber, it will bind to excess cholesterol that your body is trying to clear which may result in lowered cholesterol levels, and it also can be a miracle worker when it comes to balancing female hormones.

Issue #3:  Ground flaxseeds vs. Whole flaxseeds

When you eat a muffin with a few un-ground flaxseeds sprinkled throughout, you may think you’re doing something good for your body, but in actuality you are not getting any of the benefit from flax.  There is a lot of misleading marketing in many of those “Now With Flax!” products.  Read on to learn why.

If you look in your bread, cereal, etc. that advertises “with flax” and see an actual whole seed, you are most likely not getting any of the benefits we’ve talked about.  It’s like swallowing a whole walnut; you need to crack open the shell first to get to the good stuff inside.  The best way to grind flaxseed is with a coffee grinder, although you can sometimes find it pre-ground at health food stores.  We recommend grinding it yourself to ensure that it’s still fresh (due to the oil content, ground flaxseeds will eventually turn rancid) but if you prefer the convenience of pre-ground, then store in the fridge.