Flax seeds useless? page 3

[Andtckrtoo]

You believe Google over your doctor? Anecdotal evidence over science?

I believe that doctor's do not know everything. And I agree with DFH who says that if my Endo, regardless of his reputation, is a pill pusher, than maybe I need to find another one. I absolutely believe that pills are not the answer to everything.

That being said - following the guidelines of eliminating certain foods to see how I feel is not going to hurt me in any way and might help me. I have nothing to lose by trying it. So, I will.

[RandyStimpson]

It's horrible stuff. Thought I would get "healthy" a year ago so ate 2 tablespoons a day of it. Months later I developed a small goiter and my hair was brittle and thinning. Took me 9 months to figure out it was the flax seed messing with my thyroid. Stopped it and my hair issues started correcting in days. Goiter gone.

Google the topic and you will be horrified.

Flaxseed interferes with iodine absorbtion and that's why consuming too much can cause a goiter. No one should eat more than one tablespoon of flaxseed a day. Eating a moderate amount a flaxseed is a very good idea. I used to eat a tablespoon every day but now I only eat it about once a week of if I feel inflamation in my joints. It works wonders for that.

Just because something is good for you in moderation doesn't mean a lot of it is good for you. For example, 3 brazil nuts a day give you 500% of your daily requirement of selenium which is a toxic amount when eaten everyday. That will make your hair fall out too. Having a suplemental brazil nut once a week is good insurance though. Same thing with the vitamin A. The right amount is good for you, but if you go and eat of polar bear liver full of it you will die.

[Drumroll]

It oxidizes quickly and should never be cooked, it has only ALA which is converted very portly in the body so isn't very bioavailable to us, and has an extremely high amount of phytoestrogens, perhaps even higher than soy. But you decide!

[RichMahogany]

It oxidizes quickly and should never be cooked, it has only ALA which is converted very portly in the body so isn't very bioavailable to us, and has an extremely high amount of phytoestrogens, perhaps even higher than soy. But you decide!

For these reasons (actually wasn't aware of the phytoestrogens), I'd eat flaxseed indirectly (feed it to a chicken, eat the chicken) or not at all. Same with chia seeds.

[RandyStimpson]

There are numerous health benefits to phytoestrogens -- but also risks. See this artice published in a scientific journal: Pro and Cons of Phytoestrogens

In regard to bioavailibility, it is often the case that the body converts NURIENT1 into NUTRIENT2. Once your body has enough NUTRIENT2 it stops making it. This way your body doesn't produce toxic levels of NUTRIENT2 in your body. This is called a feedback loop (your thermostat works that way). If you supplement with NUTRIENT2 you bypass the feedback loop and risk toxicity. This is why I prefer flaxseed over fish oil for an omega-3 supplement. Plus flaxseed is a whole food and fish oil is processed food.

When I was eating flaxseed everyday I was unaware of how many food sources contribute omega-3 to your diet. Now that I have been tracking my micronutrient intake I know that I don't need to supplement with flaxseed as much as I used to.

[RichMahogany]

There are numerous health benefits to phytoestrogens -- but also risks. See this artice published in a scientific journal: Pro and Cons of Phytoestrogens

In regard to bioavailibility, it is often the case that the body converts NURIENT1 into NUTRIENT2. Once your body has enough NUTRIENT2 it stops making it. This way your body doesn't produce toxic levels of NUTRIENT2 in your body. This is called a feedback loop (your thermostat works that way). If you supplement with NUTRIENT2 you bypass the feedback loop and risk toxicity. This is why I prefer flaxseed over fish oil for an omega-3 supplement. Plus flaxseed is a whole food and fish oil is processed food.

When I was eating flaxseed everyday I was unaware of how many food sources contribute omega-3 to your diet. Now that I have been tracking my micronutrient intake I know that I don't need to supplement with flaxseed as much as I used to.

This is an interesting and backward thought process. Because humans convert very little ALA to EPA/DHA, you decided that EPA/DHA are toxins and it's a defense mechanism? We don't initially convert ALA to EPA/DHA until we have enough, then shut it off, we just plain don't convert it well. The feedback loop analogy is off in this case. As, I believe, is the recommendation for supplementation of flax products. Their only proper use (besides bird feed) is seasoning cast iron (works well because they're rancid/oxidized FA's).

[Chaohinon]

What's the point of flaxseed? On top of being not even remotely appetizing, it not only has 0 proven health benefits, but may very well turn out to be harmful. That, and it's primary use is for making varnish. Brb, putting drywall in my paleo bread.

And how do you not see the pattern here? Grains...soy...flax...chia...quinoa...veg oils... all cheap, subsidized, mass produced, and either nutritionally useless or potentially detrimental. This allows big agra to make money hand over fist if they can convince you these things are "superfoods", and big pharma also benefits from the ensuing cascade of health problems.

Think about it. If the agricultural-medicinal industrial complex suddenly turned into good guys overnight and recommended everyone start eating steak and lobster, the market would crash in minutes. Take a look at the typical menus that power elites eat off of, and you'll see they're hoarding the good stuff all for themselves.

[Wulf]

Warning: possible TMI ahead

I think flax is ok but, on more than one occasion I noticed that when I ate whole flaxseed I would have bloody stools; I believe the sharp edges of the seeds were cutting my insides. Also, they come out entirely whole as well (I know this because I would see them in the stool, gross but important imo to learn what you do and do not digest), so the benefits of them extend then to only being bulk filler and/or the muco-fiber from the covering, and you don't get any benefit from the contents of the seed because it remains intact, because the seed is never broken down in the digestive system. So there's nearly no point to eat them whole.

On the other hand, ground flaxseed which is then much more bio-available, does indeed go bad if kept at room temperature; I could smell the rancidity in what I had. So if you must store ground flaxseed, put it in the fridge or freezer. I think it is useful as a fiber and fat booster for baked goods, possibly also as a binder/thickener in meatballs, meatloaf, or chili, etc. In some recipes it is used to replace the oil entirely. In summary I think it is ok to have ground flax meal sometimes, but personally I have gotten away from using it.

[Drumroll]

For these reasons (actually wasn't aware of the phytoestrogens), I'd eat flaxseed indirectly (feed it to a chicken, eat the chicken) or not at all. Same with chia seeds.

One issue with feeding animals soy or flax seed is that they convert the phytoestrogens in either into weak hormones in their body and then when you eat the animals, you still eat these hormones. Granted, it's probably better than them being industrially pumped full of artificial growth hormones ect., but even so, I'll stick to foods that don't increase my own hormone exposure, even if it's indirect exposure.

[RandyStimpson]

The feedback loop analogy is off in this case.

It true that there is no known feedback mechanism is this case. It's just that I hate to see everyone comming down on flaxseed when I have personally experienced significant benefit from it.