Marianne Gutierrez: Health Practitioner: Omega Oils

Omega Oils - Take 6 · 18 April 2006

From the various articles on this website concerning these oils you will understand that I am a great fan!!:
My recipe for coping with M.E.
Trans Fats
Omega 3
More about Omega 3

However after having raved about Higher Nature’s essential omegas and hearing about Professor Puri’s and his EPA oil and then reading his book I realised that a key Omega Oil is Evening Primrose oil.

Now this oil got little respect from me after I discovered Starflower Oil because I was informed that Starflower (Borage) oil had more GLA content than Evening Primrose oil.

GLA (gamma linoleic acid) from Starflower (Borage) oil, or from Evening Primrose oil, and EPA and DHA, from fish oils, are the components that ‘people’ are looking for when they buy ‘Omega Oils’. Or they are looking for Omega 3 and Omega 6 oils. Omega 3 is fish oils and Omega 6 is seed oils and the GLA content. All oils contain far more than just EPA, DHA and GLA.

Higher Nature produced an oil containing EPA, DHA and GLA all in one capsule in the amounts that are needed by the body. I used to take this supplement and did feel better but not quite better enough. The oils they use are fish oils and starflower oil to obtain the EPA, DHA and GLA.

Then I looked at Prof Puri’s EPA oil because it was getting rave reviews with M.E sufferers but I got a terrible rash (and I mean terrible!) when I took that which I put down to the capsule shell containing sorbitol. However I was intrigued that Prof Puri used used Evening Primrose oil and not Starflower oil to obtain the GLA component for his product.

So I bought some Evening Primrose oil from Efamol and felt the differences almost immediately. I feel an inner core of enthusiasm so that despite my aches and pains I find that I can still think a bit straighter and make decisions. My energy levels have gone up so much so that I wanted to go for a walk on Saturday and not only walked but climbed high inclines. My collapse the next day was simply a go-slow rather than total bodily function demise.

The essential omegas from Higher Nature kept me from going too far down hill but they did nothing to raise me up. Efamol seems to raise me up.

I wondered if the GLA in Starflower (Borage) oil was less reactive in the body than Evening Primrose Oil and found that one website actually states this, see Equazen . It says that: “Borage Oil is another source of GLA, but because the oil is more complex, research has shown that the GLA from borage is not as easily absorbed as that from Evening Primrose Oil.” Most Omega blends use Starflower Oil for the GLA component.

Many years ago – 20 infact, I used Evening Primrose oil for my son’s excema which seemed to help but it was too expensive then for me to buy so I changed to Starflower oil and when the oil didn’t appear to help anymore I assumed that the evening primrose or the starflower didn’t help with allergic reactions.

Evening Primrose oil is the one Omega Oil we should all be taking to help with hormones, allergies and general well-being. The website Efamol makes interesting reading.

There has been so much press coverage about fish oils being a brain food that Evening Primrose Oil has been forgotten.

Warning
I have been wondering if I have been taking too high a dose of the fish oils in the Higher Nature product because I have noticed that I bruise very easily. During Christmas time when I was still using the Higher Nature fish oils I had a bleed in my eye that wouldn’t go away for weeks – it looked awful! This is something to keep an eye on (ha ha!). If you begin bleeding easily and have symptoms from blood shot eyes to blood under the finger nails or from the nose then step down your intake of omega oils, oily fish, garlic and aspirin. If you are taking drugs to thin the blood then consult your GP before you take Omega Oils. If you want to reduce the blood thinning drugs in favour of the omega oils then consult your GP about drug dosage reduction.

The properties of all seed oils have similar properties with some more than others. Carrot oil has more Vitamin A than other oils and so is helpful with dry, cracked skin. Evening Primrose oil helps makes prostoglandins that are the precursers to hormones and also has components that can help in an allergic reaction. Most oils whether seed or fish will have some blood thinning properties. And most have lecithin which behaves like a washing-up liquid to cholesterol flushing it out of the body. Lecithin is important for the brain along with the DHA and EPA from fish oils. Soya oil is richer in lecithin than other oils.

This is quite a useful website for information about most oils Essential Wholesale

Sunflower oil is also excellent for the body as it contains GLA and lecithin and is good for the skin as a moisturiser but do not buy the sunflower oil found in supermarkets. The oil in the supermarkets is for cooking only because the vulnerable GLA has been removed. It may say pure on the bottle which means nothing has been added but it won’t tell you what has been taken out! The cold-pressed unrefined sunflower oil is not suitable for frying at high temperatures and must not be used as such.

To use any of the oils as a health food for the body or on the skin you must buy them cold-pressed and unrefined. Most if not all oils are totally unsuitable for frying or high temperatures except Olive Oil. So to eat these oils, make a salad dressing out of them and pour them cold on to your food. If you want to fry food use virgin olive oil or butter. Better still try ‘frying’ with water! It’s actually very nice and then I flavour the food with my chosen oil after it is cooked. Doesn’t work for all dishes but makes a good alternative.

If you are healthy and feel well then just check your diet and make sure that you are eating well and you should continue to stay well without the need for supplements.

If you are unwell then you may need extra nutrients to help your body get better. I have M.E. and the extra supplements I take are helping me, especially the Omega Oils and especially since I now take Evening Primrose Oil.

A healthy diet:
3 Meals a day and no snacking inbetween!
Protein from fish, birds, eggs, animals, nuts and pulses about 4 – 5 ounces a day
Minerals and Vitamins from: vegetables and fruit about 5 portions a day.
Carbohydrates from: grains (example:wholemeal bread, porridge oats, brown rice), seeds and vegetables for example potatoes – about a third of your plate of food should be carbohydrates which can be taken from vegetables
Fats from: vegetable oils ie olive oil, unrefined sunflower oil, coconut oil and from oily fish
WATER, drink water all the time, it is THE thirst quencher. Teas, coffees, fruit squashes, herbal teas all sound nice and taste nice and give a boost but drinking plain water is what the body actually needs when it is thirsty.

AVOID sugar to maintain good health, sugar is the Numero Uno of bad food that provides no useful nutrients on its own. That isn’t to say it isn’t nice! It just isn’t helpful at all in our bodies. We get enough slow releasing sugar from carbohydrates which is the type of sugar our bodies need, so we don’t need to add it in a pure form.

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