Flax seed oil is considered by many to be the answer to this health dilemma. Oil extracted from flax seed is unique because it contains both essential fatty acids: alpha-linolenic, an omega-3 fatty acid, and linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid, in appreciable amounts. Flaxseed oil is the world's richest source of omega-3 fatty acids at a whopping 57% (over two times the amount of omega-3 fatty acids as fish oils). Omega-3 fatty_ acids have been extensively studied for their beneficial effects toward the following: arthritis, cancer, high cholesterol levels, heart pain "angina", high blood pressure, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, eczema, stroke, and heart attack.

The high content of omega-3 fatty acids in flax seed oil is but one of its positive attributes. The essential fatty acids combined here have proven to impart a regulatory function on the body's fatty acid metabolism. Fat metabolism is as important, if not more critical, than our body's metabolism of proteins and carbohydrates as evidenced by the drastic rise in fat related degenerative diseases, such as vascular disease and strokes._ Dietary essential fatty acids common to flax seed oil are ultimately converted to hormone-like substances known as prostaglandins, and are important for the regulation of a host of bodily functions including inflammation, pain, and swelling, pressure in the eye, joints or blood vessels, secretions from mucus membranes and their viscosity, smooth muscle & autonomic reflexes, gastrointestinal, arterial, ear, heart, water retention, blood clotting ability, allergic response, rheumatoid arthritis, nerve transmission and steroid production & hormone synthesis

Scientists continue to discover regulating effects of prostaglandins. Without the essential fatty acids, the building blocks of prostaglandins, a malfunction of fat metabolism is certain, as are problems in the regulation of the above listed bodily functions.

For some individuals, flax seed oil may offer only half of the solution. Those deficient in co-factor nutrients, specifically the vitamins pro-A, A, C, E, B2, B6, pantothenic acid, B12, biotin, and the minerals calcium, magnesium, potassium, sulfur, and zinc, sometimes have difficulty in converting the omega-6 fatty acid, linoleic acid, found in flax and other seed oils to the healthful prostaglandins.