Currently I eat 33 grams (= 45 ml = 3 tablespoons) of flax seed in yogurt twice a day. That’s 66 g/day (which contains about 2 tablespoons of flaxseed oil). I grind it for 30 seconds before adding it to the yogurt. I like yogurt with ground flax seed better than yogurt without it, leaving aside the health benefits.
Unlike flaxseed oil, which must be kept cool, flax seed can be stored at room temperature, which makes a huge difference. I discovered that Chinese flaxseed oil was worthless, presumably because it hadn’t been kept cool. To bring American flaxseed oil to China was a nightmare — lugging it, trying to keep it cool. Chinese flax seed is fine, and not hard to get in Beijing.
Dr. Roberts, I’m I losing out by nuking my flaxseed with water, for 30 seconds to warm it up (not boiling.) Or how about mixing it with water heated to around 80C?
I take it that ground flax seed must be kept refrigerated, given that it is sold that way in health food stores. Is that right?
What kind of grinder do you use for grinding flaxseed? Is it manual? Electric? Mortar and pestle? Something else?
I use half a tablespoon in a week’s supply of muesli. You seem to be suggesting that that is too little?
I store it at (UK) room temperature.
In China I use a blender. There is an attachment meant for grinding spices. In America I use an immersion blender (Braun) — again, there is an attachment meant for grinding spices. As blenders go, both of these are small.
Doesn’t all this flax seed contribute lots of omega-6? And doesn’t the absolute level of omega-6 matter?
“Doesn’t all this flax seed contribute lots of omega-6?” No. The reason that the omega-3/omega-6 ratio is very high in flaxseed oil is that the ratio is very high in flax seeds. The oil extraction process does not discriminate between omega-3 and omega-6. It does not selectively remove omega-6.
I notice that drinking tablespoons of flaxseed oil can be constipating but consuming a similar amount of ground flaxseed causes no problems. I also put it in yogurt, in smoothies, and on salads.
I use a coffee grinder that was $13 on Amazon and got good reviews. In 20s it turns the seeds into a fine powder.
I do, however, wonder about the phytoestrogens in flax. I’m not sure if they matter as these doses.
Seth, are you at all concerned with the phytoestrogen content of flaxseeds and the studies that have found a correlation between flaxseed consumption and prostate cancer?
I am really interested in the positive results on gum health and reduction of inflammation in general, but have thus far not started taking flaxseed due to my above concerns. Have you or any other males taking daily flaxseed noticed increase in breast size, inflamed prostate, or any other side-effects?
I haven’t noticed any bad effects. I agree that it would be better to have multiple sources of omega-3.