By Ben Fuchs | Pharmacist Ben
The Borage flower contains high levels of essential fatty acids. The second essential fatty acid is generally known as Omega-6 and like its aforementioned cousin Omega-3, supplementation is critical. While Omega-6 EFAs are found in many commonly used food oils, such as corn, soy, sunflower and safflower, production that occurs at manufacturing and food processing levels as well as simple cooking in restaurant and homes depletes most of them of this vitally important nutrient.
This makes supplementing diet with Omega-6 oils an important part of a good nutritional program. The best nutritional sources of Omega 6 oils include evening primrose oil, borage oil, and black currant seed oil. Omega-6 fats are associated with lowering the incidences of various common health ailments including diabetic nerve pain, rheumatoid arthritis, attention deficit disorder, eczema and menstrual and menopausal symptomology.
Most nutritionists recommend taking Omega 6 and Omega 3 EFAs in proportion with each other in a 2:1 to 4:1 range. The so-called “Mediterranean Diet”, which is associated with good health and longevity, is noted for its optimum Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio.
Borage
Borage (Borago officinalis), also known as a starflower, is an annual herb. It is native to the Mediterranean region and has naturalized in many other locales. It grows satisfactorily in gardens in the UK climate, remaining in the garden from year to year by self-seeding. The leaves are edible and the plant is grown in gardens for that purpose in some parts of Europe. The plant is also commercially cultivated for borage seed oil extracted from its seeds. [From Wikipedia]
