Researchers in Brazil have confirmed that taking 1-2g of essential fatty acids, especially GLA from borage/evening primrose oil, over 3 months can significantly help PMS.
The researchers used a specific mix: each 1-gram capsule contained a mean of 210 mg of gamma linolenic acid (GLA), 175 mg of oleic acid, 345 mg of linoleic acid (LA), 250 mg of other polyunsaturated acids and 20 mg of vitamin E.
That’s basically a lot of Omega 6 fatty acid. This is no surprise as we have known for ages that GLA specifically can help hormones problems linked to PMS.
My view, though, is that taking such a high dose of omega 6 may lead to an imbalance of fatty acids generally – EPA and DHA from fish and linseed oil, for example, are just as important and the fatty acids should really be balanced for long term health. In fact, most experts think we are too high in omega 6 generally and not high enough in omega 3s, but that’s no comfort if you’re in the throws of a PMS fit!
That said, options could be to take the right types of fatty acids in higher doses or take a general balanced product and add extra GLA on top for a period of time.
I normally recommend a balanced oil product like Nutrigold’s Omega Smart. It is not particularly high dose but it contains lipase, the fat-digesting enzyme, to help you make the most of the product. It is thought by some that a lot of people are merrily taking fatty acids like fish oils and not actually being able to use them in the body properly because of a lack of the right enzymes. It’s good to make sure.
Other balanced oil products include those from Higher Nature, Biocare and most suppliers.
So, it might be that you take the Omega Smart or a similar product as a general wellbeing formula and add extra GLA as needed. The best forms of GLA are borage and evening primrose oil. You can get some good GLA products from Biocare including Mega GLA Complex amongst others and other suppliers do them too.
Read the full study here. And you can read a really useful technical document about fatty acids and lipase written by Nutrigold here. Yes, they are a supplier, but they do know what they are taking about and I trust them to tell the truth about supplements.
Here’s hoping your PMS days are ended!
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