OT: Anyone had experience with flaxseed oil?

[Ben E Lou]

I have been advised to begin taking flaxseed oil. I went to purchase some yesterday, and there was a comment on the label about it not being approved by the FDA. That gave me a moment of pause, specifically making me wonder if there were any potential long-term effects that I should know about. I checked around the web last night, and haven't found anything suggesting that I should be concerned, but I wanted to double-check and see if anyone here knows anything about it. Thanks in advance.

--Ben

[ice4277]

What does it do? Did your doctor advise you to take it?

[Ksyrup]

By Mary G. Enig, PhD Flaxseed and flaxseed oil are currently recognized as appropriate sources of omega-3 fatty acids by several US government agencies, including USDA and NIH. These agencies have held conferences and workshops on the importance of omega-3 fat , which have included recommendations for consuming flaxseed.1 There are, however, present-day challengers on the Internet to the use of flax as food. The Now Age Press website is a typical example. Critics take issue with any statement made in recent years that refers to flaxseed as having a history as a "staple" food in any culture. These critics will admit only to the use of flaxseed as food in times of famine. In addition to their challenge to the notion of the use of flaxseed or flaxseed oil as food in antiquity, as well as to aspects of safety related to the presence of lignans and various anti-nutrients such as cyanogenic glycosides in flaxseed, the writers for these websites make substantive mistakes about composition, stating, for example, that hemp oil has levels of omega-3 fatty acids as high as flax oil. Actually, flax oil contains about 60 percent of total fatty acids as omega-3 fatty acids, compared to about 20 percent for hemp oil.2 When we search out historical documents written a century ago, however, we are presented with another view. The 1911 edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica reported that "Linseed [flaxseed] formed an article of food among the Greeks and Romans, and it is said that the Abyssinians at the present day eat it roasted. The oil is to some extent used as food in Russia and in parts of Poland and Hungary." The article also describes concern voiced over ". . . direct adulterations. . . [by]. . . admixture of cheaper and inferior oil-seeds. . . ." In 1864, a union of traders of linseed oil was formed in England to prevent this adulteration by monitoring all imported oil.3 The more recent Cambridge World History of Food records the use of flaxseed oil for cooking in Russia in the 19th Century and the use of seeds for making tea.4 A recent text on flaxseed, edited by researchers at the University of Toronto, contains discussions of historical uses as a food, both directly and indirectly. In the introduction, we learn that the edible flaxseed was the one predominantly grown in India, that flaxseed is consumed in the diet as oil in China, that it is consumed in Ethiopia in a stew (wat), as a porridge (gufmo), and as a drink (chilka), and has been part of the traditional foods in Egypt since the time of the Pharaohs.5 In the US, the earliest record in Food and Drug Administration (FDA) writings raises the question of GRAS status for flaxseed use in foods. This appears in correspondence to the FDA in 1948 when the food industry initiated an inquiry about the use of flax in cereal foods. The FDA originally declined the GRAS status request because the use of flax, as (or in) food prior to 1958, was in other countries and not in the US. In addition, the FDA indicated concern about untreated flaxseed being a source of toxic hydrocyanic acid and posted an import alert in 1978; this decision was abandoned in 1982 when the import alert was canceled and flaxseed was permitted in bread in levels of 10-12 percent. The agency stated that there was no concern that there would be ". . . any more exposure to hydrogen cyanide than from other foods such as lima beans, fava beans, chickpeas, cassava, yams, cashews or almonds. . . "6 Researchers from two universities evaluated flaxseed powder consumption in women and reported that the lignans, which they considered as protective against certain cancers, were normally metabolized by the microflora in the gut. These researchers reported that the possible cyanide exposure from 60 grams of raw flaxseed in healthy individuals is not hazardous; further they indicated that raw flaxseed is traditionally consumed in 10-gram amounts (approximately 1 tablespoon).7 So how much flaxseed, or flaxseed oil is appropriate and unquestionably safe? The recommendation from the US government agencies is usually 2 tablespoons of flaxseed per day to supply omega-3 fatty acids for a 2000 kcal diet. (The flaxseed needs to be ground in order for the proper digestion of the seeds to take place.) Two tablespoons of flaxseed is about 20 grams of seed and since there is about 40 percent oil in the seeds and about 50-60 percent omega-3 in the oil, 20 grams of seed could provide about 8 grams of flaxseed oil and about 4 grams alpha-linolenic acid, the basic omega-3 fatty acid. Four grams of omega-3 fatty acids is about 36 calories, which is slightly more than the usual recommendation of 1.5 percent of calories for a 2000 calorie intake. The amount of flaxseed oil needed to provide this much omega-3 is about 1.5 to 2 tsp per day.8 If you are getting omega-3 fatty acids from other sources in your diet, then the recommended amount of flaxseed oil would be less. (To be continued.) About the Author Mary G. Enig, PhD is the author of Know Your Fats: The Complete Primer for Understanding the Nutrition of Fats, Oils, and Cholesterol, Bethesda Press, May 2000. Order your copy here: www.enig.com/trans.html. References Meetings on essential fats in 2000 at NIH and 2001 at USDA. The Now Age Press website The Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, New York, 1911, Volume 16, pp. 734-735. The Cambridge World History of Food, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2000, pp. 1230, 1242. A. Judd. "Flax–Some Historical Considerations" in Flaxseed in Human Nutrition, S.C. Cunnane and I.U. Thompson, Editors, AOCS Press, Champaign, IL, 1995, pp. 1-10. J.E. Vanderveen. "Regulation of Flaxseed as a Food Ingredient in the United States" in Flaxseed in Human Nutrition, S.C. Cunnane and I.U. Thompson, Editors, AOCS Press, Champaign, IL, 1995, pp. 363-366. J.W. Lampe, M.C. Martini, M.S. Kurzer, H. Adlercreutaz, J.L. Slavin. Urinary lignan and isoflavonoid excretion in premenopausal women consuming flaxseed powder. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1994;60:122-128. M.G. Enig. Know Your Fats: The Complete Primer for Understanding the Nutrition of Fats, Oils and Cholesterol. Bethesda Press, 2000, p. 106.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by ice4277

What does it do? Did your doctor advise you to take it?

1. Provides essential fatty acids.
2. No. I haven't talked with him yet, but when I've asked about other things, he quickly says that nutrition isn't his expertise.

[gstelmack]

I've had a nutritionist recommend flaxseed itself, not the derived oil, to help with digestion (specifically colon issues).

[MrBug708]

Stuff tastes like crap. I took it when I was in Junior High and High School. Cant remember why or what for, but tasted likes\ super thict, conola oil

[Taur]

I take Flaxseed oil twice a day. It comes in a nice gelatin softgel, very easy to swallow. A good way to get your EFAs. EFAs are the good fat and will help with heart issues for the bad fat.

As for your colon? I think you are getting Flaxseed oil and Saw Palmetto confused. As a male just over 30 I take Saw Palmetto morning and Night to help prevent prostate problems down the line. I rwecomend you run, not walk, to your nearest super-market and purchase Saw Palmetto today. Unless you think you will enjoy prostate problems?

[Cringer]

My wife and i use it, along with using hemp/hemp seeds in food. Hemp seeds add good flavor to stuff, too IMO. As pointed out, good to get your Omega 3's, especially because we don't eat much seafood being vegetarians.

As far as the FDA approving, who cares. The FDA is against stuff maybe they shouldn't be, and approve crap that harms people. So it's not like they are always right

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Cringer

So it's not like they are always right

Oh, I agree with that whole-heartedly. It is just when I read that on the label, I realized that I was acting on this recommendation, not from a doctor, without doing any research whatsoever, so it gave me a moment of pause.

[BigJohn&TheLions]

Just think of all the crap that the FDA has approved, then was forced to take off the market when people started growing eyeball hair (or whatever.)

Many times the FDA is just a branch of the lobbying arm of the pharmecutical companies (like the Partnership for a Drug Free America)

Oh, keep the pills in the fridge, they hold up better. Especially fish oil. It goes rancid if not refridgerated...

[GrantDawg]

I put flaxseed in salads. It helps keep things "moving." It isn't bad in a salad.

[Taur]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Stuff tastes like crap. I took it when I was in Junior High and High School. Cant remember why or what for, but tasted likes\ super thict, conola oil

Any chance you are thinking of Castor Oil? This substance used to be the end all to home cures. Very popular with "The Little Rascals" generation.

[Ben E Lou]

gst and Grantdawg's posts remind me that "the key to life is a healthy colon."

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Taur

Any chance you are thinking of Castor Oil? This substance used to be the end all to home cures. Very popular with "The Little Rascals" generation.

*shudder*

I had some sort of health condition as a kid and was forced to drink this shit when I was around 7 or 8 years old. My mom decided to mix it with orange juice to help me drink it down, which it did; however, I was unable to drink orange juice without gagging until I was 21+ years old.

[revrew]

Wife and I use flaxseed oil as part of a diet plan. We eat it by mixing a teaspoon or two with our favorite salad dressing (she likes bleu cheese, I go for a peppercorn ranch) and then pour on the salad (twice a day). It has a faint lemony flavor that is actually pleasant. It also helps curb appetite, as the fat itself is more filling than, say, carbs.

If you use the raw oil:
1. Keep it refrigerated.
2. Shake before using.
3. Never, never cook with it. It's not like olive or vegetable oil. Doesn't work. Tried it. yeesh.

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

flaxseed oil... not being approved by the FDA.

I think you might be reading a negative where there isn't one here.

The FDA has domain over some foods and nearly all "drugs" - but has no approval authority over things like "supplements" and other nutritional products. I stronglsy suspect that the product you wre holding falls into the latter group.

In that case, they may be obliged to indicate that they have not received FDA approval -- but I don't think they are confessing that they failed some FDA tests, only that they don't bear any seal of approval from that agency (since it is not somthing the FDA governs).

There is an open debate about whether supplements and vitamins ought to become regulated by the FDA (I'll stay out of that one), but for the moment, these products are basically a free market, and the only regulation issues arise when they start to make overt claims that are not supported by science.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

In that case, they may be obliged to indicate that they have not received FDA approval -- but I don't think they are confessing that they failed some FDA tests, only that they don't bear any seal of approval from that agency (since it is not somthing the FDA governs).

Yeah. The nature of the disclaimer led me to believe that the product is untested, not that it failed any tests. I was just standing there in the store, thinking, "You don't know ANYTHING about this stuff, and you're going to put it in your body every day??? Think this one through for a bit, Ben." As far as I knew at the time, it could have been a brand new product that was rushed to the shelves. The things I read last night on the 'net, and the comments here, will send me back to the store today.

[John Galt]

I take it everyday because I don't eat fish and nuts and need to get some good fat. I too use gelatin pills which aren't as nasty.

[ice4277]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

*shudder*

I had some sort of health condition as a kid and was forced to drink this shit when I was around 7 or 8 years old. My mom decided to mix it with orange juice to help me drink it down, which it did; however, I was unable to drink orange juice without gagging until I was 21+ years old.

Ick. Once when I was very young, I got a bad sunburn. My grandfather decided the best way to cure it was to pour vinegar on it. Without telling me he was going to. Ouch