Fwd: Re References/: [asperger_autism] info on flax seed - for Stan

[Guest guest]

Dear Group,

 

I posted these references sent by another member, because I think

that all sides usually need to be discussed in connection with

controversies in nutrients and natural foods for health.

 

I suspect we are going to see a lot more of the " flax can be

dangerous becuse of cyanide " variety.

 

It was the major topic when Laetril came out. Cyanide is such a scary

word when we only associate it with the free cyanide that is

definately lethal. Consequently it will probably show up in many

studies to scare people away from it and back to commercial oils in

the marketplace.

 

Most people are not aware of it's necessity in the body for life.

 

Can it be a danger, in my opinion, yes, in very large quatities eaten

in a short amount of time, but taken in normal quatities for the body

to assimilate over a time span (like in most foods) it is a

relatively harmless substance, in it's natural state in foods.

 

Thiocyanate is usually described as the metabolic pool in the body,

available to supply vitamin B-12 and other chemicals of the body. In

this form again it is pretty much nontoxic. Any excess beyond what

the body needs and can store will be excreted. But if one doesn't

know that, Thiocyanate again sounds like a scary word.

 

Flax and flax oil have been used by humans for food for about 5,000

years now.

 

I have read some articles that describe human and animal studies of

free cynanide poisoning from food sources. They were usually in foods

that were processed improperly and/or used in large amounts over a

short time span.

 

A lot of field grasses and animal feed contain cyanide type

glucosides and are considered nomal foods. I don't know for sure, and

I could be wrong, but I suspect that some stories are used to talk

farmers into planting low level hybrid crops.

 

If it is so dangerous because of this substance, how come there is

not a lot of animal studies show it, when doing experiments in

fats/oils studies.

 

I have read of some fats/oils studies where 50% to 60% of the diet

for lab rats was flax seed (the level is much greater in seeds). But

of course they weren't studing the toxicity of it, they were studing

the effects of the lipid profiles in the animal. There was no mention

of any deaths due to toxicity. That is sure a heck of a lot more than

an equivelent of 3 tablespoons that is considered the safe limit for

humans which weigh many times more.

 

I am not advocating anyone taking large amounts of flax. In fact i

believe it should be used in moderation. I was only trying to address

the toxicity issue about the cyanide type sugars in it.

 

I do think that there are other considerations to be taken into

account though which would be other imbalances in some of the bodies

chemicals etc.

 

just my opinion,

 

Frank

 

 

 

Gettingwell , Frank <califpacific> wrote:

>

> Contributed by a member who saw it on another list.

>

>

> Anyway, this exact subject came up on a list for people

dealing

> with the asperger/autism spectrum of adventure

> and she sights sources.

>

>

> asperger_autism ,

>

> More info on this:

>

> " How much flaxseed is enough -- or too much? If you intend to

incorporate

> flaxseed in your diet, start with a tiny amount in case of

potential, but

> rare, allergic reactions. Most experts have set a safe upper limit

of

> about

> 25 grams (about 3 tablespoons) per day. Since the outer coating on

> flaxseed

> also has a laxative effect, that's another reason to proceed very

slowly

> with perhaps one teaspoon per day. Raw flaxseed contains cyanogenic

> glucosides, a potential toxin in high doses, so the maximum amount

used in

> research studies has been 50 grams per day. "

>

http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extnews/newsrelease/2001/041201/03prairi.htm

>

> " Flaxseed Cautions

> Flaxseeds absorb 5 to 6 times their weight in water, so it is

important to

> drink plenty of fluids when consuming ground seeds.

> Raw flaxseeds, but not the flaxseed oil, contain cyanogenic

glucosides,

> which are converted in the body to thiocyanates. These chemicals may

> interfere with iodine uptake by the thyroid gland and may increase

the

> risk

> of goiter (especially when dietary iodine is limited). It has been

> suggested

> that intake of raw flaxseed should be restricted to 3-4 tablespoons

a day.

> Cooking inactivates the cyanogenic glucosides, so there is less

> concern with

> flaxseed used in baking. "

> http://www.andrews.edu/NUFS/essentialfat.htm

>

>

> " Researchers from two universities evaluated flaxseed powder

> consumption in

> women and reported that the lignans, which they considered as

protective

> against certain cancers, were normally metabolized by the microflora

> in the

> gut. These researchers reported that the possible cyanide exposure

from 60

> grams of raw flaxseed in healthy individuals is not hazardous;

further

> they

> indicated that raw flaxseed is traditionally consumed in 10-gram

amounts

> (approximately 1 tablespoon).7

> So how much flaxseed, or flaxseed oil is appropriate and

unquestionably

> safe? The recommendation from the US government agencies is usually

2

> tablespoons of flaxseed per day to supply omega-3 fatty acids for a

2000

> kcal diet. (The flaxseed needs to be ground in order for the proper

> digestion of the seeds to take place.) Two tablespoons of flaxseed

is

> about

> 20 grams of seed and since there is about 40 percent oil in the

seeds and

> about 50-60 percent omega-3 in the oil, 20 grams of seed could

provide

> about

> 8 grams of flaxseed oil and about 4 grams alpha-linolenic acid, the

basic

> omega-3 fatty acid. Four grams of omega-3 fatty acids is about 36

> calories,

> which is slightly more than the usual recommendation of 1.5 percent

of

> calories for a 2000 calorie intake. The amount of flaxseed oil

needed to

> provide this much omega-3 is about 1.5 to 2 tsp per day.8 If you are

> getting

> omega-3 fatty acids from other sources in your diet, then the

recommended

> amount of flaxseed oil would be less. "

>

> And:

> " 3 1/2 oz (100g) of the seeds eaten at once have been known to cause

> poisoning. Do not exceed 2 oz (60g) internally. "

> (http://www.holista.com/pharmacy/flax_seed_oil/)

>

> Extensive research on flax seed can be found at:

> http://www.gaiaresearch.co.za/flaxseed.html

>

> --- End forwarded message ---

>

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