Evening Primrose Oil 2000mg | 365 Softgels | Vit4ever

Evening primrose oil by Vit4ever

Evening primrose oil is oil extracted from the seeds of the evening primrose, a plant that originated in North America and now also grows in Dutch dunes and roadsides. Vit4ever cold-presses the seeds into a softgel containing 2000 mg of oil per daily dose of two softgels. This contains 10 percent gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), or 200 mg per day, supplemented with natural vitamin E. One bottle contains 365 softgels, enough for over five months at the recommended dosage.

What evening primrose oil exactly is

The evening primrose bears the Latin name Oenothera and only opens in the evening, hence the English name evening primrose. Oil is extracted from the small seeds of this plant through cold pressing, consisting mostly of linoleic acid, a polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acid. Your body does not produce linoleic acid itself. It must therefore come from food. The plant itself was traditionally used by Native American tribes in North America, both the root and the seeds, and later European settlers took the seed oil back home.

10 percent GLA and what that means

In addition to linoleic acid, evening primrose oil also contains gamma-linolenic acid, abbreviated as GLA. This is a fatty acid that can be produced in your body through a separate conversion step, but evening primrose oil provides it directly ready to use. In these softgels, the oil is standardized to 10 percent GLA. At the recommended two softgels per day, this amounts to 200 mg of gamma-linolenic acid. The difference with regular vegetable oil lies precisely in that proportion: where sunflower oil or corn oil contain hardly any GLA, evening primrose oil is one of the few plant-based sources in which this fatty acid naturally occurs in measurable amounts. Borage oil and blackcurrant seed oil also provide GLA, but evening primrose oil is the best known of these three. Common cooking oils usually contain no GLA.

Cold-pressed and protected with vitamin E

Polyunsaturated fatty acids are sensitive to heat and light. That is why this evening primrose oil is cold-pressed: the seeds are mechanically pressed without heating, so that the fatty acids retain their structure. Vit4ever adds natural vitamin E to this. Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin that naturally occurs in vegetable oils and has been added here to keep the oil stable during storage. In short: the vitamin E protects the delicate fatty acids against oxidation, allowing the oil to stay fresh longer in the softgel. That is also the reason why cold-pressed oils are often sold together with vitamin E: without that protection, the fatty acids become rancid more quickly and lose quality before the bottle is empty.

365 softgels, with beef gelatin

The softgel form is smooth and easily goes down with a glass of water, which is more pleasant for many people than a large capsule with powder. Good to know: the outside of the softgel is made of gelatin, and in this case, beef gelatin. Therefore, this product is not suitable for vegans or vegetarians. The oil itself contains no artificial colors or flavors and is naturally free of gluten and lactose. Every batch is independently tested before it leaves the door, so you know what is in the softgel. With 365 softgels in the bottle and two per day, you get over five months of use out of one package, making it a practical choice if you do not want to reorder every month. In practice, you mainly notice the convenience: two softgels per day, otherwise you do not need to look at it.

What many people do not know: evening primrose oil is often mentioned in the same breath as fish oil, but they are completely different fatty acids. Fish oil is about omega-3, evening primrose oil about omega-6 with specifically GLA as a special component. Fish oil and evening primrose oil therefore contain different fatty acids. This is how evening primrose oil keeps its separate place among the fatty acid supplements, precisely because of that specific GLA content that only a few other plant-based oils naturally provide.