Flaxseed oil

anyone taking flaxseed oil. if any which brand is good. i am planning to add it with my http://www.amazon.com/NOW-Foods-Pea-Protein-Powder/dp/B001DB4MFO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328550849&sr=8-1 protein shake. i read some good things about flax oil.

any suggestion

Fish oil is more easily assimilated by the body but if there is one advantage I can think for flax it is the health benefits of lignans. I think people with Crohn's should prefer fish oil to flax because those with CD are more apt to have nutritional deficiencies. You need several micronutrients such as zinc (which many with CD are deficient), to convert the omega-3s in flax for the body to use.

Here is a good discussion from last year about flaxseed oil.
www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=38&m=2017294

Flaxseed oil has the highest ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 than all the vegetarian oils. I think some people believe chia seeds are better because Dr. Mercola constantly extols chia seeds as a key ingredient in his Mercola pure power protein powder that he sells to the public. But other websites are more neutral:

foodsforlonglife.blogspot.com/2011/01/omega-3-power-seeds-chia-hemp-and-flax.html
The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 in chia seeds is 0.33 to 1.
The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 in flaxseed is 0.26.to 1.
Flaxseeds are the clear winner in both the amount of omega 3 and the ratio to omega 6. Each ounce (approximately 3 tablespoons) provides over 6 grams of ALA omega 3 and has 4 times the amount of omega 3 as omega 6. Although you actually need more omega 6 than omega 3, you are probably eating other foods that tip the scale the other way so overall, by eating flaxseeds, you will get closer to where you need to be.
Flaxseeds are also the least expensive of the three. They are also pretty high in fiber and a very good source of thiamin and manganese.

I recently switched to Flax seed just to see what I think.
No change really except I might be tolerating the flax seed better.
No more fish oil burps etc...
I just buy the yellow labelled one called Nature Made.
I get it at Target or Walgreens. I've had good luck with the brand over the years and seem to tolerate
most of their products and the price is reasonable.
Good luck,
Mary

Delta,

Here's where I found out that flaxseed oil is high in omega 6's:

http://180degreehealth.blogspot.com/2010/02/omega-6-content-of-common-foods.html

Will lowering omega 6 save you? Will it save humanity? I don’t know. What I do know is that the vast majority of disease inflicting modern man is inflammatory at the core, and the inflammatory molecules that inflict the most collateral damage during any kind of inflammatory reaction are the cytokines. Cytokines are manufactured from omega 6 fatty acids. So the circumstantial evidence is huge, especially when we’re seeing a widespread increase in illnesses that are characterized by an inappropriately aggressive immune response (autoimmunity, autism, allergies, food allergies, asthma, arthritis, etc.).

And what matters most in taking simple steps in pursuing a low omega 6 diet, is the overall percentage of calories as omega 6 in the foods you are eating in greatest abundance. The most relevant and substantial contributors are fats, meats, nuts, and starches. I’ve left vegetables and fruits off the list because neither contributes a significant amount to the total omega 6 we ingest.

As you will quickly realize, the higher your diet is in total fat content, the more important it is that you are diligent about keeping omega 6 intake under control. It is certainly of interest that the highest fat intakes of any diets on record are those by the Eskimo and Masai. The Eskimo consumed much of their fat from seal oil, whale oil, and fish. Seal oil in particular just about has the lowest omega 6 concentration of any fat source on earth (1.1% omega 6). Following it closely is half and half, a close approximation to the uber-fatty milk consumed by the Masai in Kenya 1.8%) – which in their case is grassfed and perhaps even lower in omega 6 than the baseline used for http://www.nutritiondata.com/, which is the source of info. I used to make the following calculations.

This chart is by no means exhaustive, but it does include most of the major calorie contributors to modern diets:

Omega 666 – the most Evil omega 6 powerhouses (over 50%)

Grapeseed oil 70.6%!!!
Corn Oil 54.5%
Walnuts 52.5% (oil is 53.9%)
Cottonseed oil 52.4%
Soybean oil 51.4%

Very High Omega 6 sources (20-50%)

Sesame oil 42.0%
Pepitas 34.5%
Margarine 27.9%
Pecans 26.9%
Peanut Butter 22.5%
Pistachios 21.3%

High Omega 6 Sources (10-20%)

Chicken Fat 19.5%
Almonds 19.1%
Canola oil 19.0%
Flaxseed oil 12.9%
Cashews 12.6%
Duck Fat 12.2%
Bacon Grease 10.2%
Lard 10.2%

Moderate Omega 6 Sources (5-10%)

Olive oil 9.9%
Goose Fat 9.8%
Avocado 9.4%
Chicken with skin 9.0%
Olives 7.4%
Bacon 7.0%
Eggs 6.8%
Pork chops 6.2%
Popcorn (Air Popped) 5.8%
Oats 5.6%

Low Omega 6 Sources (2-5%)

Corn 4.7%
Chicken Liver 3.7%
Sunflower Oil 3.7% (High oleic variety - others are very high in omega 6)
Butter 3.4%
Beef Tallow 3.1%
Cocoa Butter 2.8%
Macadamia Nut oil ~2.5%
Cream 2.2%
Beef liver 2.1%
Grassfed Beef 2.0%
Whole wheat flour 2.0%

Extremely low Omega 6 Sources (Less than 2%)

Coconut oil 1.9%
Prime rib 1.8%
Whole milk 1.8%
Half and Half 1.8%
Ground Beef 1.6%
Macadamia Nuts 1.6%
Chicken without skin 1.4%
Lamb 1.4%
Cheese/Brie 1.3%
Coconut Milk 1.1%
Seal Oil 1.1%
Foie gras 1.1%
Palm Kernel Oil 0.8%
Sockeye Salmon 0.5%
Yams 0.4%
Potatoes 0.3%
Halibut 0.2%
Shrimp 0.2%
Clams 0.2%
Canned tuna 0.1%
Blue crab 0.1%
Lobster 0.1%

When you look at how much tastier the bottom of the omega 6 chart looks than the top, is it really a problem to redefine the term “healthy fats” and load up on great seafood, macadamia nuts, lamb, brie, half and half, prime rib, and potatoes fried in coconut oil?

 

Delta, as you can see Flaxseed is at 12.9% omega 6's.Personally I try to stick to foods which are in the 5% or so range (or below)  of omega 6's, because omega 6's are inflammatory - so why chance it?

What do you think?

BabeintheWoods,

Thanks for posting this.

The quoted 12.9% was for flaxseed oil.

BTW, Do you know if there's a difference in the amounts of omega 6 percentage if it's oil vs. seed?

From the valensa site you referenced:

"...Chia seed oil is much more stable than flax seed oil. In addition whole chia seed has no cyanogenic glycosides, does not require pre-milling and its seed is digestible without grinding. Like flax seed, chia also contains no gluten, however the protein levels in chia seed are much higher than those found in whole flax seed. Thus, if choosing a seed based high omega-3 oil, chia seed is the safe and healthy choice over flax. There are no limits to consumption of Chia..."

 

 

Personally, I don't intake more than 2 tablespoons of chia seeds per day - one tablespoon per each shake. Babe, do you that would cause me some problems? (sorry I could not undo the slanted font here).

@ InSoFla,

Whatever foods in the list are noted as high Omega-6 contents, can also be classified as one of the fat sources. Another point to the story is, if and should we look at Omega-6 content only and if we should drop that food completely as a result of just Omega-6 contents. I admit that this list got me thinking and I need to get back to the book that I have talks more about Omega-3 and 6 ratio.

To give some examples, recently I noticed that my cholesterol ratio is skewed so my PCP recommended me to go with Walnuts.
I am a proponent of flaxseed, not just because of its Omega-3 content but also its soluble fiber, as opposed to psyllium husk, which is just insoluble fiber. Of course, this doesn't apply to the oil. I bought that oil I mentioned earlier to give a try but the taste is terrible so not going with it again.
With Coconut oil, may be it is low in Omega-6 but high in saturated fats, so how should this oil be classified, a good oil or a bad oil? Tricky, isn't it? (You got it right, frying healthy fats in coconut oil !!!)

To be very honest, it is terribly confusing what to eat and what not to eat. So I always went with my former GI's advice, eat whatever you want but in moderation. I am a vegetarian, so I don't have to worry about bad animal farming practices in the US on my plate and I try to cook almost everything from scratch in my kitchen. I think thats the best I can do.

With Nutritiondata.com, I had this website in my bookmarks but after reading more, I learned that the inflammation factor or index, whatever they use, is pretty dicey. There are lot of arguments on how that is wrong, so I removed that website from my bookmarks and don't use it anymore. If you trust them, just a word of caution, use the data with a pinch of salt.

@ Babe,
The fish oil and mice cancer thing is interesting. I am searching for her paper on Pubmed but can't find it. Do you have a link? It should be very interesting.
I do like rodent studies but when it comes to extrapolating the results to humans, I am not very comfortable.