Flaxseed

A Brief History of Flaxseed

Flaxseed is believed to have originated in Egypt. Flaxseed or linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) is derived from the flax plant, which is an annual herb. The flax plant itself was very useful to ancient cultures, like the Egyptians. The ancient Egyptians would use the fiber contained in the plant in a variety of ways, and it became a staples to their society. The Egyptians would use the fiber to make clothes, fishnets, and other products.

Flaxseed has also been used by ancient cultures for medicinal purposes. Flaxseed has a gummy material called mucilage. Mucilage is very high in fiber, and therefore makes for an excellent natural laxative. The ready source of a natural laxative improved the overall health of the Egyptians, and actually served the group as a strategic advantage over other cultures. Mucilage, from the flaxseed, expanded when coming into contact with water. This would add bulk to a person’s stool and help to move it quickly through the gastrointestinal tract.

Flaxseed contains other materials which also promotes healthy living. Flaxseed, and especially flaxseed oil, is rich in alpha linolenic acid, also called ALA. Alpha linolenic acid is one of the essential fatty acids which are very important for the health of the body. One of the reasons that essential fatty acids are so important for the body is because they only enter the body through diet. The body cannot naturally produce any of the essential fatty acids in the body. The body requires the materials for the construction of the essential fatty acids to enter the body through caloric intake. Alpha linolenic acid is one of the key components the body uses to construct different essential fatty acids, and primarily Omega-3 fatty acids.

Alpha linolenic acid is converted to long chain Omega-3 fatty acids, which are a combination of DHA and EPA. The other primary food source for Omega-3 fatty acids comes from fish oil, but flaxseed oil can also provide the body with the Omega-3 fatty acids it requires. Fish oil is the preferred source because the DHA and EPA in the fish oils can be more rapidly incorporated into the plasma and membrane lipids and produce more rapid effects than alpha linolenic acid. A person needs to eat a much larger quantity of flaxseed oil in order to get the same results as a smaller quantity of fish oil. This increase in the overall amount of flaxseed oil consumed can have negative health effects. Eating large quantities of flaxseed oil may increase the chances of diarrhea and may increase blood sugar levels in the blood.

There are some advantages to using flaxseed oil to get essential fatty acids into the body. Omega-3 fatty acids coming from fish oil can be affected in the body based on the level of Vitamin E consumed. The Omega-3 fatty acids derived from flaxseed do not have this same problem, because the body is getting the Omega-3 fatty acids from a plant source. It is recommended that a person get the majority of their Omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil and not from flaxseed oil for better health.

The Average American Diet of Omega Fatty Acids

There is some debate among health professionals concerning the proper balance between the different Omega fatty acids. It has long been believed that a person should try to have two to four time the amount of Omega-6 fatty acids in their diet compared to the Omega-3 fatty acids in their diet. Some more recent studies indicated that it may be better for a person’s overall health if that ratio changed to favor Omega-3 fatty acids. In the studies researchers found that individuals with greater amounts of Omega-3 fatty acids in their diet had better overall health, and also had a lower risk of contraction serious diseases later in life.

While there still continues to be some debate over the exact ratio of Omega-6 fatty acids to Omega-3 fatty acids in a diet, there is one point of agreement among health professionals. The average American is currently getting too many Omega-6 fatty acids in their diet. The typical American diet tends to contain fourteen to thirty times more Omega-6 fatty acids than Omega-3 fatty acids. This has led many researchers to believe that the high levels of Omega-6 fatty acids, and lack of Omega-3 fatty acids, in the American diet is leading to many of the inflammatory disorders in the United States. These disorders include arthritis, cancer, and heart disease.

Additional Food Sources for Omega Fatty Acids

There are some other foods which contain Omega-3 fatty acids, but the reason that many American don’t get enough omega-3 fatty acids in their diet is due to the lack of omega-3 fatty acids food sources in a traditional western diet. The best sources of omega-3 fatty acids include deep sea fish, and organ meats. Neither of these can be found in a very traditional Western diet. Yet, these items are much more prominent in a European diet, and that is one of the reasons that Europeans have a much higher ratio of omega-3 fatty acids to omega-6 fatty acids in their diet.

There are good food sources which are more traditional to a Western diet which also provide omega-3 fatty acids, like flaxseed. Here is a list of a few possibilities: leafy green vegetables (spinach, romaine lettuce, cabbage, etc), nuts, vegetable oil, canola oil, soy oil, and soy sauce.

While there are some alternatives to get omega-3 fatty acids in a diet without fish or organ meat, it is still very difficult to get a sufficient ratio of omega-3 fatty acids to omega-6 fatty acids without including a fish or organ meat product in a diet.

Overall Health Benefits of Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Researchers first started to pay attention to the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids in the late 1970s. Researchers noticed that there was a very low cardiovascular mortality rate among the Eskimo population. The major difference between the Eskimo diet and other diets was the extremely high amount of fish which the Eskimos would consume. These were the first studies to highlight the benefits of EPA and DHA.

Further studies started to show a link between the use of fish oil supplementation and the decrease in symptoms of cardiovascular disease. A study found that the increase in fish oil would have a beneficial effect on the number of triglycerides which was greater with the larger intake of fish oil. All studies into the omega-3 fatty acids and its effects on cardiovascular disease have concluded that the taking of omega-3 fatty acids through fish oil reduce all-cause mortality and various cardiovascular disease outcomes. These include sudden death, cardiac death, and myocardial infarction.

What is difficult for researchers to conclude is the exact health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids from the research. Most every researcher agrees there are massive benefits of omega-3 fatty acids in regards to preventing and treating cardiovascular disease; however, there is no agreement on the exact amount of omega-3 fatty acids a person needs. Nor the best source of omega-3 fatty acids to supplement— or the best ratio of omega-3 fatty acids to omega-6 fatty acids for cardiovascular health. More research is required to determine the exact procedures and dosage amounts to get the maximum benefits from omega-3 fatty acids for better cardiovascular health.

There is also research indicating that omega-3 fatty acids may have a beneficial effect on the treatment of asthma. Asthma is a major health concern for millions of people in the United States. Researchers discovered that there was a very low occurrence of asthma among Eskimos. Researchers initially thought, like their findings with cardiovascular disease indicated, that omega-3 fatty acids may limit the number of cause of asthma. Omega-3 fatty acids help to raise the amount of oxygen which is in the body’s blood stream. Researchers thought that a diet of omega-3 fatty acids or the supplementation of fish oils containing omega-3 fatty acids may have a positive effect on preventing and treating asthma.

In studies involving using omega-3 fatty acids as a medication for the treatment of asthma symptoms there was no conclusive results. There were some benefits seen by taking omega-3 fatty acids for the treatment of asthma; however, many of these benefits didn’t address major asthma symptoms. Regular asthma medications were found to actually counteract any benefits a person could gain from adding additional omega-3 fatty acids.

There were subsequent studies which actually showed there might be a connection with taking fish oil containing high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, and the prevention of children developing asthma. There were three studies documenting these findings. Yet, there is still not enough evidence to draw a clear conclusion that omega-3 fatty acids can be used in the prevention of asthma. Also further studies have shown that nurses giving fish oil containing omega-3 fatty acids saw little to no improvement in decreasing the numbers of asthma cases. Some researchers argue that there are benefits to using omega-3 fatty acids fish oils in preventing asthma, but the real problem is identifying the children who need the fish oil. It is very difficult to identify a child with asthma in the first eighteen months of their lives. Better asthma screening could potentially lead to better data, and more conclusive evidence involving omega-3 fatty acids.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids help to improve cognitive functions. There have been many studies which have shown a connection between the taking of omega-3 fatty acids and the reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s dementia. While the studies differ in the magnitude of potential benefits, all of the studies show that taking a supplement of fish oil containing omega-3 fatty acids will help to reduce the probability of a person contracting Alzheimer’s dementia. There was also strong evidence in the studies to suggest that omega-3 fatty acids may help with all forms of dementia, although those findings were less than conclusive in comparison to the results of the Alzheimer’s based studies.

Further studies went on to demonstrate that not only was dementia helped to be prevented by supplementing with omega-3 fatty acids, but also the studies indicated there may be a link between the consumption of omega-3 fatty acids and the prevent of ever contracting Alzheimer’s disease. Studies showed that taking omega-3 fatty acids would strengthen the activity in the brain, and also help to avoid the destruction of brain matter which occurs naturally over the course of normal human aging.

Specific Benefits of Flaxseed

Flaxseed and flaxseed oil will be able to give some other health benefits. Flaxseed and flaxseed oil have been reported to possess cholesterol-lowering properties in laboratory studies. One study was done on the Mediterranean diet. This type of diet tends to have higher high density lipoprotein, HDL, or good cholesterol levels. There is usually more of a balance in the Mediterranean diet of foods which contain both Omega-3 fatty acids, Omega-6 fatty acids, and Omega-9 fatty acids. The balance of the Mediterranean diet is much greater in comparison to the general lack of balance food in most Western diets. The Mediterranean diet is based on an emphasis in whole grains, root and green vegetables, daily intake of fruit, fish and poultry (instead of heavier red meats), olive and canola oils, flaxseed, and a lack of foods containing butter and cream. The study of the Mediterranean diet concluded that items, such as flaxseeds, had a cholesterol lowering properties.

Additional studies were performed on flaxseed, and flaxseed oil. In a recent study which measured the effectiveness of flaxseed in lowering patients with high cholesterol, researchers found that dietary flaxseed significantly improved lipid (cholesterol) profile in patients with high cholesterol. This improvement in the patient’s cholesterol led to an improvement in a person’s cardiovascular health as well. There is a strong connection between a person’s cholesterol and the risk level of a person suffering from a cardiovascular disorder.

Flaxseed has been found to be beneficial for women going through menopause. Researchers compared hormone replacement therapy and giving menopausal women an additional forty grams of flaxseed. The results was that in women suffering from mild menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes, mood disturbances, and vaginal dryness, flaxseed was reported to be equally as effective, and even helped to lower the blood sugar levels in the blood. There have been some problems with researchers when they try to duplicate these experiments, and some researchers haven’t been able to see any improvement in women going through menopause who take flaxseed.

Yet, flaxseed has been found almost universally in studies to help prevent bone loss during menopause. A woman can loss as much as 25% of their total boon mass during menopause, and this can lead to very serious health problems for older women. One of the most deadly accidents occurs when a woman breaks her hip. The mortality rate for a fractured hip is shockingly high compared to other injuries and aliments. Most fractured hips can be traced back to bone mass which women loss during menopause. To help prevent the loss of bone mass it is recommended that women consume high amounts of calcium before the age of thirty. The bones of the body will absorb and keep the calcium in the bone mass, and this will help strength the bone frame of the body, helping to prevent fragility later in life. It has also been found that increasing flaxseed consumption can be beneficial for bone health, and can potentially lower the chances of significant bone density loss during menopause.

How to Get Enough Omega-3 Fatty Acid in a Healthy Diet

Adding Fish and organ meat to a diet would be a good way to get the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids. Another good option would probably be to add the other food sources of omega-3 fatty acids listed above to a healthy diet of low fat meats, whole grains, fresh fruits, and fresh vegetables.

The problem is this type of diet is very inconvenient, expensive, and it isn’t as effective for health benefits as supplementation. Studies have shown that for cardiovascular health it is actually more beneficial for a person to be taking an omega-3 fatty acid supplement containing fish oil, than to actually get the fish oil from a non-supplemented diet. Other omega-3 fatty acids supplements not containing fish oil also out performed simply augmenting a diet with foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids.

When looking for a good omega-3 fatty acids supplement it is important to find one which is has a high concentration of fish oils from a good source. Many of the supplement companies will not get high quality fish oils, and that will lower the effectiveness and ratio of omega-3 fatty acids a person will receive through supplementation. In addition to a high quantity of fish oil, a person should also be sure to see if the supplement has a secondary source of omega-3 fatty acids. A good source is flax seed oil.

In addition to omega-3 fatty acids, the body also needs the right ration of other important omega fatty acids. When looking for the right fatty acid supplement, be sure to find one which takes into account the proper ratio of fatty acids a person needs in order to gain the maximum health benefit.

Things to Consider When Supplementing a Diet with Flaxseed

While there are many health benefits to increasing and taking flaxseed in a diet, and also getting more Omega-3 fatty acids in a diet, a person should consider their own overall health before starting any supplementation program. There are some studies which indicate that large consumption of certain forms of ALA can lead to an increase in macular degeneration; although more research is needed before anything definitive can be determined.

Flaxseed consumption can also have a very negative effect on certain forms of medication. Flaxseed has been shown to possibly slow down the absorption of some oral medications or other nutrients when taken at the same time. It is recommended that a person take flaxseed supplementation either before or after their regular medication. It is also recommended that a person talk to their health care professional to see if flaxseed may inhibit the medications that person is currently taking.

If a person has certain diseases then it isn’t recommended that they take consume flaxseed, flaxseed oil, or supplementation which includes flaxseeds. Some doctors recommend that a person suffering from diabetes, prostate problems, breast cancer, or schizophrenia not take any form of flax seed product without first consulting a their health care professional.

Flaxseed may alter some medications, and it is recommended to monitor supplementation of flaxseed oil if a person is taking certain medications. There are some common medications which have negative interactions with flaxseed products.

Blood thinning medications normally do not respond well when a person is also taking products containing flaxseed. Omega-3 fatty acids may increase the effects of blood thinning medications, which include aspirin and warfarin. A person suffering from the effects of a stroke can find it is often harmful for flaxseed to be taken with blood thinning medication unless under orders from a doctor. There are times when blood thinning medication is taken with products containing flaxseed, usually when dealing with cardiovascular disease; however, a person needs to consult their health care professional before adding any flaxseed product when they are taking blood thinning medication.

There are also common problems for people taking diabetic medications, oral contraceptives, or people going through hormonal replacement therapy. In some cases flaxseed supplements can be taken, but a doctor’s consultation should occur beforehand.

The general rule for taking any flaxseed product is to it one hour before, or two hours after taking other forms of medication. This time buffer should avoid many of the negative interactions which may occur between flaxseed products and some form of medications. This is a general rule with most minor medications, and if a person is suffering from a more serious disease or disorder, or if a person has any questions at all about possible negative side effects which may occur when taking a flaxseed product, then they should consult their medical health care professional before starting any supplementation regime whatsoever.