milled flaxseed v flax oil

maradona10

which is better to use, milled flaxseed or flaxoil.

to buy both these is expensive so if i was to use 1 which is the best choice.

dudara

I personally use milled flaxseed 5-6 mornings a week. I don't have any reason for using seeds over oil. I did some looking after seeing your question though and I found the following here

Although Omega 3 fish oil capsules and flax oil are quite popular, these products are missing the high quality protein available from whole flax seed. Also there are problems of greater concern with these items.


Certain fish oils are high in Omega 3 fatty acids -- dark-backed, torpedo-shaped, cold water fish such as cod, mackerel and sardines, as well as salmon. However, there is a major problem of contamination of fish with mercury, PCB's, etc. And you would have to eat a lot of fish to get a good supply of the Omega 3 fats.

Further, the Omega 3 fish oil provides only derivative Omega 3 fatty acids -- EPA and DHA, rather than the primary essential source, Alpha Linolenic Acid (ALA).

Many people have heard about and taken flaxseed oil. The problem is that this, like most oils, begins going rancid as soon as it is pressed. Exposure to oxygen begins the free radical formation that causes rancidity. The older the oil is the more rancid it is.


Nearly all fish oil and flax oil products are rancid. A significant amount of time has probably passed since the oil was extracted; and it is unlikely that the product has been refrigerated at all times. In any case, refrigeration does not stop the deterioration, it only slows the process down. So both flaxseed oil capsules and Omega 3 fish oil capsules are likely to contain rancid oils.

Organic flax seed is the food highest in Alpha Linolenic Acid, and the best food source for getting the needed Omega 3 fatty acids derived from it. Consuming high quality, properly milled organic flaxseed with a high oil content is the best choice for obtaining ALA. Milled flax seed has many tasty uses.

It appears that the essential difference is that the milled seeds contain extra fibre, protein and lignans.

It can be expensive. The best value I've found is in the Health food shop in Dundrum Centre. H&B are more expensive. If anyone knows where to source milled flaxseed cheaper, then I'm interested to hear about it.

g'em

dudara wrote: »

It can be expensive. The best value I've found is in the Health food shop in Dundrum Centre. H&B are more expensive. If anyone knows where to source milled flaxseed cheaper, then I'm interested to hear about it.

I buy the Linwoods milled flaxseed, you can get it in most Health Food shops, some Chemists and my local Centra! It's €7.99 per bag and that lasts me a month or so. How does that compare price-wise to elsewhere?

I find the milled flaxseed easier to eat tbh - I miss it in with my whey protein or in cottage cheese in the evenings for snacks.

dudara

g'em wrote: »

I buy the Linwoods milled flaxseed, you can get it in most Health Food shops, some Chemists and my local Centra! It's €7.99 per bag and that lasts me a month or so. How does that compare price-wise to elsewhere?

That's the same brand as I use and at the same price.

g'em wrote:

I find the milled flaxseed easier to eat tbh - I miss it in with my whey protein or in cottage cheese in the evenings for snacks.

Ditto, I put it into my daily protein shake. You could also add it to cereals very easily. The milled stuff is easier to eat too.

mack1

g'em wrote: »

It's €7.99 per bag and that lasts me a month or so. How does that compare price-wise to elsewhere?

What size is the bag?

I've recently found some in tesco - can't remember the brand or the size (it's fairly small) for around €3.50 - will have a look when i go home!

g'em

mack1 wrote: »

What size is the bag?

425g! It's a decent enough sized bag tbh, and I don't think it's grossly overpriced.

Minder

g'em wrote: »

I find the milled flaxseed easier to eat tbh - I miss it in with my whey protein or in cottage cheese in the evenings for snacks.

Isn't that the Budwig diet - is it preventative as well as therapeutic?

g'em

Minder wrote: »

Isn't that the Budwig diet - is it preventative as well as therapeutic?

ooh, I'd never heard of that until now!! I eat it because I love the taste, never knew it was a known dietary protocol

The basis of Dr. Budwig’s diet or protocol is the ingestion of a special oil-protein mixture in the form of organic cold-pressed flaxseed oil plus cottage cheese or “quark” (a dairy product readily available in German-speaking countries made from various types of milk and roughly similar to cottage cheese), to balance an oversupply of omega 6 fatty acids and hydrogenated fats in the Western diet and to provide an immediately available abundant supply of essential omega 3 acids. Of all plant oils, flax oil is the richest source of these omega 3 acids (naturally occurring variations not considered, 100 g of oil contain 72g of polyunsaturated fatty acids, 54g of which are omega 3 acids). This oil is combined with protein (or more precisely, sulphurated amino acids** such as liberally found in quark/cottage cheese) to allow the highly unsaturated fatty acids to become water-soluble, thus bypassing the need for an (often) diseased or impaired liver to break down the unsatured fat by its own efforts. Quote: “The lipotropic protein connections, e.g. Cystein, as they are found in ... cottage cheese or nuts are able to make water-soluble the ...highly unsaturated fatty acids in seed oils. And that is what matters. When you mix together ... cottage cheese and linseed oil in your blender the fat becomes water-soluble” and thereby immediately available for use by the body. In this manner, the necessary “spark plugs” are provided for cells to “breathe”, optimally detoxify and function, even more so when additionally combining the flax oil cottage cheese mix with an optimised sugar-free diet devoid of respiratory poisons [substances which inhibit cellular respiration] but containing much raw organic food.

Taken from http://www.healingcancernaturally.com/budwig_protocol.html

maradona10

greatstuff, that article was very informative. im training for sports and flaxseed is recommended

mack1

g'em wrote: »

425g! It's a decent enough sized bag tbh, and I don't think it's grossly overpriced.

As I suspected, the one I get in tesco is only 175g, Virginia Harvest cold-milled flaxseed - 3.50ish

WindSock

Yeah flaxseed oil is rotten, and apparantly it can get rancid quickly.

misswex

Can I ask what the benefits of using flaxseed are and how ye incorporate into your diet. I saw it in Dunnes yesterday evening but didn't purchase as I wanted to ask you guys the benefits/uses?

thanks

g'em

Flax is a great source of Omega-3, the same fat that you get from oily fish and you now see it in lots of other supplements too. It's a very important fat for your brain to stay healthy and many people in the Western World don't get enough of it because of our highly processed diet.

You can eat it as flax oil (as a salad dressing or over veg, you can't cook with it) or as milled flaxed seeds - the ground up seeds give you the extra benefits of fibre and protein. You can add the milled seeds to cereals, in porridge, or add to salads. Or you can use it in baking for making healthy (or at least healtheir ) muffins or cakes.

misswex

Thanks Gem, I might buy a packet and use it with my bran flakes in the morning.

hircinum

I think it works out cheaper if you buy the whole seeds and mill them yourself - you can get an electronic coffee grinder quite cheap (got mine in the kitchen section in Clearys I think for about €30). Buy the whole golden flax seeds from a health food shop - these are apparently shelf stable (don't go rancid!) and mill a batch at a time. I don't know the exact price, but much cheaper then the packets of already milled. I keep mine in a tub in the freezer, then just sprinkle a bit on the morning porridge!

sudzs

I think it works out cheaper if you buy the whole seeds and mill them yourself

Yep! I would say so too. I do that but use a mix of half brown and half goldern flax seeds because I don't know the difference!!

Keep an eye on Holland & Barrett as they often do half price on them so you coule stock up then.

Marvelous stuff that cured my joint pain! Never knew what was causing it but started taking a heaped tablespoon of ground flax seeds most days and a capsule of oil every day and after a few weeks notices my knuckles and knees were much improved and now perfect!

oh, I take hemp oil too so maybe that helped aswell!

Jimmy Bottlehead

Bought some Milled Flaxseed a few nights ago (The 425g Linwoods one)Nourish in Omni Shopping centre, think it was around €7 or €8), but the chap said to ease yourself into using it as it can cause constipation (sexy much!). Any clue if he's right?

g'em

If anything it's the opposite - flax has plenty of fibre in it and should keep you more 'regular', not less!

Jimmy Bottlehead

Err, great!

I know it says 25-30g per day (two tablespoons), so go ahead with that? Might throw a tablespoon into the porridge, and maybe a tea spoon into the two (organic, I might add!) yogurts I have a little later.

BraziliaNZ

old thread i know. I bought brown linseed the other day at Westwood, €1.41 for 500g of it, i use a coffee grinder to mill it. This is the same as flax right? Why is everyone paying so much for the stuff? I got LOADS out of the bag when i milled it, should last a few months.

Pembily

Some people prefer convenience!!!! Don't mill too much at a time as they can go rancid and loose nutrients...

El_Dangeroso

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

old thread i know. I bought brown linseed the other day at Westwood, €1.41 for 500g of it, i use a coffee grinder to mill it. This is the same as flax right? Why is everyone paying so much for the stuff? I got LOADS out of the bag when i milled it, should last a few months.

Exactly the same, probably better as it's fresher. I compromise by keeping the pre-milled stuff in the freezer.

I keep meaning to make an investment in a coffee grinder as regular food processor doesn't work at all. Are they expensive?

BraziliaNZ

i dont know, 'twas a gift from an ex girlfriend. My flatmate's blender has a little spice grinder attachment too, that'll work also. I'm sure you can get a cheap enough Coffee grinder though.

Sapsorrow

Temple_Grandin wrote: »

Exactly the same, probably better as it's fresher. I compromise by keeping the pre-milled stuff in the freezer.

I keep meaning to make an investment in a coffee grinder as regular food processor doesn't work at all. Are they expensive?

Not very cheap about 30euro, you'd be better off investing in a proper processor for the same price with a spice grinder attachment (my mum has one they're deadly) unless you like real fresh coffee in the mornings of course which we do so twas worth the money!
Anyone know the difference between the dark and the golden linseed?
I bought a kilo or organic brown linseed the last day for about 4 euro, I'm a bit concerned tohugh that the seeds are kept in a fairly flimsy plastic wrapper (not foil packed like the posh milled stuff) and isn't kept in the fridge in the shop, does the husk protect the oils from going rancid when they're kept whole?
I grind mine and keep the powder in the freezer in a tupperware container is that the best way to store it ya?
What about Udos oil? Is there an equivalent to that for supplemental flax oil thats processed under very careful conditions to prevent rancidity etc..? I bought the biona one a few times but I don't know how careful they are about how much oxygen and light exposure the oil gets in the factory.

El_Dangeroso

khrystyna100 wrote: »

Not very cheap about 30euro, you'd be better off investing in a proper processor for the same price with a spice grinder attachment (my mum has one they're deadly) unless you like real fresh coffee in the mornings of course which we do so twas worth the money!
Anyone know the difference between the dark and the golden linseed?
I bought a kilo or organic brown linseed the last day for about 4 euro, I'm a bit concerned tohugh that the seeds are kept in a fairly flimsy plastic wrapper (not foil packed like the posh milled stuff) and isn't kept in the fridge in the shop, does the husk protect the oils from going rancid when they're kept whole?
I grind mine and keep the powder in the freezer in a tupperware container is that the best way to store it ya?
What about Udos oil? Is there an equivalent to that for supplemental flax oil thats processed under very careful conditions to prevent rancidity etc..? I bought the biona one a few times but I don't know how careful they are about how much oxygen and light exposure the oil gets in the factory.

Ack, I can't buy another food processor. I already have a serviceable Krupps number from the 1970's which I shall use until it dies. Might invest in the coffee grinder though, would a coffee grinder double as a spice grinder do you think?

Apparently whole linseed stays fresh for a year, the oils being protected from oxidisation by the husk. Although who knows how long it's been on the shelf for, but I draw the line at worrying about that. Ground fresh in the freezer I'd guess a month?

No difference between brown and golden in terms of nutrition, I reckon a different strain or summit.

I wouldn't touch flax oil with a bargepole, it goes rancid so easily and when it's rancid, it's carcinogenic.

I've been reading up on omega 3 lately though and it turns out plant-based omega 3 doesn't have the same health benefits as fish based. The fish based being long chain and flax based being short chain. You can convert short chain to long chain, but you lose this ability as you age:

http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/v63/n9/abs/ejcn200941a.html

The EU are cracking down on the claims of food manufacturers who have omega 3 claims on food, despite using the cheaper plant based short-chain omega 3:

http://www.economist.com/sciencetechnology/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14743783

Sapsorrow

Temple_Grandin wrote: »

would a coffee grinder double as a spice grinder do you think?
I've been reading up on omega 3 lately though and it turns out plant-based omega 3 doesn't have the same health benefits as fish based. The fish based being long chain and flax based being short chain. You can convert short chain to long chain, but you lose this ability as you age:

It certainly can! I'm always getting in trouble for not cleaning the grinder out and the boyf gets wierd spicey cups of coffee (he's a total coffee snob) but sometimes it actually comes out lovely because of it!
Ya I knew about the conversion thing alright, didn't hear about the ageing aspect of things though. Thats sh*te, hopefully they can figure out a vegetarian alternative suitable for elderly people what with the fish stocks being so fecked up from us over fishing and everything, one day we may not have the option of using fish oil or at least not for so cheap a fee anyway.
Actually what are you're opinions about other plant oils like olive? yay or nay? I'm a coconut fat fan myself for several reasons, flavour only being one of them.
Thanks for the articles much appreciated

Sapsorrow

"Albert Flynn, the chairman of the EFSA panel, says this point will be resolved when a product requires authorisation for a health claim derived from its omega-3 content, as only those products containing long-chain omega-3s are likely to be able to provide any evidence to support such claims. The Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the European Union, however, seems to agree with the lipid biologists. It says that the labelling of omega-3s should be clear about which type is contained in a product. Where this is not already the case among its members, it said it would address the matter."

Ha he's one of my lecturers and my old boss from last summer! Was reading the article thinking hmmm.. this sounds like Alberts sort of thing

El_Dangeroso

khrystyna100 wrote: »

.
Actually what are you're opinions about other plant oils like olive? yay or nay? I'm a coconut fat fan myself for several reasons, flavour only being one of them.
Thanks for the articles much appreciated

Your welcome!

I like any unprocessed oil that doesn't have a ridiculous omega 6 content. So I like olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil. Avocado oil is so delicious, makes divine mayonnaise and has the highest smoke point of any oil, animal or plant, making it the healthiest to fry at high-temperatures. Bloody expensive though!

Sapsorrow

Temple_Grandin wrote: »

Avocado oil is so delicious, makes divine mayonnaise and has the highest smoke point of any oil, animal or plant, making it the healthiest to fry at high-temperatures. Bloody expensive though!

NO WAY! What a brilliant excuse to start on the avocado oil! I bought it once years ago and it was amazing but have ever since completely forgotten about it's existence! Regular avocado fruit gives me tummy ache but seem to remember the oil was grand so would be a great way to reap the avocado benifits, gonna pick up a bottle tomorrow yum! Thanks for reminding me about it