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Fish Oil Or Flaxseed Oil?


Norskgra
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Fish or Flaxseed Oil  

26 members have voted

  1. 1. Which do you use?

    • Fish Oil
      15
    • Flaxseed Oil
      2
    • Both
      9


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When I had a dog that had a tendency to skin allergies, flaxseed oil was recommended for that.

Now we have a dog that's getting older, 13 yrs, & this time the vet recommended fish oil to help her joints as she ages.

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You can't make a direct comparison between fish and flax, it’s like comparing apples with oranges. Its dependent on what you are hoping to achieve by supplementing.

There are 3 types of Omega 3 - ALA, EPA & DHA.

ALA = flax

EPA & DHA = fish

In humans ALA is very beneficial for heart health. Body also converts a small % of ALA to EPA and DHA. EPA & DHA is used also for brain function, mobility, anti-inflammation, mood disorders and also heart health.

Also 3 types of Omega 6 - LA, GLA & AA.

LA = wouldn’t supplement, occurs in fatty foods

GLA = evening primrose or borage oils

AA = wouldn’t supplement, too much is not good for the body

GLA also has mobility and anti-inflammation properties. Also good for skin conditions.

Dogs with skin conditions are normally given an EPA & DHA + GLA supplement by dermatologists.

Dogs with mobility issues I know vets normally treat with EPA & DHA but a GLA supplement would certainly be of benefit to them too.

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  Lord Midol said:
I was under the impression that green lip mussel extract is a better for joints than fish oils?

Not many Australian vets would know much about the mussel extract though, it has a natural anti-inflammatory which helps arthritis.

Possibly Midol. The higher the ratio of EPA & DHA per dose, the lesser 'filler' oils and the more beneficial the supplement.

What's the the EPA/DHA ratio for green lipped mussel? Standard EPA/DHA ratio is 180/120 but there are several available now which have higher ratio's than that.

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To be honest, I have no idea.

Will find out now though.

I can't find any numbers like the one you gave buuuuuut.

Green lipped mussel extract (pure) has 19% DHA and 15% EPA and 15% palmitic acid (nfi what that is.)

Fish oil has 12% DHA and 18% EPA. So fish oil has more EPA but a lot less DHA?

I don't really know much about this stuff :laugh: But being a kiwi green lipped mussels are used a lot.

Edited by Lord Midol
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I use both, and only 1 type on my dogs. My flax only dog have very good results..but after many years. The rest of those that are on fish oil dun seems to get improvement...but it didn't worsen also. I do noe that fish oil is more easily available which is why Vit E needs to be given. For flax, I usually dun give extra Vit E anymore.

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  Lord Midol said:
To be honest, I have no idea.

Will find out now though.

I can't find any numbers like the one you gave buuuuuut.

Green lipped mussel extract (pure) has 19% DHA and 15% EPA and 15% palmitic acid (nfi what that is.)

Fish oil has 12% DHA and 18% EPA. So fish oil has more EPA but a lot less DHA?

I don't really know much about this stuff :D But being a kiwi green lipped mussels are used a lot.

DHA is really whats of benefit, rather than the EPA so then yes the green lipped mussel would be good.

  trifecta said:
Importantly fish oil can be overdosed due to vitamin A content whereas flax / linseed oil cannot. This is why flax seed oil is recommended for skin conditions where daily dosing is optimum.

Cod liver oil contains vitamin A, regular fish oil supplements do not. 'Overdosing' fish oils will give a dog the runs, thats about it.

  Malsam said:
I use both, and only 1 type on my dogs. My flax only dog have very good results..but after many years. The rest of those that are on fish oil dun seems to get improvement...but it didn't worsen also. I do noe that fish oil is more easily available which is why Vit E needs to be given. For flax, I usually dun give extra Vit E anymore.

Fish oil is normally supplemented with vitamin E as fish oil easily oxidises - its used as a perservative. Flax oil contains natural antioxidants to perserve it.

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  Warley said:
I used to use both but couldn't get the scurf to go on one of the dogs.

I then changed to Performa3 which covers 3,6 and 9 and we've not looked back.

Where do you buy Performa 3? The only one I could find was for horses :D

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  peigirl said:
You can't make a direct comparison between fish and flax, it’s like comparing apples with oranges. Its dependent on what you are hoping to achieve by supplementing.

There are 3 types of Omega 3 - ALA, EPA & DHA.

ALA = flax

EPA & DHA = fish

In humans ALA is very beneficial for heart health. Body also converts a small % of ALA to EPA and DHA. EPA & DHA is used also for brain function, mobility, anti-inflammation, mood disorders and also heart health.

Also 3 types of Omega 6 - LA, GLA & AA.

LA = wouldn’t supplement, occurs in fatty foods

GLA = evening primrose or borage oils

AA = wouldn’t supplement, too much is not good for the body

GLA also has mobility and anti-inflammation properties. Also good for skin conditions.

Dogs with skin conditions are normally given an EPA & DHA + GLA supplement by dermatologists.

Dogs with mobility issues I know vets normally treat with EPA & DHA but a GLA supplement would certainly be of benefit to them too.

So what do I need to give to a dog with dry and itchy skin?

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