I have seen a study claiming that the Omega-3 in flax (alpha linolenic acid) is more converted in females than males.
The claim was just over 20% for females and only 4% for males.
This is because women bear children and the fetus needs alot of DHA for the brain.

I think if you give primrose (or borage) oil with the Flax you will have better conversion.

The new algae sourced EPA and DHA are typically used by vegans.
There is a newer one that has higher EPA than the older ones that were predominately DHA, type.

Here is a new article from our poster, Marlene from our PN forum.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0717164721.htm

It is really interesting, and suggests DHA (found in fish and krill oil) has been shown to reduce chronic pain.

DHA can be purchased derived from algae, for vegetarians.

Perhaps this book has been mentioned before, but I'm reading "The Queen Of Fats" by Susan Allport.

It is extremely fascinating, and gives me a better insight in the science behind the books of B. Sears. It also allows me to better understand that it's not just Omega-3, but the balance of Omega-3 and Omega-6 that is most important. Just adding omega-3 without reducing omega-6 intake is almost pointless, as they both compete (probably for the same enzymes).

Even the story on how the name came about is fascinating, as is the story of the different scientists who discovered what it did/does. I'll now also never forget the role and importance of ALA...

Truly recommended if you want to understand the different "omegas", other fatty acids, saturated vs unsaturated, and their role in humans ...

This looks like a good book.... I see it is available at Amazon used, so I will put it on my to do list.

(I just bought 2 Art instruction books (advanced colored pencil and watercolor pencils) for this month, so this one will have to wait at bit )

I did a quick search through this thread, and didn't find any mention of hemp(seed) oil (the LEGAL kind ). I happened to come across mention of it in an article in Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges Into the Universe, so I'm checking it out a bit further... (Non-snickering comments , add'l input welcome)

Doc

Here is a new study on Omega-3's and learning in children:

http://psychcentral.com/news/2013/09...ren/59556.html

This is what brought me initially to the net, trying to help our son with ADHD and learning. It is not MY fault my parents never ate fish because my Grandmother choked on a fish bone many decades ago.

So my son was quite deficient in long chain fatty acids. I did cook some fish during my pregnancy and perhaps that is why he was not worse off than he was. But we used a high DHA product then available by Carlson's... for him once I studied the Omega-3 data available online over a decade ago. I am here basically because of our success with this single intervention in our own home once we purchased our first computer!

I'm still very much learning about it, but it seems that hemp oil has the right balance between omega-6 and omega-3 "precursor" oils. Linoleic acid can be elongated to arachidonic acid, where linolenic acid (good job on the names... also not to be confused with oleic acid, which is an omega-9) can be transformed into DHA/EPA.

However, some researchers comment that this conversion is not very efficient, and that it's better to directly consume DHA and EPA. But if those are not available for whatever reason, we can make do with hemp oil.

(again, I'm not an expert)

I was always a bit bothered by the "fish" thing, as history places the early humans in areas where there wasn't much fish. But then I understood that many of these EFA's can be found simply in plants and weeds, and if anything that we have selected plants for our food that keep fresh as long as possible; sadly, that means we have selected on less and less omega-3, as it oxidizes so easily. The spinach we eat today contain about 40% of the EFA's it originally contained, for example.

Ha, yes. Then again, don't forget that it's only 30 years that we really "know" that omega-3 is essential, especially for babies and kids. One of the things I learned from Queen of Fats is that breast milk contains high doses of DHA - much higher than the levels found in the mother. Nature seems to "know" how important it is for brain development (and also eye development). Needless to say the first formulas contained no DHA.

I know we can only buy/read so many books but I really think you will enjoy it. My main beef is that it is "short"; but it has connected many many dots for me. (Eczema seems to be connected with a shortage too, and I had terrible episodes as a toddler, bad enough so that I had to be tied up to the bed to stop me from scratching). I have been allergic to most fish all my life, so it may not be surprising how well the high dose omega-3 seems to work for me.

Of course, we have to be careful that we don't assume we'll reach world peace with a good omega-3/omega-6 balance but it is amazing how important it is. (we can even tweak our metabolism rate with that balance...)

PS: as a teaser: the book explains how prostaglandins got their name (well, they are now called eicosanoids, as we now know the name is wrong). They only "live" for about 30 seconds BTW, so it was very very hard to find/measure them.

I take coconut oil also. I take that with my supplements and add natural coconut flakes to my smoothie, yum.

I use coconut oil (well, it's more like fat at room temp) once a month or so. While it's probably not the best oil "health wise" (not so much because it's almost fully saturated, but because it's pure omega-6), it is a lovely and delicious oil to fry (home made springrolls for example).

I suppose it's a balance; using healthy oils (it's not inflammation friendly, although there seem to be other benefits to coconut oil, I should read up on that) is one thing, trying to live a little bit is another.

I take a good fish oil twice daily of course also, but coconut oil daily. It is so good for you. It is so interesting, I enjoy learning all about it.