Do you need flaxseed oil and a fish oil supplement?

by Ratna Babu
(Peoria, IL)

I have read through Dr. Johanna Budwig's Flaxseed and Cottage Cheese Protocol. My question is - If you take a DHA/EPA supplement, do you not need the flaxseed oil and cottage cheese?(because it is believed that the conversion ratio from ALA to DHA and EPA is very low)

Or do you still need flaxseed oil to help your body with overall fat metabolism?

Thank you


Answer:

My first response would be that you can't really have too many essential fats from these sources. Of course taking way too much can lead to complications, but there isn't a strict daily limit established on the amount of essential fatty acids you consume per day, so the issue of too much from these two sources together shouldn't be a problem for you.

Taking both might not be necessary, but there's certainly nothing wrong with it. You can never be too healthy!

According to all the literature available, if you were just going to take one of these sources, a fish oil supplement (DHA/EPA supplement) would be best. The reason is exactly what you have stated.

But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't necessarily consume flaxseed oil and cottage cheese. A great bed-time snack is cottage cheese and an apple. Consuming a good source of protein is believed to help you sleep better, and cottage cheese is a good source of slow absorbing protein which is great before bed. Flaxseed is also believed to help you sleep better so for these reasons it would still be beneficial to take both even with a fish oil supplement.


So based on this, it's still worth taking flaxseed and cottage cheese along with a DHA/EPA supplement. If you were to only choose one for a source of essential fatty acids, go with the fish oil.

If you get enough ALA from flaxseed oil and other sources, it can be sufficient where other omega 3 sources are not needed. And although I mentioned that there's no daily limit on essential fats, having too much of anything is usually not a good idea, and ALA as a source won't cause you to have too much EPA/DHA. But getting enough ALA is not that easy. Some people say you need something like 5 times the amount that you would get from fish oil.

Bottom line, sticking with both sources is fine and a great way to ensure you get quality sources of omega 3 fatty acids. If you just take a fish oil supplement, make sure it's a high quality product. I recommend fish oil supplements from Xtend Life.

If you're not going to take a fish oil supplement, then just make sure you're getting enough ALA from flaxseed and other sources.