All I have ever heard about is the necessity of keeping the proper ratios of omega 3's vs. omega 6's. Where does that information come from?
“15 grams of flaxseed oil provides ca. 8 grams of ALA, which is converted in the body to EPA and then DHA at an efficiency of (2%-15%), and (2%-5%) respectively.[74]”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega-3_fatty_acid
Also:
“Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n–3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n–3) play a vital role in many metabolic processes. Although these 2 fatty acids are readily available from fish, these marine-derived fatty acids can also be synthesized by humans from alpha-linolenic acid (ALA; 18:3n–3). Humans, however, can obtain ALA only through their diets, because the absence of the required 12- and 15-desaturase enzymes makes de novo synthesis from stearic acid impossible. Furthermore, conversion of dietary ALA into EPA is limited. Because the efficacy of n–3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LC-PUFA) synthesis decreases down the cascade of ALA conversion, DHA synthesis from ALA is even more restricted than that of EPA. [5]
It is generally assumed that linoleic acid (LA; 18:2n–6) reduces EPA synthesis because of the competition between ALA and LA for common desaturation and elongation enzymes.”