Supplements
such as evening primrose oil and borage oil are popularly used to treat
various types of inflammation like arthritis. The active mechanism is a
substance called gamma-linoleic acid, which is converted in the body to
prostaglandins that help reduce inflammation.
But the long
term use of these supplements may cause a reversal of beneficial
effects. After about a year of using such supplements, the cell content
of a fatty acid called arachidonic acid increases. This fatty acid,
however, favors inflammatory conditions by providing precursors of the
production of body substances that promote inflammation. If you cease
using the supplements, the extra arachidonic acid content of cells
diminishes, as does incidences of inflammation, internal blood clotting
and immune suppression.
One solution
involves taking supplements such as borage oil or evening primrose oil
intermittently rather than continuously.