What Is Better: Flaxseed Or Cod Liver Oil?

More than one-third of Americans suffer from heart disease, and some kinds of fats can improve your heart health. Flaxseed oil and cod liver oil are both sources of heart-healthy omega-three fatty acids, but they each have their own advantages. Both of them may beneficial in moderation, and a nutritionist can help you fit them into an overall balanced diet.

Flaxseed oil, or linseed oil, provides the essential fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid, or ALA, according to the Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center. Cod liver oil is a type of fish oil, and it provides long-chain fatty acids called DHA and EPA. Flaxseed oil is better if you are vegan or strict vegetarian, and you avoid animal-based products, but cod liver oil is better if you are trying to increase your intake of EPA and DHA but you do not like eating seafood, which is the natural source.

Heart Health

A benefit of flaxseed oil is that it is a source of lignans, a nutrient from some plant foods that may lower levels of cholesterol in your blood, according to the Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center. However, an advantage of cod liver oil is that it provides 6.3 g monounsaturated fat per tablespoon, compared to 2.7 g in a tablespoon of flaxseed oil, and this kind fat may lower your bad LDL cholesterol levels, according to MayoClinic.com. Both of these oils may lower your triglyceride levels.

Vitamins

Flaxseed oil supplies 2.4 mg vitamin E, or 12 percent of the daily value for vitamin E, an essential antioxidant, and cod liver oil has none. However, flaxseed oil does not provide vitamin D, and cod liver oil is better for your bone health because it provides 1,350 IU of vitamin D, or 338 percent of the daily value. You need vitamin D for absorbing dietary calcium.

Other Information

High blood pressure increases your risk for stroke and heart disease, and cod liver oil may help prevent hypertension, according to the Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center. They are both pure fats, and they have about 122 calories per tablespoon, so eat them only in moderation to control your weight. Ground flaxseed and walnuts are high-fiber alternative sources of the ALA in flaxseed oil, and you can get DHA and EPA from eating fatty fish and shellfish, which provide protein, iron and zinc.