Question: Udos Choice vs Flax

Question: Udos Choice vs Flax

How does Udo's Choice compare to Flax Oil?

Udo's Choice was developed by Dr Udo Erasmus. Dr Erasmus "wrote the book" so to speak on essential fatty acid metabolism. Long before the bodybuilding community became aware of the importance of the essential fatty acids (thanks in large part to yours truly), Dr Erasmus was exstolling the virtues of the essential fatty acids for health, fat loss, and performance. Anyway, to fully answer your question we will have to take a look at a few things first. For starters, flax oil is particularly rich in Omega-3 essential fatty acids (alpha-linolenic acid=LNA) but is a poor source of the Omega-6 fatty acids (linoleic acid=LA). Flax is in a 4:1 ratio of O-3 to O-6. This makes flax oil "Omega-3 rich" and "Omega-six poor." Many writers on nutrition have made the mistake of telling people that flax oil "is a good source of the essential fatty acids," which is not true. It is a good source of the Omega-3 essential fatty acids but lacks adequate Omega-6 EFAS for long term use.

Though early research tells us we need a bit more LA than LNA, we find in practice that a diet higher in the Omega-3 oils gets better results. Problem is, a diet too high in either oil leads to an imbalance in fatty acid metabolism and some potential problems. Now there are two schools of thought on how to look at this problem as it relates to the essential fatty acids. One school of thought says that most people already eat far to much Omega-6 oils (which they do) and far to little Omega-3 oils (which they do), and taking flax oil will just bring you into balance. The other school of thought feels taking flax oil is too rich in Omega-3 essential fatty acids and taking it exclusively will lead to an Omega-6 deficiency. I know this is getting complicated Nancy but it will all come together in a minute. Where do I stand on this issue? I think both assumptions are correct depending on the population you are looking at. OK, enter into this picture Udo's Choice oil product. What Dr Erasmus has done is made an oil that is in a 2:1 ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6, as opposed to the 4:1 ratio of flax oil. What this does is bring the ratio closer to what is optimal (and avoids any imbalances) while keeping it an Omega-3 rich product that we find gets the best results. In addition, he has added other important and useful ingredients for health and fatty acid metabolism such as : lecithin, vitamin E, and a small amount of MCT oils.

As you can see from the above discussion, not only do we need to get adequate amounts of both the essential fatty acids (LNA and LA), but we need to take them in the proper ratios with respect to one another. Hence the invention of Udo's Choice oil. Now lately I have seen some of the companies that make these types of products producing oils in a 1:1 ratio of LNA to LA, but I definitely prefer a product with more emphasis on the Omega-3 essential fatty acids as I have seen much better results in health, fat loss, and muscle gains, from an Omega-3 rich product. One of the best ways of using such a product is to use Udo's Choice in the off season, throwing in a bottle of flax once in a while, then switching over to flax oil exclusively during precontest dieting. I consider this strategy the best of all possible worlds, and I have gotten some pretty impressive results with it. I hope this answers your questions Dian.

About Will Brink

Will Brink has over 15 years experience as a respected author, columnist and consultant, to the supplement, fitness, bodybuilding, and weight loss industry and has been extensively published.Will graduated from Harvard University with a concentration in the natural sciences, and is a consultant to major supplement, dairy, and pharmaceutical companies.

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Will was a former high level trainer with a rep for getting Olympic athletes, bodybuilders and fitness stars into shape and has gained a reputation for being a no "BS" industry insider who's not afraid to reveal the lies and hype found in the fat loss , muscle building & supplement industry.

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