I recently started taking some flaxseed oil. I was doing a search on the site and the forums and noticed that some people complained about negative side effects. I was wondering if it would behoove me to maybe stop taking the flaxseed oil and switch to fish oil instead. Thanks in advance.
bump?
It’s about the ratio of omega-3 of omega-6. Ideally, cannabis oil is the best bet, but since some morons made it illegal, we have to settle for things like flax.
There’s been quite a lot of buzz around negative effects of flax, but I personally don’t buy into that. Just don’t overdo it. That said, flax should be a complement to your fish oil and not a replacement.
Nothing wrong with flax, you could take it along with a fish oil if you like.
I thought Berardi had a recent article about using flax in moderation (1 tbsp per day). I personally take the fish oil liquid at one meal, flax at another meal, and fish oil pills with 2 other meals (so omega 3’s at 4 meals a day).
BTW flax tastes terrible, at least mine does, but for $18 CDN for 940 ml i can’t complain ( i take 10 ml per day).
[quote]jamessh1 wrote:
I thought Berardi had a recent article about using flax in moderation (1 tbsp per day). I personally take the fish oil liquid at one meal, flax at another meal, and fish oil pills with 2 other meals (so omega 3’s at 4 meals a day).
BTW flax tastes terrible, at least mine does, but for $18 CDN for 940 ml i can’t complain ( i take 10 ml per day).[/quote]
terrible to you, I love the taste.
Most of the omega 3’s in flax seed are ALA, which has to convert to DHA and EPA. So why would you replace fishoil with flax?
[quote]Padilla7921 wrote:
I recently started taking some flaxseed oil. I was doing a search on the site and the forums and noticed that some people complained about negative side effects. I was wondering if it would behoove me to maybe stop taking the flaxseed oil and switch to fish oil instead. Thanks in advance.[/quote]
I would. Definitely consume fish oil over flax. If you need more omega 3 and don’t want to take loads of fish oil, or want a bit of flax too, take both.
Flax has some health benefits in moderation, but IMO you’d be much better off with the ground seeds than the oil. Personally I don’t really see any reason to be consuming flax oil at all.
I’d get some fish oil, take that along with the flax oil, but don’t bother buying anymore flax unless you get the whole seeds (you have to grind them to be digestible).
[quote]HunterKiller wrote:
BTW flax tastes terrible, at least mine does, but for $18 CDN for 940 ml i can’t complain ( i take 10 ml per day).
terrible to you, I love the taste.[/quote]
I used to add Udo’s Blend flax seed oil, and some cinnamon to mask the taste, to my shakes. I never noticed a benefit. I also never got over the crappy taste. When I was a kid I used to rub linseed oil on the wood stock of my shotgun. Flax seed oil smelled the same as the linseed oil. Simple reason why: they are the same thing. I switched to fish oil and noticed the benefit in my lipid profile. The choice was easy.
To the extent that there are benefits to the flax seed, I use the milled flax seed in my shakes. Fiber + oil + decent taste.
[quote]bobo86 wrote:
Most of the omega 3’s in flax seed are ALA, which has to convert to DHA and EPA. So why would you replace fishoil with flax?[/quote]
I didn’t switch from fish to flaxseed, I [merely] started taking flaxseed. From the looks of it, I’m probably gonna end up buying fish oil, too.
I started to use about 3 tablespoons spread throughout the day and my gyno. started acting up even though i was using REZ-V. i stopped using it and it cleared up. maybe i was using too much but flax has the highest phytoestrogen level on some list i saw (cant remember exactly where i saw it). just my experience. i now use fish oil no complaints.
[quote]cosai1 wrote:
I started to use about 3 tablespoons spread throughout the day and my gyno. started acting up even though i was using REZ-V. i stopped using it and it cleared up. maybe i was using too much but flax has the highest phytoestrogen level on some list i saw (cant remember exactly where i saw it). just my experience. i now use fish oil no complaints.[/quote]
IMO that’s a lot (actually a hell of a lot) of flax oil. Personally I consume 1 tbsp of ground flax every day, or every other day. That’s only 4-6g of actual flax ‘fat/oil’. I have mild gyno and normal E2 and it’s never been an issue.
I would only try taking more if you know you have high estrogen/E2 levels. Then you’ll likely replace some of the stronger estrogens with weaker ones.
If you need an easy (liquid) extra 40g of fat in your diet, I’d consume Olive oil and high fat solid foods like fattier meats, nuts, avocado etc… over flax or even 40g of fish oil. Although I know some people do consume this much fish oil, personally I don’t think it is wise long term. Perhaps if your fat intake is 150g/day or something …
EDIT: Actually, thinking about it, it would also depend on the profile of the fish oil. If it were not concentrated, then 40g would probably be fine - for most people 30-40g of omega-3 seems overkill to me though.
Virtually none of the Omega 3 in the flax oil will convert to EPA and DHA (less than 2% probably). That is why fish oil is the best source of omega 3’s because they have the EPA and DHA right in it, no converting needed.