Essential fatty acids are nutrients that you must get from your diet because your body cannot produce them. Both hempseed oil and flaxseed oil contain essential fatty acids, although the proportion of the types of fatty acids is different in each. There many similarities, as well as differences between these two healthful oils.
Sources
Flaxseed oil comes from seeds of the flax plant. When the oil is unrefined and cold pressed, it is bright yellow in color with a nutty flavor and distinct aroma. Hempseed oil is similarly pressed from the seed of the hemp plant. Unrefined, cold pressed hemp seed oil is green and also has a somewhat nutty flavor.
Fatty Acid Composition
Hemp seed oil and flaxseed oil are both comprised of about 10 percent saturated fatty acids. Flaxseed oil contains about 15 percent oleic acid, while hemp seed oil contains about 10 percent oleic acid, reports Gero Leson from VoteHemp.com. Although these differences are minor, however, there is a major difference between the amount of linoleic acid in the two oils. Flaxseed oil is composed of about 10 percent linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid, and hemp seed oil is made up of about 60 percent linoleic acid. The other major difference between the two oils concerns alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid, of which flaxseed oil is made of about 60 percent, while hempseed oil contains approximately 15 percent. Additionally, hemp seed oil contains a small percentage -- less than 5 percent -- of gamma-linolenic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid.
Significance of Composition
An article published in the "Journal of Nutraceuticals, Functional & Medical Foods" notes that the ratio of linoleic acid to alpha-linolenic acid in the diet should be about 3:1 ratio for optimal nutrition. This is approximately the ratio that is found naturally in hemp seed oil. However, the University of Maryland Medical Center notes that the typical American diet tends to contain up to 25 times more omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3 fatty acids, and surmises that this suboptimal ratio is significant factor in many health problems in the United States. Therefore, it may be more important to try to consume foods higher in omega-3s to achieve a near optimal ratio.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Both flaxseed and hemp seed provide alpha-linolenic acid, the essential omega-3 fatty acid. Fish oil supplements are also popular for their omega-3 content. Yet, there is more alpha-linolenic acid in flaxseed oil than fish oil, notes the University of Maryland Medical Center. The other omega-3 contained in fish oil includes eicosapentaenoic acid, or EPA, and docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA. These omega-3 fatty acids are not essential because the body can make them from alpha-linolenic acid. At the same time, there is some concern about how efficient the human body is at converting alpha-linolenic acid into EPA or DHA, thus, the alpha-linolenic acid from flaxseed oil may not offer the same benefits as fish oil.
Member Comments