I'm new to the Zone and I was wondering if I could find answer here. In "Enter the Zone" Dr. Sears recommends eating oatmeal 3 to five times a week to ensure adequate GLA intake. This leads to my first question. Does anyone know if he means blocks or bowls or just eating it. Currently I eat a 5 block breakfast and about 3 blocks of my carb intake is oatmeal and I eat the same breakfast every day. He also stated in the book (Eicosanoids-The Long Course) that oatmeal contains trace amounts of GLA and the average healthy person would need 1 to 2 mg per day so I think I'm over obsessing about my GLA intake from oatmeal and not to worry about it. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks

Everyone's needs are different Andy. Try not to overthink it. You could try experiment with varying amounts to see if you notice any difference.

Everyone's GLA needs are different.

Sears mentions eating 2 bowls per week in another one of his books, in order to get adequate GLA. But, today, you can also get GLA from EicoRx fish oil (although, it is not known how much GLA is actually in this oil).

With everything else being equal, you could increase your consumption of oatmeal to see if it makes a difference. You can use the ESR (Eicosanoid Status Report) to determine if you are getting too much GLA, it will generally show up as constipation if you get too much, due to an overproduction of good eicosanoids.

A tip for all the readers here, constipation is a sign you're tipping eicosanoid balance in the direction of too many bad eicosanoids. Overproduction of good eicosanoids leads to looser stools and eventually diarrhea if you happen tip your eicosanoid balance too far in the direction of too many good.

Oh, I mis-stated that in my post.

To take it a bit further, GLA is generally a "good" thing. But, too much GLA will not overproduce good eicosanoids. It actually is like "too much of a good thing", by way of the "spillover effect".

thanks, both CC and Sue I'm still trying to get clear on this. I've stopped eating my beloved oatmeal because I am taking 4 caps of the omegaRx and fear the spillover.

You don't have to fear the spillover. Just moderate your oatmeal intake, and it should be fine. You could add a shot of organic toasted sesame oil, as well. This is what Zone Labs adds to EicoRx in order to prevent the spillover effect.

ooooohhhhh, And I have an organic toasted sesame oil in the fridge.....thanks.

You're welcome!

<div class='NTForums_Quote'>Posted By janet on 04/28/2009 11:55 AM

thanks, both CC and Sue I'm still trying to get clear on this. I've stopped eating my beloved oatmeal because I am taking 4 caps of the Omega Rx and fear the spillover. </div>

Hi janet!

There's no GLA added to Omega Rx so you wouldn't have the spillover effect happening from Omega Rx.

Eico Rx has GLA and toasted sesame oil added. Dr. Sears has commented that there's no need to have concern about eating oats together with taking Eico Rx. Some individuals also take various combinations of Omega Rx and Eico Rx to achieve the balance that works best for them. Don’t be afraid to experiment!


The more you read about it, the better your understanding will be. Review the info in your Zone book(s), and feel free to keep asking questions about it here! Knowledge is power, as the saying goes. You'll find excellent informative discussions of fish oil in TOXIC FAT, some of them specific to GLA.