For years now I have been reading about the positive effects of eating ground flax seeds. I presently grind up and consume 2 tablespoons per day. Is it OK to take the seeds in water, or should they be cooked? Is there any down side of taking flax seeds on a regular basis, what are the advantages, and do you recommend them?
Flax seeds can be eaten, but you will not get the needed omega-3 and -6 oils that way. These seeds are an excellent source of fiber, and should be taken with water to avoid constipation. They can be added to hot cereal or smoothies, or just eaten raw. The oil can be taken up by the body if it is ground or in the oil form. Freshly ground is better than previously ground because omega-3 oils are easily oxidized in room temperature and normal light exposure.
Two tablespoons per day is a good amount, although you will probably get all the oil you need from 1 tablespoon per day. Long term use of flax seed oils without supplementation of omega-6 oils will lead to an omega-3 overload, as there are 3 times more omega-3 oils compared to omega-6 oils in flax seed oil.
Flax seed oil is probably the best way to get omega-3 oils into your body. There is a lot of buzz about fish oils, and all of it is true. However, the fish oils do not have any of the parent compound, alpha-linolenic acid, which, together with the parent omega-6 linoleic acid, are important components of every cell membrane in our body.
I recommend a 2 to 1 ratio of essential fatty acids (omega-3 and -6 oils) in favor of the omega-6, as the ratio in our body is 4 to 1 in favor of omega-6. I recognize this goes against the prevailing thought that we have an over-abundance of omega-6 essential fatty acids already in our bodies. This was caused by the intake of corn oils and safflower oils, which are not used as much any more.
My doctor says I can get all the vitamins and minerals I need from my food. What is your opinion on this?
I used to say the same thing to my patients, back in the days before I studied healthy alternatives. It is the party line of allopathic medicine, although that is starting to change. Here's the bottom line, and I'll follow up with some info on what allopaths are now doing:
4 responses so far ↓
1 Suz // May 3, 2010 at 10:11 am
I don’t agree that omega-6 oils aren’t used as much. Even the prepared counter at Whole Foods uses canola oil (a total con) in almost every dish. Every processed snack has omega 6 fats in them. Many people live on processed foods and have very limited fresh and raw foods.
2 Dr. Stan Gardner // May 4, 2010 at 3:41 pm
Suz, Thank you for your comment. Omega-6 oils are still plentiful in our society, and perhaps the majority of people are overloaded with omega-6 oils, and should really be looking at supplementing with fish oils or flax seed oils. However, a significant portion of people reading my blog, and the people I see in the office, have already shift away from the corn oils toward the olive oils, and are omega-6 deficient. The only way to know is to do the red blood cell analysis, a laboratory test. The next best guess is to decide if you are using processed food (including corn oils, safflower oils) on a regular basis–then do more flax and fish oils. If you have shifted to the olive oils and use very little vegetable oils, and especially if you have been taking omega-3 fish oils and flax seeds oils for years, you need more omega-6 oils.
3 Julie // May 13, 2010 at 6:52 pm
Dr. Gardner, my daughter in law told me about chia seeds as a way to get omega-3. According to what I have read on the Web, it’s higher in O3 and easier to use since the seeds don’t have to be ground. Can you give me your take on it?
4 Dr. Stan Gardner // May 17, 2010 at 6:38 am
Julie, Your daughter-in-law is absolutely right. And the nice thing with chia seeds is that the anti-oxidant content is so high, it protects the omega-3 oils from going rancid (oxidizing and become free radicals).
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