Flaxseed Oil

[MummyVegan]

Hello Everyone,
I was reading in Prevention Magazine about a recent National Institute of Health, Harvard Medical School study of 50,000 men. Those who developed advanced prostate cancer over 14 years had consumed the highest levels of ALA. It says that a health man should get 1.6g of ALA per day. That's roughly a tablespoon of GROUND FLAXSEED. It says that flaxseed oil packs a much more potent punch: One Tablespoon has more than 4x the recommended dose. The article suggests sprinkling ground flaxseed on yogurt or a flaxseed muffin.

I was giving my son 1 tsp of flaxseed oil per day. I have switched to 1 tsp ground flaxseed meal in his soy yogurt. I just wanted to hear some other thoughts on this subject. Thanks!
Robin

[Krista]

We supplement with flax as well. In our case, we use flaxseed oil most regularly; my dd gets about 1/2 tsp (she's 2.5 and about 35 lbs) of oil mixed in with her morning sippy of soymilk. She loves the taste, oddly enough.

I haven't baked with flax on a regular basis because I'm still unclear on whether or not the heat from baking destroys its valuable properties, like cooking does. Can anyone shed any light on this?

[xmysticprincessx]

i'm not really sure what to think about this study. we've discussed a few studies on here that were "fixed." (we've noticed that the results of a study depend on who paid for it.)
flax seeds, omega 3's, etc, along with health food in general, have been gaining much popularity in the past few years. i really can't see that many men eating flax seeds or flax seed oil 14 years ago.
the other main source of omega 3's is fish. i'm assuiming that's were the great majority of men in this study got their omega 3's from. maybe there's something in the fish that is linked to the prostate cancer.
i wouldnt change your son's diet too much, especially if he is young. flax seeds contain omega 3's which combine with omega 6's to make dha and ara, which are needed for brain growth and development.

[MummyVegan]

Thank you for your replys. xmysticprincessx, you're right about the fish theory, it makes more sense. I will switch back to the flax seed oil. Thanks! :)

[xmysticprincessx]

i had picked up a coupon book from the HFS. next to the coupon in there for bob's red mill flax seeds, it said that flax seeds help prevent prostate cancer (among other things)!
there was no study in the ad to back it up, but i'm sure there's something out there if you googled it. (dd just woke up, so i gotta go!)

[vegma]

We did flax oil for a while, but now we're back to ground flax seeds - I like the concept of eating the "whole food". :)

[Zoesmama]

I get Silk Enhanced sometimes but also put this in her soy milk to fatten it up. DD has always been slow to gain. She has her curve so its normal and we believe she is healthy despite what her peds have said.


I used it in other brands and other Silk before I found Enhanced which has the greatest taste of ANY soy milk I've tried. I've heard though the ground stuff is actually better. Bake it into breads and add to cereal and oatmeals.

[MummyVegan]

Thank you all for your posts. You have really helped me feel better about flaxseed oil and flaxseed meal. I'm so glad that I have some cyber vegan friends to turn to. :D
Robin