The oils derived from flaxseeds, fish and borage all contain essential fatty acids that are necessary for proper health. You might take flax, fish or borage oil, or all three combined into a single supplement, to help treat or prevent a wide variety of health problems, including high cholesterol, hypertension and arthritis. These supplements also have several contraindications, so check with your doctor before taking any of them.
Descriptions
Flax, borage and fish oils are often sold as natural supplements in the form of capsules. Fish oil contains the omega-3 fatty acids known docosahexaenoic acid or "DHA" and eicosapentaenoic acid or "EPA," which are found in high concentrations in certain types of fish, explains the University of Michigan Health System. Extracted from the seeds of the flax plant, flaxseed oil contains omega-6 fatty acids and an omega-3 called alpha-linolenic acid or "ALA," notes the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Borage oil contains gamma-linoleic acid or "GLA," says the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Uses
You might take flax, borage or fish oil to help treat rheumatoid arthritis. Borage oil is also sometimes recommended for treating coughs and chest congestion, cradle cap in infants, depression and menopausal symptoms, according to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Fish and flaxseed oils may help to lower your triglycerides, cholesterol levels and blood pressure, which may reduce your risk of heart disease. Fish oil has many more potential uses, including treating menstrual disorders, Crohn's disease, asthma, ulcerative colitis, psoriasis and other inflammatory conditions, as well as lupus and other autoimmune conditions or immune-system impairment, says the University of Michigan Health System.
Contraindications
Fish oil is contraindicated for use with blood-thinning medications such as heparin and Coumadin, because the supplement can increase the medication's effects and increase your bleeding risks, according to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Taking flaxseed oil and other supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids can also increase the effects of blood-thinners, as well as cholesterol-lowering drugs such as lovastatin and simvastatin, says the University of Maryland Medical Center. Flaxseed and fish oils could also increase your blood-sugar levels, and your doctor might need to increase your dosage of diabetes medications such as insulin and Metformin. Borage oil may be contraindicated for use with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or "NSAIDs." Taking borage oil could also increase your risk of having seizures if you take it with tricyclic antidepressants or phenothiazine-family medications, warns the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Additionally, taking fish oil could increase concentrations of the fat-soluble vitamins A and D in your body, increasing your risk of toxicity if you take these vitamin supplements.
Other Dangers
Although fish oil supplementation usually has the opposite effect, it may increase cholesterol levels in some people, notes the University of Michigan Health System. Fish oil could also temporarily reduce your HDL or "good cholesterol" levels and increase your body weight. The active constituents found in borage oil may stimulate premature labor in pregnant women and cause constipation, says the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. The ALA in flaxseed oil could increase your risks of macular degeneration and prostate cancer, states the University of Maryland Medical Center.
Considerations
You probably don't need to take a fish oil supplement if you regularly consume fatty types of fish and get sufficient amounts of DHA and EPA in your diet, notes the University of Michigan Health System. If you have diabetes, schizophrenia or certain other medical conditions, your body may be unable to metabolize the ALA in flaxseed oil into the usable fatty acids DHA and EPA, so you're most likely better off getting these from eating fatty fish, advises the University of Maryland Medical Center. Also, you should ask your physician before taking borage, flaxseed and fish oil supplements together or in any combination, because doing so might not be safe for some people.
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