Why You Need An Omega Complex Over a Fish Oil

Health

Apr 5

Remember a few years ago when everyone and their brother were telling you to take a fish oil?

Well, the times have changed and so should your supplement regimen.

While a quality fish oil is awesome, it just doesn’t offer what it could if it were in a formula containing other omega fatty acids.

You see, it’s not just omega 3’s that are amazing for our skin, cardiovascular system and hormones. There are a lot of other omegas out there that offer some incredible benefits. Not to mention, they work synergistically with the omega-3 in your fish oil. All the more reason that omega complex formulas trump a plain old fish oil any day of the week.

Here’s what you should be looking for in an omega complex formula:

Omega 3

The main reason why most people believe they need to be taking a fish oil is due to the omega 3 content. The active ingredients of an omega-3 fish oil are EPA and DHA. These two ingredients are stars at helping to positively influence our body’s natural inflammatory cascade. This inflammatory cascade is unregulated by arachidonic acid, a fatty acid that we ingest in abundance through products like canola oil, for example. EPA and DHA help counteract this and down regulate the inflammatory cascade.

In a standard American diet, we over consume omega 6 fatty acids and under consume omega 3 fatty acids, creating a high omega 6: omega 3 ratio. We want this ratio to be under 6 according to some forward thinking functional medicine tests that are out there. So yes, consuming a diet higher in omega 3 fatty acids, including a supplement that contains a healthy dose of omega 3’s is helpful.

You don’t necessarily need to consume a fish oil to get omega 3 fatty acids, there are also vegan omega 3 products out there. The problem is their EPA and DHA content - the active ingredients of an omega 3 fatty acid. Fish oil, when extracted properly contains high levels of EPA and DHA at different dosages depending on what the product is being used for.

In general: aim for at least 900mg combined EPA + DHA daily.

Omega 6

The omega 6 fatty acid we’re talking bout here is called gamma-linolenic acid, or GLA. GLA is the anti-inflammatory version of an omega 6 fatty acid and is amazing for those struggling with low estrogen (think perimenopause/menopause), eczema (most people with eczema have lower levels of GLA) and xerosis cutis (a suggestion that there is an issue with fatty acid metabolism, especially when it comes to GLA).

GLA is also amazing for improving the appearance of the skin and supporting the skin barrier due to its features of enhancing skin hydration and helping to reduce inflammation in the skin.

GLA and omega 3 fatty acids work synergistically as well, meaning that GLA enhances the skin hydration and inflammation-reducing effects of omega 3 fatty acids. All the more reason it’s worth finding a supplement that combines omega 3 fatty acids with omega 6 GLA.

Omega 7

I’m a big fan of omega 7 fatty acids. They are SO under-appreciated in the supplement world. It’s becoming more common to see topical face serums contain omega 7 fatty acids from Sea Buckthorn oil but oftentimes it’s forgotten in omega complex formulas that are taken orally.

Omega 7 fatty acids are incredible for a few different reasons:

They further help reduce inflammation in the system
They help with combatting oxidative stress (UV sun damage is oxidative stress of the skin, for example)
They have been shown to help with blood glucose regulation and improve parameters relating to metabolic syndrome. And since inflammatory skin conditions are like metabolic syndrome of the skin, it makes perfect sense to supplement with an omega 7 fatty acid that not only will help reduce inflammation in the skin but also help metabolism issues happening in the skin as well

Please don’t ever forget about omega 7’s in your omega supplement.

Omega 9

Omega 9’s are super important for helping to improve your cholesterol profile, the HDL and the LDL cholesterol specifically. Omega 9 fatty acids are found in olive oil for example but are so handy when we’re complexed in an omega complex formula because this particular omega helps to enhance the results of all the other omegas. Remember that synergy thing I spoke about with omega 3’s and omega 6’s? Same thing here for omega 9’s.

As a general rule of thumb, anything that’s good for the health of your cardiovascular system also has research to be good for the health of your gut, hormones and skin. You see, organ systems are connected in the body, meaning that what’s good for one system usually will benefit another. Oftentimes most ingredients that are marketed towards cardiovascular health and metabolic health are superstars for healing many different skin conditions. Omega 9’s are no exception here.

There are more and more omega complexes coming out on the market. Make sure your omega complex contains the right dosages and isn’t full of a bunch of fillers (for example - oftentimes I see the cheaper omega complex formulas contain omega 3 fatty acids but not specify now much EPA/DHA there is in the formula, or the quantity is super low…watch out for this). An added bonus is to find an omega complex with lipase in it too, as it helps improve the breakdown and absorption of the omega complex formula.

Cole Wellness Co’s Omega Complex contains omega 3, 6, 7 and 9 in the appropriate dose as well as lipase.