confused re: flaxseed?

[Jean]

Hi All,
Need some input - I am a bit confused in regards to flaxseed in my diet.
I am strongly estrogen positive 90%....somewhere along the line I heard
that it would not be wise for me to have flaxseed since it may fuel the
estrogen.

How many of you estrogen positive ladies are taking flaxseed?

Thanks,
Jean

[karenann]

I am 95% er positive and was told by my onc to stay away from flaxseed and soy. I take a very pure fish oil instead that was given to me by my natural medicine doctor. He, too told me to stay away from flaxseed.

Karen

[Becky]

Dear Jean


I am taking flaxseed oil (but not the kinds that have a high lignan content). The oil is fine but the ground seed should be used with some caution (the oil is a great source of short chain omega 3s - ALA). My husband is religious by putting a tablespoon or two on his cereal every other day (on the off days he uses raw wheat germ which I do use). I use ground flaxseed once per week (by putting it into our Sunday pancake breakfast batter). I am very careful on flaxseed because of being ER+. I rarely eat soy but I do have it now and then. Both of these foods are good for you in many ways so I try to use them a little bit and would never take a soy supplement. I do know the flax oil is fine (as long as you don't buy the ones that are high lignan enriched).

[Liz J.]

Hi all,

Is lignan the same as Linoleic acid in flaxseed? The one I have been taking is 1,000 mg and the label says Alpha Linolenic Acid 570mg, Linoleic Acid 160mg, Oleic Acid 180mg, Palmtic Acid 50mg and Stearic Acid 40mg. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Liz J.

[R.B.]

PART ONE

I posted a reply to this last night but must have been in scatty mode and forgotten to click post. (or maybe not I have just seen the new length restriction)

Linoleic acid is a "fat" the mother of the omega six n6 series fats. The mother omega six fat linoleic. It cannot be made in the body and has to be ingested as food.

Linolenic (note the different endings) is the mother fat of the omega three n3 series. Similarly the body cannot make the mother fat and it has to be got from food.

Most other fats the body can make. It can also make longer children of omega three and six IF it has the mother fat AND IF the pathways are not blocked by trans fats, mineral deficiency, too much sugar, some drugs .....

If you cannot the long chain children or are not doing so efficiently the only way is to supplement through diet oily fish, vegetarian supplements etc.... (s subject on its own)

Lignans are a totally separate family of plant products. This link expains that.


http://www.essense-of-life.com/info/sdgflaxlignans.htm

I make no comment on the supplement detail which follow, the use of extracted lignans has to be one for you.

PART TWO follows....

[R.B.]

PART 2


This is what a researcher in the field had to say

"There seems to be a lot of confusion on the website below. I will
attempt to answer some of the questions posted on this site: firstly,
flax oil does not contain any lignans as they do not dissolve in oil.
Lignans are present in every plant food that we eat only more
concentrated in flax and therefore commercially more viable to extract.
There is products available on the market that do deliver specific
quantities of flax lignans.

Lignans are phytoestrogens but they are very weak and only elicit a
very weak estrogenic response. The current research suggests that the
advantage of this is the body detects them as estrogens (which produce a
strong estrogenic response) and therefore produces less harmful
estrogens (homoeostatic process) though inhibition of the aromatase
enzymes, more SHBG to bind estrogens (for elimination from the body) and
increases the conversion of estrogens to the 2OHE metabolism pathway
over the 16OHE (by increasing CYP1A1 enzymes). This whole process has a
cyclic effect with the end result being less bioavailable estrogen
(harmful), increased 2OHE (protective), and decreased 16OHE (harmful)."


There is more on this on the site please use the search button above on the purple bar and enter fax flax seed 2OHE etc as search terms.

You may wish to show this post to your advisor if discussing flax and flax seed. Please discuss dietary changes with your advisors.

I am sorry there is no definative answer.



RB

[Jean]

Many thanks all, the information is most helpful.


Jean