Evening Primrose Oil

What Is Evening Primrose Oil?

Evening Primrose Oil is an excellent source for the "essential fatty acids" linoleic acid (an omega-6), gamma linoleic acid (an omega-6), and oleic acid (an omega-9) .

Fatty acids are the building blocks of fats. Some fatty acids are "essential" because we need them to live, yet we cannot manufacture our own, so we must ingest them through the foods we eat. The word "essential" is used to mean "must be ingested". Other fatty acids are manufactured by the body, and although we need them, they are not called  "essential" because we can produce them for ourselves.

The polyunsaturated fatty acids -- chemically speaking, those that are not "saturated" and thus have more than 1 double bond -- are divided into families depending on where their end-most double bond is located. There are two main subtypes of fatty acids: the omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. The Omega-3's are those with their endmost double bond 3 carbons from their methyl end. The Omega-6's are those with their endmost double bond 6 carbons from their methyl end.

Linoleic acid (an omega-6) and alpha-linolenic acid (an omega-3) are the only true "essential" fatty acids, because although a slow process, given enough alpha-linolenic acid, the body can synthesize eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) -- both important fatty acids of the omega-3 family. But, in order to effectively increase the body's stores, they too must be consumed.


You need them to live, and while most people aren't so deficient that they are facing a life or death situation, many people are in a state of chronic low levels of essential fatty acids. EFA's are needed for maintaining proper cell membrane structure--which allows the proper distribution of nutrients throughout your body, they are needed for proper prostaglandin formation and maintenance, and most notably for the efficient metabolism of cholesterol. It has been repeatedly noted in population studies that people who consume more fish (omega-3's) consistently have a lower incidence of heart disease. Autopsies done on corpses have revealed a direct inverse correlation between the amount of omega-3's present and the healthiness of the heart. Those with low levels of omega-3's showed greater incidence of coronary heart disease than those with high levels of omega-3's and those with the highest levels of omega-3's had the lowest incidence of coronary heart disease. ^1,2


Food sources of linoleic acid include seeds, nuts, grains and legumes. Alpha-linoleic acid is abundant in cold water fish (e.g., mackerel, herring, tuna), green leaves of plants, including phytoplankton and algae, and in some seeds, nuts and legumes (flax, canola, walnuts and soy).


You should only avoid trans fatty acids, such as those found in deep fried foods. Fats, whether they started out good or not, are irrevocably changed for the worse when they are heated. EFA's are polyunsaturated; they have carbon bonds that are easily broken and do not result in harm to the body. When EFA's are heated their bonds change and they become trans fatty acids: sticky and harmful fats.


To answer this question, you need to honestly evaluate your diet. How much trans fatty acids do you consume (potato chips, french fries, margarine, etc.)? How much cold water fish and nuts do you eat? Does your family have a history of heart disease? Do you eat a lot of red meat? Do you eat fish? If you still can't decide and you live in the United States, given the typical American diet, there is probably room for supplementation of EFA's in your diet.

Most people consume too much omega-6 relative to the amount of omega-3 that they get. Vegetarians must be particularly careful because it is much easier to get supplies of omega-6 in the vegetarian diet. The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 that should be ingested is around 6:1 for fish-eaters, and 3:1 for vegetarians (because they need to manufacture their own EPA and DHA).


We also sell several Essential Fatty Acids supplements. These include:

Omega-3 Fish Oil

Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA)

Essential Fatty Acids Blend

Flaxseed Oil (Organic)