Saying "omega 3 fats" is like saying "proteins", there are different 
ones with different functions. The important ones in terms of health 
effects seem to be DHA and EPA. They can both be made from the shorter 
chain omega 3 fat ALA, but the rate of conversion slows down a lot when 
there are lots of omega 6 fats in the diet. So it's more an issue of 
proper balance of fats than just needing the omega 3's. The Standard 
American Diet (aka SAD ;-} ) has too many omega 6 fats.

Different oils have different blends of these fatty acids. Flax seed oil 
has mostly ALA. This is fine if the rest of the diet supports conversion 
to DHA and EPA, but eating fatty fish or taking fish oils with larger 
proportions of DHA and EPA is likely better.

But taking just DHA seems to upset the balance. A new study showed that 
babies whose mothers got DHA supplements during pregnancy and lactation 
had POORER neurodevelopment than those whose moms got no supplements or 
a balanced supplement with the other omega 3's.

Again, lots of nutrition is about the balance of nutrients, that's why 
foods work better than supplements in most cases.

Catherine Watson Genna, BS, IBCLC  NYC

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