Flaxseed Pro and Con

[SunnySmile501]

Originally Posted by momtomany1

It would appear that Dr. Atkins was not aware of any negative health effects. Is all this information too new for him to have been aware of it?

I mean at this point, telling Atkineers not to eat flax is not quite, but close to, being something like telling the Israelites not to eat manna after God told them to do so.

I don't plan on telling anyone not to use flax, but they have the right to the latest information so they can decide for themselves.

In the first books, Dr. Atkins said eating margarine was fine. Later, he discovered that it is very unhealthy and changed his advice.

Actually, Dr. A doesn't say much about flax--just that you can use it for constipation. None of his recipes uses flax. Flax is not listed as a seed or grain.

[keriann_forgoodthistime]

thanks for this thread Sunny!

[mitzimarie]

Originally Posted by momtomany1

Flaxseed Oil Consumption Raises Premature Birth Risk If Consumed During Last Two Trimesters

"In the general population, the average rate of premature births is 2 to 3 percent. But for women consuming flaxseed oil in their last two trimesters that number jumps up to 12 percent," says Bérard. "It's an enormous risk."

The correlation existed only with flaxseed oil, yet women consuming the actual seed were unaffected. Even if more studies must be undertaken to verify these results, Bérard recommends caution when it comes to consuming flaxseed oil.

The results concering premature birth go on to state that basically seeds were fine, but caution is needed with oils. I think it is important to point this out.

Well, if they were consuming the seed as a seed, and not ground, they were probably unaffected because the seeds pass right through you... you don't get the benefits, so you probably don't get the detriments, either. I can't tell from the text whether the "actual seeds" were ground, or not.

And as for Dr. Atkins - Sunny's right... he only recommended it (tablespoons) for occasional consitpation, and not as a main ingredient in cooking. I think the dose (amount) is a factor in the studies.

[momtomany1]

Well technically, he recommended a tbsp every day to prevent constipation, not only a tbsp for occasional constipation.

But I see I am in the minority and will bow out of this 'neutral' thread.

[mitzimarie]

Originally Posted by momtomany1

Well technically, he recommended a tbsp every day to prevent constipation, not only a tbsp for occasional constipation.

Yes, he did offer the option of using 1 tbsp of ground flaxmeal per day, but his preference was pysllium husks. Again, I'm betting that the daily dose for the subjects in the studies was more than 1 tbsp per day.

I do see this thread as neutral. Each person has cited excerpts of research they came across, and ask the readers to draw their own conclusions. I haven't see anyone in this thread tell anybody to stop having flax.

Megs (not2late) made a great stickie in the Induction Forum regarding the use of Flax. Here is the info:

Fiber "Rules" as stated in Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution, 2002 edition

For daily fiber supplementation
Chapter 8: "I recommend that you take one tablespoon of psyllium husks daily. Be sure to select a sugar-free product. You can also take one tablespoon of coarse wheat bran or flaxseed meal."

For relief of constipation
Chapter 11: "If you are constipated, mix a tablespoon or more of psyllium husks in a cup or more of water and drink daily. Or mix ground flaxseed into a shake or sprinkle wheat bran on a salad or vegetables."

So there is a limit set forth in the book. Again, if you use the flax as a food, then the On-Going Weight Loss phase is the appropriate phase to do that. During Induction it's only used as a fiber supplement or as a constipation reliever in the amounts specified in the book.

Types of Fiber Supplements Allowed during Induction

As mentioned in the above, there are 3 fiber supplements allowed during Induction Phase: Psyllium husks, Flax seed/flax seed meal, and Wheat Bran.

All of these fibers are laxatives. Specificially, they are "bulk forming" laxatives. They are called that because in order to "get things moving", they absorb water from your gut. That causes them to swell. Your body senses a mass or "bulk" in your gut and will move it out. Therefore, these fibers require water to work. If you don't get enough water, then these fibers might do the opposite and "plug things up" even more.

Psyllium husks

Brand names (US): Metamucil, Konsyl, etc.

For relieving constipation, Dr. Atkins called psyllium husks "My preference" in Chapter 23.

Flax seed/ Flax seed meal

Also known as linseed or linseed meal in the UK.

There are various brands of flaxmeal/ flaxseed. Please note that flax contains carbs. Bob's RedMill is a popular brand in the US. Due to the virtually non-existent carbohydrate labeling laws in the US, manufacturers may "round up" numbers. So Bob's RedMill Flax in the US appears to have 0 net carbs---4 total carbs, 4 fiber grams. A few years ago, a Canadian ADBBer shared with us the Canadian Bob's RedMill flax label. Canada has much stricter carb labeling laws, so the Canadian Bob's had a net carb of about 1 per serving listed on the package.


Wheat Bran

Please do not confuse this with Wheat GERM. They are two different products. There are various brands of Wheat Bran and Wheat Bran does contain carbohydrates. If you have a sensitivity or allergy to wheat, you should avoid this product.

--------------------------

I'm not totally giving up flax... but I won't eat a 1/4 cup of it everyday, like I had been doing for a while last year. I'm actually fascinated by the chia seeds that Jen mentioned. I'm going to Whole Foods after work today and look for them.

[Georgiana]

My long post just got lost in cyberspace.

Anyway...

The links I give below are only to the abstracts. I have access to the full texts through our university subscriptions, so I'm not sure which papers I've accessed through a subscription and which are free (that's also why I don't quote anything ).

Originally Posted by momtomany1

It would appear that Dr. Atkins was not aware of any negative health effects. Is all this information too new for him to have been aware of it?

Most of it yes. Some, no.

Originally Posted by mitzimarie

Well, if they were consuming the seed as a seed, and not ground, they were probably unaffected because the seeds pass right through you... you don't get the benefits, so you probably don't get the detriments, either. I can't tell from the text whether the "actual seeds" were ground, or not.

The results do not come from a controlled study, but from statistics based on the answers given to a questionnaire by women in the Quebec Pregnancy Registry. There is no info regarding how much oil they consumed or how much flaxseeds, or whether the flaxseeds were grounded or not. I'm not sure if the information exists or not, but it's not in the paper. However, I assume that those pregnant women who cared enough to take flaxseeds, also knew that they need to ground them in order to get the full benefits. Just a guess...

Originally Posted by momtomany1

The results concering premature birth go on to state that basically seeds were fine, but caution is needed with oils. I think it is important to point this out.

Dr. Atkins also recommended flaxseed oil, in addition to fish oil and borage oil (Chapter 27). In my opinion, when it comes to things like pregnancy, one should be aware of the latest research results, regardless of whether these results go in line or against what Dr. Atkins wrote.

The info on Mayo Clinic, concerning the correlation between flaxseed intake and hyperglycemia is not really accurate. The study they are talking about, published in 2002 by Kris-Etherton et al., analyzed the effect of omega-3 intake on blood sugar, but it was mainly concerned with EPA+DHA supplementation from fish sources. An increase in blood sugar levels was observed "usually only in patients with impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes" (probably most of us fall into at least one of these categories). They found a "moderate" increase for intakes > 3 g of omega-3 per day, a "low" increase for intakes in the 1-3 g/day range and a "very low" increase for those who consumed < 1 g/day, but they do not say how they defined "moderate", "low" and "very low" (or at least I couldn't find this in the paper). Somehow, in the whole "flaxseeds have omega-3" story, someone extrapolated these results to flaxseeds. But the study did not look exclusively at flaxseeds or flaxseed oil. This is the link to the article: Fish Consumption, Fish Oil, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, and Cardiovascular Disease -- Kris-Etherton et al. 106 (21): 2747 -- Circulation

Another study (from 1993) looked at the effects of flaxseeds and flaxseed oil in 50 healthy female participants and found a decrease in the postprandial glucose response. The link to the abstract: High alpha-linolenic acid flaxseed (Linum usitatis...[Br J Nutr. 1993] - PubMed Result

More recent studies did not confirm the association between omega-3 supplementation and fasting glucose levels in patients with type 2 diabetes (e.g. Hartweg et al., 2008, Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) for type 2 diabetes mellitus). The mean omega-3 dose was 3.5 g/day.

[liv]

Thanks G - I really like seeing the actual studies. Sometimes the interpretations of them go a bit "wild"
That Quebec study where they "found" a correlation between flaxoil and premature birth has not been published (yet?) right? It was just posted on line as I understood it. It got a lot of press but I would love to see more details from it

[Georgiana]

Originally Posted by liv

That Quebec study where they "found" a correlation between flaxoil and premature birth has not been published (yet?) right? It was just posted on line as I understood it. It got a lot of press but I would love to see more details from it

There is something published on that, but not proper study results... Just 3-4 pages with a lot of blah blah in them. The "paper" appeared in May 2008, in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. This is the complete reference:

Gideon Koren, Jean-Jacques Dugoua, Laura Magee, Sunita Vohra, Doreen Matsui, Anick Bérard, Brad Johnson, Myla Moretti, Adrienne Einarson. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. May 2008, 14(4): 369-372. doi:10.1089/acm.2007.0696.

[Sherri]

Originally Posted by SunnySmile501

This is what I've found so far, and it's not much. Some of the sources are questionable.

Thank you Sis for this information. It makes perfect sense to me.
I'm basing my opinion on personal health experience. As I mentioned before, my thyroid inconsitancies didn't start untill eating flaxmeal. I started eating flaxmeal when I found this site and the recipes it offered here.
I've had hypothyroidism for 18 years and have been successsfull in keeping my levels up and consistant untill adding flax into my diet 2 years ago. My doctor has raised my doseage 3 times in the last two years since eating flaxmeal, to try and get my levels back up again. In the mean time, I have gained 40 pounds back since June "08" because of my thyroid levels. I'm done eating flaxmeal. Stick a fork in me, i'm done!
I used psyllium before and it didn't effect my thyroid so I will switch back to that for my fiber and see how it goes. I'll let you know how it goes. I sure am going to miss my flaxmeal though.
Thank you again.
Sherri

[not2late]

The flax-Dr. Atkins link.

Dr. Atkins writes about flax in his Vita-Nutrient Solutions Book.

Ch 8: Digestive Aids

"The various fibers and fatty acids in freshly ground flaxmeal are extremely effective in relieving constipation and inflammatory bowel problems. Even better, these pulverized seeds contain lignans, compounds that help promote female hormone balance and reduce the risk of female hormone-related cancers. This dual action makes flax my fiber of choice for management of such cancers, as well as PMS, fibroids, endometriosis, menopausal symptoms, and a range of other problems reltated to female hormonal balance."


"I usually recommend 1-3 tablespoons per day dissolved in water or mixed with semisolid food such as sour cream."

So for female hormonal problems, Dr. Atkins recommended 1-3 tablespoons per day.

From Atkins Diabetes Solution: Ch 15. Fiber Facts
"To increase dietary fiber, try a dose of crushed flaxseeds or unprocessed bran. Both these excellent natural remedies for constipation are available at any health food store. Stir 2 teaspoons of flaxseeds into a glass of water and drink it down in the evening, or sprinkle them on your salad at dinner--you'll probably get results the next morning."

And for constipation, he recommended 2 teaspoons per day.

I was around when the flax craze hit the market. At that time, it was a boon to low carbers because it made a fairly decent flour substitute. I'm not sure when it happened, but I think it was because flax was being used by many Atkineers that it became more of a food than a fiber supplement, as Dr. Atkins wrote in his books. I do recall that folks were saying that flax was Dr. Atkins "fiber of choice". And that's not entirely true because in DANDR, psyllium is his fiber of choice. Flax was is choice for the management of female cancers and female hormonal issues, according to VitaNutrient Solution.

And it's very clear that he put limits on the amount of flax to consume daily, in both DANDR and VNS.

Flax usage is a personal thing. As I stated in the other thread, I read up on it and made my decision to limit its use. Strangely enough, I began reading on it when I read a flax cookbook, looking for recipes and ideas.