Guest guest Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 Taken from whfoods.org newsletter. Question: I am going on a trip and was wondering whether I should bring flax oil as I was concerned about it going rancid. There are several variables that determine whether flax oil will go rancid (and how quickly). These variables include: (1) exposure to heat;, (2) exposure to air;, (3) exposure to light;, (4) passage of time,; and (5) quality of the oil itself. Assuming that your flax oil is in a tightly sealed, opaque bottle, variables (2) and (3) above should not be any more of a problem when you are traveling versus not traveling. Light won't make it through the opaque bottle that holds the flax oil, and air won't contact the oil any more than it ordinarily would when you open the bottle to use the oil. That leaves variables (1) heat, (4) passage of time and (5) quality of oil. With respect to (5) quality of oil, some flax oil manufacturers add antioxidants to their oils to increase shelf life, and these oils would be expected to hold up better on a trip than oils not stabilized with antioxidants. Starting out your trip with an unopened bottle of oil would also be expected to lengthen its shelf life during your trip. The most controversial variables (1) heat and (4) passage of time are the ones we have left, and the impact of these variables depends largely on the type of trip you are planning to take. For example, let's say you are going on a car trip for several hours and then will be staying at a hotel that has a refrigerator. Based upon these circumstances, , we would probably bring the bottle of flax oil with us. (Even better, we might decide to bring an iced cooler in the car with us that would allow us to keep the flax oil cold en route). However, if you didn't expect to have a refrigerator at your disposal, you would be running the risk of quicker rancidity due to excess heat exposure. What would the time frame be? We probably wouldn't keep a bottle of flax oil out of the refrigerator for more than a few days and much less if it was were going to be exposed to extreme heat. You could take flaxseeds with you instead. While it would be ideal to take the whole seeds along as well as with a grinder to grind them fresh, that is probably not realistic. Alternatively, you could take the pre-ground seeds with you. They would last longer outside of the refrigerator than the pure oil because the other components help to stabilize them. There are many pre-ground flaxseed products on the marketplace that claim to offer a fairly long shelf life. While we believe that some oxidation may occur within the time frame they claim to still be fresh, we think that if you have unrefrigerated pre-ground seeds that were not exposed to excessive heat, you could probably still enjoy them for at least a week to ten days. Rancidity and generation of trans fat are two different processes. The relationship between these two processes is confusing, however, since the food industry created one of these problems when trying to deal with the other. The kinds of fat that are most susceptible to rancidity are called unsaturated fats. Flax oil is a highly unsaturated fat, and highly susceptible to rancidity. The type of fat least susceptible to rancidity is saturated fat. That's one of the reasons that you find so much saturated fat in pre-packaged grocery store products— saturated fat products have a longer shelf life than unsaturated fat products. Plant seed oils, like flax oil, start out naturally unsaturated. Bubbling hydrogen gas into a vat of plant oil, however, can turn it into a more saturated type of fat. This process is called hydrogenation. A partially-hydrogenated oil is an oil that started out as naturally unsaturated and got turned into a more saturated fat through processing. Hydrogenation of plant oils protects those oils from quick rancidity by turning them into more saturated fats. However, this process also produces some new forms of fat in the process. These forms are called trans fats. The trade-off between lower risk of rancidity (and longer shelf life) in exchange for creation of trans fats is a bad trade-off. Trans fats are highly problematic for our health. You should never consume any oil that has become rancid, including flax oil. However, creation of trans fats is a different process from the triggering of rancidity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 When I buy flaxseed oil it is in the fridge until I actually pick it up from the wholesaler - they give me cold pack if it is a warm day to keep it cool - so as you are probably in India I would say don't bother taking the oil with you as the temperature must affect the quality of the oil - otherwise these precautions would not be necessary - Best, Jane - karthik ramanathan Monday, December 31, 2007 7:58 PM [HealthyIndia] Flax Oil, Rancidity and Trans-fats Taken from whfoods.org newsletter. Question: I am going on a trip and was wondering whether I should bring flax oil as I was concerned about it going rancid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 Yeah, that is true. Flax oil won't be of great help in India unless it is handled properly. I usually prefer the flax seeds instead of the oil. On 12/31/07, Jane MacRoss <highfield1 wrote: When I buy flaxseed oil it is in the fridge until I actually pick it up from the wholesaler - they give me cold pack if it is a warm day to keep it cool - so as you are probably in India I would say don't bother taking the oil with you as the temperature must affect the quality of the oil - otherwise these precautions would not be necessary - Best, Jane - karthik ramanathan Monday, December 31, 2007 7:58 PM [HealthyIndia] Flax Oil, Rancidity and Trans-fats Taken from whfoods.org newsletter. Question: I am going on a trip and was wondering whether I should bring flax oil as I was concerned about it going rancid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.