Cheap Flax-oil, DHA

[ebola]

It has recently come to mind that I likely should be supplementing these. I'm not really doing as much cooking with canola as I used to....

So, do any cheap sources of flax oil or DHA supplements come to mind? I was in the store the other day, and it turned out that 48 servings were like $16. That is a bit freaking steep. Do I really need 1 tbsp a day?

ebola

[missleigh]

Grinding your own seeds is most likely going to be the cheapest way to go. The seeds can usually be found in the bulk bins at the health food store. Supplementing with straight DHA is unfortunately more expensive. That can be as much as 40 bucks a month, depending on how many mgs you take.

[Kyo]

Flax oil is expensive. Where I live it's about 13$/16 oz. I've seen algae derived DHA capsules on the Internet and they're expensive.

If you take the oil don't take any more than you need. Experts recommend 1...2 tsp/day. On some flax oil bottles they recommend 3 tsp (1 tbsp) per 100 pounds of body weight; that's way more than you need. For me that would work out to be 5 tsp!

Where I live I can get whole flax seeds for $.97/pound. Getting my daily amount of omega-3 is much cheaper with whole flax seeds. Ground flax seeds cost about twice that much so, in the long run, it's well worth buying a coffee grinder and grinding your own.

One tbsp of unground flax seeds has about 2 grams of omega-3 which is about the same as 1 tsp of flax oil. To make sure I'm getting plenty I take 2 tbsp of unground flax seeds/day.

In addition to taking omega-3 it's also important to limit your omega-6 intake. Most people's omega-6 intake is way too high; that interferes with the bodies processing of omega-3.

[berrykat]

what about uncle sam ceral it is made from flax seeds and whole wheat. My parents eat it for its fiber :flush: but if it contains flax seeds maybe I should start eating it.http://usmillsinc.com/usmills/productview_description.php?id=124&back=VntfcVIiAz8CaANpVz1RIAIrViRcaAQzWntWZ1A%2BAX0 Bc1hrA3BTPQJjVSECZVQ4B2UDPwNn

[beforewisdom]

There is only one vegan ( and one vegetarian ) source of DHA.........no luck there. However Dr. Micheal Greger MD on his veganmd.com site, in his newsletter archive says he thinks the evidence is not definative that people need to take straight DHA.

Use flax seeds instead of flax oil. In addition to being cheaper and more easily stored they give you more health benefits. Since they are so cheap nobody is spending money on aggressively marketing them as is the case with flax oil.

However, there is one book.....chock full of references......written by registered dietician.........that examines all of the health benefits. I wrote a review of it on amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0971230404/qid=1111063661/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-5775631-0084158?v=glance&s=books

Even if you can afford flax oil, you should take flax seeds instead for the extra benefits.

There has also been some controversy over whether or not taking huge doses ( beyond a teaspoon a day ) is healthy for men.

[Kyo]

There is only one vegan ( and one vegetarian ) source of DHA.........no luck there. However Dr. Micheal Greger MD on his veganmd.com site, in his newsletter archive says he thinks the evidence is not definative that people need to take straight DHA.

Actually there are two sources of vegetarian DHA (for ovo-vegetarians anyway):

1) the algae derived DHA capsules
2) high DHA eggs

Even regular eggs have some DHA in them (about 18 mg/ large egg). But some eggs are available that have 150 mg/ large egg.

The evidence is not definative that people need to take direct DHA, but it's also not definative that they don't need to take it. Last I've heard, nutritionists aren't sure that we get enough DHA without having a direct source. I personally use flax seeds/oil and don't have a direct source of DHA. But, for my 3 year old daughter I'm not taking that risk since DHA is so important for brain development. I give her flax seeds/oil every day and a 150 mg DHA egg 3 times a week.

[ebola]

Thanks all.
Sounds like ground seeds is the way to go.
If I'm lucky, they'll be in the Winco bulk bins! :)
So what do you DO with them? Sprinkle on salads, or what?

ebola

[missleigh]

Yeah, you can put them on salads. I toss them into my smoothie, and they blend up well. Peanut butter sandwichs are good with flax seeds, too.