Can we subsitute flaxseed oil (or anything else) for the Omega 3 fish oil? I find that I am burping fish oil all day when I buy the fish oil. Thanks!

Hi Anne!

Flax seed oil doesn't substitute well for fish oil. Dr Sears explains why in great detail in Appendix E (pages 290 -292 ) of "The Soy Zone".

Try taking a Zone Labs fish oil together with Sea Health Plus. That will usually eliminate the fishy burps in those who have experienced them.

I am a total vegetarian, I would not want to eat fish oil. So is there no hope, I have not been able to read the Soy Zone book, I live in NZ, and have not been able to buy it anywhere. But have read a couple of the other books.

Hi Andrea!

There's still hope!

You can do the Zone fine being totally vegetarian. I used to be vegetarian (Vegan in fact) and many of my meals are still totally vegetarian.

In the past Dr Sears has recommended for people who are vegetarian and don't want to take fish oil to take algae oil. I don’t have further details on this but if you'd like more info, try contacting Zone Labs (either with a phone call, with "Live Zone Chat" at the upper right of this page, or with "Contact Us" in at the bottom of this page).

Good luck

Also a vegetarian (consume dairy though) Correct me if I am wrong but I found pumpkin seeds to be high in Omega 3's and Omega 6.
Will these fit the bill?

Not really, for a couple reasons. They contain short chain omega-3 (just as flax seed oil does), and they're not Zone friendly because they contain too much omega-6.

I too am vegetarian - lacto-ovo; just started today - I was disappointed that Barry Sears' new book Toxic Fat offers NO options for vegetarians. I just can't believe it, especially in today's climate where being vegetarian is up there in the culture.

What does he recommend if anything? I really wish someone could give us some concrete information about what to take. I take 1/4 cup flax meal a day for menopausal hot flashes.

What about algae oil or chia seed concentrate?

Barry Sears has recommended algae oil in the past for vegetarians.

Andrea, you could order the Soy Zone from amazon.com. I'm sure they'd probably have a used copy for only a couple bucks. It has a ton of good recipes. About 1/3 are vegan, too.

I used to be veggie too and lost a lot on the zone....lots of tofu. I took DHA (algae oil) capsules.

Does anyone have any suggestion for taking fish oil so that you don't taste it all day if I can't substitute flax seed oil? I have tried it on an empty stomach and a full stomach-morning or night. No luck. Irene

Sue suggested capsules, but I have had that problem WITH capsules. I actually have better luck using liquid oil and blending it into my morning smoothie. Can't taste it at all, and the dairy in my smoothie emulsifies it, so that it is blended in well and digests better.

Irene, I misunderstood when I posted the capsule reply, so I've deleted it. I had first thought you didn't want to taste the fish oil when taking it.

Taking a Zone Labs fish oil usually solves any gastric problems people have had when taking other brands of fish oil. It not, try taking a Zone fish oil together with Sea Health Plus (SHP). SHP emulsifies the fish oil for better absorption and resolves people's gastric issues with fish oil.

Here we go again, deleted posts!

Basically, that makes MY reply appear very confusing.

I sure wish that posts would just stay put after they are replied to. Honestly, it is much more respectful to re-post another reply to clarify your previous post, than to just delete it.

Sue said, "Taking a Zone Labs fish oil usually solve any gastric problems people have had when taking other brands of fish oil. It not, try taking a Zone fish oil together with Sea Health Plus (SHP). SHP emulsifies the fish oil for better absorption and resolves people's gastric issues with fish oil."

So, let me get this straight--you are suggesting that we spend another $30+ on another supplement that will help to digest the fish oil? Wow! That puts my monthly fish oil bill upwards of $100!

Hi Everyone!

That FO/SHP info I posted comes from Barry Sears.

Hi! The price quotes that I posted comes directly from the tabs on this site.

Besides, Barry Sears always tells us to take the advice that our grandma was giving us. Take your fish oil and eat your veggies. Well, if we eat a good variety of fruits and veggies, we should be getting a good dose of polyphenols. And, polyphenols are much more effective in the human body when they come from food sources, rather than put together as a supplement.

Complaints regarding products and/or pricing policy would be best addressed by contacting Zone Labs directly.

OH, I wasn't complaining! I was pointing out the fact that this is a very expensive way to deal with the problem of dealing with the gastric distress.

Sears has also suggested taking fish oil with milk (or dairy products) as a way of dealing with the emulsification. He advised this long before SHP was developed. Seems to work for me, and if you remember correctly from years ago, I really struggled with gastric distress when taking fish oil.

So if we can't take fish oils (I'm HIGHLY allergic to fish and my doc recommends I stay away from fish oil supplements as a precaution - even though we know there is no protein from the fish in them which is the cause for my allergic reactions) are you saying that taking the algae oil supplements will provide the same or very similar omega's in our diet?

Erin, I don't know a lot about algae capsules, but it is the algae that the fish are eating which is providing the stuff in the fish oil.

If you do a google search, you may come up with some supplements that are available.

If you are interested, there was a discussion on algae oil in these forums in 2005. Here is the link:
http://www.zonediet.com/Community/F...fault.aspx

Hi there,

Unfortunately, wherein Omega 3 fish oil helps to generate the "good" eicosanoids, thus reducing inflammation, flaxseed oil, being an Omega 6 fat, helps to generate the "bad" eicosanoids, thus increasing inflammation.

Flaxseed (and chia seed) oil DOES have omega-3 fatty acids, however they are the short-chained type from what I remember, so they don't do the same thing as the longer-chained fish oil.

And flaxseed oil has twice as much omega-6 fatty acids as it does omega-3 fatty acids, too.

So overall a bad deal for you.

I think Sue and CC may be able to help you with the burp, hopefully they will respond soon.

Alexy

This is weird, I thought I was responding to an enquiry about flaxseed oil substititing for fish oil.

But when I hit "send," I ended up in this thread in which it seems that others already answered the question???

Alexy

I disagree with Dr. Sears on this point. Flaxseed oil provides complete omega-3 FA's, fish oil does not. Both short chain and long chain omega-3 FA's are required for complete nutrition. All omega-3 FA's arise from plants. Your body can link the short chain omega-3's into the longer chain omega-3's, but it can't break long chain omega-3s into short chains. I have used a mix of flax and borage oils effectively. I'm not a fan of fish oil because it is produced from garbage left over at fish processing plants. All the claims about how much it has been purified are disingenuous because it has to be processed that aggressively in order to remove the inherent impurities in garbage! I have also found siginficant differences in my body's reaction to different fish oil brands. Flax and borage oil start from food and are minimally processed. I tolerate it much better.

Jeffrey,

I think that is an interesting take on it. You are right, all Omega-3 arises from plant sources. Fish eat seaweed from the bottom of the ocean, so why would we need to get it from fish when we can get it from plant sources?

I would love to hear more about the "benefits" of flaxseed oil. Do you have a resource that you can suggest for reading up on the benefits of flaxseed oil over Omega-3?