{"id":211,"date":"2010-05-12T00:57:58","date_gmt":"2010-05-12T00:57:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vitamins.ultimatefatburner.com\/?p=211"},"modified":"2015-02-12T16:41:36","modified_gmt":"2015-02-12T21:41:36","slug":"flax-seed-oil-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/vitamins\/flax-seed-oil-review.html","title":{"rendered":"Flax Seed Oil: Health Benefits and Side Effects"},"content":{"rendered":"

Flax seed oil<\/strong> is derived from the seeds of a blue flowering plant (Linum usitatissimum<\/em>) that is grown as an alternative cash crop<\/a> in North America. It is one of the richest known sources of alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid that’s important for health.<\/p>\n

Alpha-linolenic acid is a precursor to two important metabolites: eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While EPA and DHA are typically associated with fish oils, many people prefer flax seed oil because it does not have a “fishy” aftertaste. In addition, strict vegetarians often choose flax seed oil as it’s a plant\u2014not animal\u2014derived source of essential fats.<\/p>\n

The omega-3 fatty acids in flax seed oil benefit almost every system of the body. Studies show that EPA and DHA can help to protect the cardiovascular system from a host of problems<\/a>, including blood clots, high blood pressure, and high blood fat levels.<\/p>\n

People with diets rich in the omega-3 fatty acids have a lower risk of death from heart disease. Other benefits include the ability to reduce inflammation and contribute to the health of the central nervous system<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Studies have associated low intake of omega-3-rich foods with higher rates of depression<\/a> and memory problems.<\/p>\n

Flax seed oil also appears to help the skin.<\/p>\n

Many users report that conditions like dandruff, psoriasis, eczema and dry skin have shown improvement with the use of flax seed oil as a dietary supplement.<\/p>\n

Likewise, flax seed oil is often used by bodybuilders, who feel it helps improve fat loss and body composition.<\/p>\n

Flax seed oil is available in capsules and in liquid form (either plain, flavored<\/a> or in “optimized” fatty acid blends such as Udo’s Choice<\/a>). Due to its highly unsaturated nature, however, it can oxidize very quickly when exposed to heat, light and air.<\/p>\n

Thus, liquid flax seed oil should not<\/strong> be cooked with<\/a>, but kept refrigerated, and used before the expiration date printed on the box or bottle (avoid purchasing oil without this information). If taking it off a spoon is an unappetizing prospect, it can be used in salad dressings or stirred into other foods (such as yogurt, smoothies, oatmeal, etc.) just before eating.<\/p>\n

Some flax seed oils are advertised as “high lignan,” although in truth, the amounts are low compared to the whole\/ground seeds. If you wish to obtain the health benefits of the lignans<\/a> (not to mention other nutrients), it’s probably best to add some (freshly ground) flax seeds to your diet, in addition to the oil.<\/p>\n

There is no accepted recommended dose for flax seed oil: people take anywhere from 1g\u20132g (caps) to several tablespoons per day. It can be readily purchased both on and offline (online, we recommend purchasing flax seed oil from BodyBuilding.com<\/a>\u2014they offer both great prices and service!).<\/p>\n

There are no side effects associated with the use of flax seed oil itself, although there is the potential for interactions with blood-thinning and\/or blood-sugar lowering medications<\/a>. If you are taking prescription medications, be sure to check with your doctor before using flaxseed oil (or other supplements).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Flax seed oil is derived from the seeds of a blue flowering plant (Linum usitatissimum) that is grown as an alternative cash crop in North America. It is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10,66,46],"tags":[74],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/vitamins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/vitamins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/vitamins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/vitamins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/vitamins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/vitamins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1167,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/vitamins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211\/revisions\/1167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/vitamins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/vitamins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/vitamins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}