Flax seed experiences?

[xchocoholic]

My stool tests show I'm low on elastace and I was prescribed creon but that's as much as I can remember now. I know from taking enzymedica digestive enzymes that i need these. Not taking them means food sits in my upper digestive tract. Fresh papaya, mangos and pineapple help too but aren't convenient.


Creon stopped working so I'm back on enzymedicas.

Fwiw, I'm not trying to be rude, but at this point, I'm not interested in discussing whether taking enzymes is necessary. Or if certain processes break these down. That info is on the web and from what I've seen most everything in science is debatable. I know how I feel from eating real foods, none to minimally processed, and taking enzymes so that's all I need to know. My life is just too busy nowadays.

Tc. X

 

[MeSci]

My stool tests show I'm low on elastace and I was prescribed creon but that's as much as I can remember now. I know from taking enzymedica digestive enzymes that i need these. Not taking them means food sits in my upper digestive tract. Fresh papaya, mangos and pineapple help too but aren't convenient.


Creon stopped working so I'm back on enzymedicas.

Fwiw, I'm not trying to be rude, but at this point, I'm not interested in discussing whether taking enzymes is necessary. Or if certain processes break these down. That info is on the web and from what I've seen most everything in science is debatable. I know how I feel from eating real foods, none to minimally processed, and taking enzymes so that's all I need to know. My life is just too busy nowadays.

Tc. X

That's fine if what you are doing seems to help you. I was just trying to help by providing information to perhaps help you to avoid wasting money. I'm busy too!

 

[MeSci]

My grinder has arrived, and I am going to grind the flax seeds finely and make a paste to spread on toast, crackers, baked potatoes, etc.

Well, I made a paste of ground flax seeds with olive oil and it is yucky! I tried it in a roll with vegan cheese, and it spoiled the taste. This morning I had it on toast with scrambled tofu, which was edible but not great. I'll try it today or tomorrow on toast with coleslaw and vegan cheese.

Maybe I'd be better off mixing it with coconut oil, which is my usual fat. I'll get it down somehow!

 

[alex3619]

I was using flax seed oil for my ME in 1993. It helped very slightly but only in conjunction with changes in diet, supplements etc. The benefit wore off quickly too. I think very pure fish oil is a better choice for us. There is a risk flax seed oil (even from the seed and not as an oil) may exacerbate some of our problems because it can inhibit the desaturase enzymes by preferential selection.

 

[MeSci]

I was using flax seed oil for my ME in 1993. It helped very slightly but only in conjunction with changes in diet, supplements etc. The benefit wore off quickly too. I think very pure fish oil is a better choice for us. There is a risk flax seed oil (even from the seed and not as an oil) may exacerbate some of our problems because it can inhibit the desaturase enzymes by preferential selection.

Are you talking about the omega-3 aspects of flax? I'm taking some algal DHA and EPA for that, but flax seems to have some other properties, perhaps due to polyphenols and/or its vitamin and mineral content.

Anything from fish is out for me as a vegan of 31 years! (As an aside, I seem to be at least as healthy as many non-vegan ME sufferers younger than me, and quite a few without ME. )

 

[alex3619]

I am specifically talking about omega-3s, yes. If there is new data on polyphenols etc then it needs to be assessed separately. However I suspect if you can find a similar polyphenol source without the omega-3s it would be better.

I am very taken with resveratrol at the moment, but not for ME but for some of my complications involving breathing.

PS For a vegetarian I think Flaxseed might be a good choice though. Vegetarians can use omega-3s, and not eating fish or other seafood means they need something as a source, although omega-3s do exist in a range of foods. What might be an issue is glutathione depletion, vegetarians need to address any methylation problems urgently. However a vegetarian diet is typically very high in antioxidants, so at least part of the potential glutathione issue is addressed that way. Glutathione is necessary for proper functioning of the desaturases used in fat hormone synthesis, and consuming short chain omega-3s puts pressure on short chain omega-6 utilization.