13) TYPE 2 DIABETES SUPPLEMENTS
d) Flax Seed Oil
Three omega 3 oils have the health benefit. Two of the omega 3 oils are found in fish and other animals and the third, alpha-linolenic acid, is found in plant sources such as flax seed. This plant derived omega three oil is not as effective as fish oil omega 3's but it is still very beneficial. Plant omega 3 oil is very unstable and decomposes rapidly when cooked. The only good sources of plant omega 3 oil (linolenic acid) is refrigerated flaxseed oil (available in health food stores) and flax seed capsules packaged with nitrogen (available at a reasonable price in discount stores). Flax seeds and Cia seeds also supply the oil but the cost of per unit of oil is very high compared to the pure flaxseed oil. What isn't widely known is that the uncooked spinach leaf such as is found in spinach salad also had high levels of plant omega 3 oil. If there ever was a miracle food that a human should eat every day it would be uncooked spinach leaf. Some uninformed authors say an individual will get sufficient amounts of the plant omega 3 oil if they eat a low fat diet with limited amounts of vegetable oils added (principally canola and soybean oils from the supermarket). Unfortunately the plant omega 3 oil goes rancid rapidly at room temperature, so the processors convert the omega 3 oil to stable omega 6 oil (linoleic oil) in the jars of soybean and canola oil purchased in the supermarket. And humans don't need more omega 6 oils in their diet, they need much less.
Any salad dressing which lists soybean oil is not rich in the plant omega 3 oil ; it is only rich in the plant omega 6 oil , which humans get too much of. Virtually all soybean products, including tofu, are well processed and cooked prior to use and this processing and cooking destroys the plant omega 3 oil. Tofu is relatively high in plant omega 3 oil if it is not well cooked. Unfortunately most tofu available in the USA has been well cooked somewhere in its processing. Nuts are comparably low in plant omega 3 oil and roasting remove all the plant omega 3 oil. One would have to eat a lot of spinach leaf every day to satisfy the requirements. So everyone is left with flaxseed supplements as the only real source of this essential fatty acid. We recommend taking one flaxseed oil supplement capsule (520 mg alpha-linolenic acid per one gram capsule) once a day based on this data. Note that flax seed oil gel tablets should be kept in the freezer as they can spoil with time. The flax seed capsules purchased in the store are packaged with nitrogen and don't spoil unopened on the shelf in the store.
Plant omega 3 is alpha linolenic acid:
"Using a food-frequency questionnaire from a 10-year follow-up of the Nurses' Health Study, and after controlling for standard coronary risk factors, Hu et al reported a dose-response relationship between alpha linolenic acid intake and relative risk of fatal ischemic heart disease, which was reduced by 45% in the highest quintile (P for trend=0.01). Similar findings were reported with the same methodology in the all-male Health Professionals' Study, in which a 1% increase in alpha linolenic acid intake was associated with a 0.41 relative risk for acute MI (P for trend=0.01). Lowest-quintile intakes of alpha linolenic acid in these latter two trials were 0.7 to 0.8 g/d, and highest quintile intakes, 1.4 to 1.5 g/d. In the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Family Heart Study, a cross-sectional study with 4584 participants, alpha linolenic acid was inversely related to coronary artery disease. The prevalence odds ratio of coronary artery disease was reduced 40% for men in the top three quintiles of alpha linolenic acid intake and 50% to 70% for women."
"To examine the association between dietary linolenic acid measured by food frequency questionnaire and calcified atherosclerotic plaque in the coronary arteries (CAC) measured by cardiac CT, we studied 2004 white participants of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Family Heart Study aged 32 to 93 years. The presence of CAC was defined on the basis of total CAC score of 100. We used generalized estimating equations to estimate odds ratios for the presence of CAC across quintiles of linolenic acid. The average consumption of dietary linolenic acid was 0.82±0.36 g/d for men and 0.69±0.29 g/d for women. From the lowest to the highest quintile of linolenic acid, adjusted odds ratios (95% CI) for the presence of CAC were 1.0 (reference), 0.61 (0.42 to 0.88), 0.55 (0.35 to 0.84), 0.57 (0.37 to 0.88), and 0.35 (0.22 to 0.55), respectively (P for trend <0.0001), after we controlled for age, gender, education, family risk group, smoking, fruit and vegetable intake, history of coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and statin use. When linolenic acid was used as a continuous variable, the multivariate adjusted odds ratio was 0.38 (95% CI, 0.24 to 0.46) per gram of linolenic acid intake. Use of different cut points for CAC score yielded similar results. Conclusions - Consumption of dietary linolenic acid is associated with a lower prevalence of CAC in a dose-response fashion in white men and women."
"In a prospective, randomized single-blinded secondary prevention trial we compared the effect of a Mediterranean alpha-linolenic acid-rich diet to the usual post-infarct prudent diet. After a first myocardial infarction, patients were randomly assigned to the experimental (n = 302) or control group (n = 303). Patients were seen again 8 weeks after randomization, and each year for 5 years. The experimental group consumed significantly less lipids, saturated fat, cholesterol, and linoleic acid but more oleic and alpha-linolenic acids confirmed by measurements in plasma. Serum lipids, blood pressure, and body mass index remained similar in the 2 groups. In the experimental group, plasma levels of albumin, vitamin E, and vitamin C were increased, and granulocyte count decreased. After a mean follow up of 27 months, there were 16 cardiac deaths in the control and 3 in the experimental group; 17 non-fatal myocardial infarction in the control and 5 in the experimental groups: a risk ratio for these two main endpoints combined of 0.27 (95% CI 0.12-0.59, p = 0.001) after adjustment for prognostic variables. Overall mortality was 20 in the control, 8 in the experimental group, an adjusted risk ratio of 0.30 (95% CI 0.11-0.82, p = 0.02). An alpha-linolenic acid-rich Mediterranean diet seems to be more efficient than presently used diets in the secondary prevention of coronary events and death."
The omega 3 oils, EPA (Eicosapentaenoic acid) from fish, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) from fish and ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) from vegetable sources, are all similar in molecular structure and the human body can, in theory, make one from the other as required. But the conversion from one oil to the other oil is very inefficient so it's best not to use the oils interchangeably. So it is best to take something like three fish oil gel tablets and one flax seed oil tablets daily (and eat lots of fish). Note also that refrigerated flaxseed oil is available in health food stores. This flaxseed oil can make a good salad dressing by adding a small amount of the oil to a much greater amount of wine vinegar and water; adding minced onions, minced garlic, oregano, chopped fresh basil, artificial sweetener, and a touch of lemon juice. Just refrigerate as an excellent very healthy salad dressing for use once you have met your target weight (all oils, including omega 3 oils, can sabotage a diet faster than anything else). Adding raspberry diet drink powder to the salad dressing makes a very tangy dressing.
Current Chapter: 13) TYPE 2 DIABETES SUPPLEMENTS
a) Introduction
b) The Benefits of Fish Oil
c) Issues with Fish Oil
d) Flax Seed Oil
e) Bad Omega 6 oils
f) Nuts and Phytosterols
g) Aspirin Therapy
h) Magnesium
i) Vitamins C, D and E
j) High Water Intake© Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved.