Re: Cooking with flax seed oil?

September 24, 2006

Hi Ddest:

There is an issue with flax that has not been discussed here for

quite some time. The Physicians Health Study found a sizeable

increase in risk of advanced (metastatic) prostate cancer among those

who consumed the most alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which is of course

a major component of flax oil. I avoid it for that reason.

OTOH the same ALA is shown to greatly **decrease** the risk of CVD.

Since people on CRON have such spectacularly good CVD risk factors my

bet is that avoiding ALA should not be a problem for those on CRON.

In addition I eat fish, which provides the two fat types that are

derived from ALA and are generally regarded as being very healthy -

DHA and EPA.

Rodney.

>

> I have done some research on cooking with flax seed oil (but can't

> claim to have read all of the archives, scholarly journals, CR

> references, etc to see if this question has already been answered)

> and understand it is not a good idea. I would never consider

frying

> with it. What I'm not sure of is if this applies to all types of

> cooking such as baking. Does anyone know if it breaks down at the

> temperatures used in baking things such as bread and waffles and

> that this is definitely contraindicated? I used it in my waffle

> recipe this morning and they tasted fine. Also I have bought

> commercially made cookies that claim to be made with flaxseed oil.

>

> Just an observation on the newbie posting thread. I am a newbie of

> a few months and until now have resigned myself to lurking because

> of a wrist slap or two and fears of running afoul of the

moderator's

> rules. Certainly the rules are made clear when joining and this is

> the right and privelidge of the owner and this is not a criticism

if

> those running the list if they want to run it this way. It is my

> observation there may be regulars and those well versed in CR who

> like the strict rules, but based on the membership numbers and lack

> of participation by very many newbies there may be a few hundred or

> so who are a little intimidated by the swift comments and blocked

> posts. I am a moderator of some other (non-cr) groups myself and

> it seems the posts by newbies not familiar with previous content

and

> links tend to self correct after they start to read the list and

> discover the files and links (even without the feedback and

guidance

> of the moderator). It is pretty easy to hit the delete key or scan

> the message to see if I am interested or want to respond. I

> committed a big faux pas on another list a while back and replied

to

> a long digest without cutting the old text by mistake. I got a

very

> cordial and friendly email just asking me to repost, rather than

> citiations about the lists rules, etc. I understand the

moderators

> don't have time for such attention, but maybe just letting the

posts

> slide into oblivion or letting those interested respond offline

> could be useful in more cases (which I know and appreciate you

> already do to a considerable extent based on my experience). From

my

> reading of the list rules and lurking for a while, one might get

the

> impression this is a list for persons already knowledgeable and

> relatively well versed in CR seeking support from others who are

> similarly knowledgeable, ie. those who have read most of the books

> and archives. I don't know if this is the full intent of the owner

> or not. On the other hand, the name of the list " support group "

> gave me the impression (my mistake I completely acknowledge) that

it

> might be a good place for a newbie to get a little support along

the

> way before he or she had a chance to digest (pardon the pun) or

read

> many of the links and archives. I still find myself asking some

> pretty stupid or obvious questions from time to time, as well as

> violating computer/internet etiquitte, despite my best efforts.

The

> problem with a new or dedicated list for newbies is that they

> rapidly outgrow the list and are no longer newbies. Not many

> experienced persons have time to hang around and be full or part

> time mentors. I don't really have a solution and it is not my

place

> to suggest one. I do wonder if the moderators have ever allowed a

> more lenient approach (other than blocking the obvious abusive or

> misleading posts) to see if it was a big problem or maybe if it

even

> made it more interesting if not more " learned " . Otherwise, maybe

> there could be a more emphatic statement (though you may rightfully

> feel it is already pretty clear) that this is not an appropriate

> list for " newbies " to post on until they have done a good bit of

> study on CR.

> P.S.-I just remembered there is a " poll " function on .

> Maybe members could be polled about their attitudes on this issue

at

> some point, if it has not already been done or already clear from

> the history of the list (or if it is simply not negotiable, that is

> ok too).

>

September 24, 2006

ddesteph: To attempt to answer the several questions in the second part of your post:

1. We are usually lenient and tend to answer newbies off list rather than " on " when they make a mistake. The post that started this thread accidently " slipped through " and thus was answered on-line rather than off. See number 3 below as to why " strictness " is very important not only for the sake of the group but for the newbie's benefit.

2. This is a support group both for newbies and oldies. I myself would have gone " off the wagon " a long time ago if I didn't have the group to keep me on the straight and narrow. Nevertheless, even though we offer support to newbies, in order to post to this group the background reading is required.

3. The difference between this group and other (non-CR) groups is that if one does NOT do the background reading (starting with Walford's: " Beyond the 120 Year Diet " ) then there could be dire consequences to one's health. We have some real-life examples of people who did not do CR correctly and now their health has been compromised. It can not be emphasized too strictly or too often (and we would be remiss if we didn't state it) that it is important to approach CR correctly and with some background and knowledge.

4. We already state all this very prominently both at the home page of our site and in the automatic e-mails that are sent to all newbies upon joining.

on 9/24/2006 2:22 PM, ddesteph at ddest@... wrote:

I have done some research on cooking with flax seed oil (but can't

claim to have read all of the archives, scholarly journals, CR

references, etc to see if this question has already been answered)

and understand it is not a good idea. I would never consider frying

with it. What I'm not sure of is if this applies to all types of

cooking such as baking. Does anyone know if it breaks down at the

temperatures used in baking things such as bread and waffles and

that this is definitely contraindicated? I used it in my waffle

recipe this morning and they tasted fine. Also I have bought

commercially made cookies that claim to be made with flaxseed oil.

Just an observation on the newbie posting thread. I am a newbie of

a few months and until now have resigned myself to lurking because

of a wrist slap or two and fears of running afoul of the moderator's

rules. Certainly the rules are made clear when joining and this is

the right and privelidge of the owner and this is not a criticism if

those running the list if they want to run it this way. It is my

observation there may be regulars and those well versed in CR who

like the strict rules, but based on the membership numbers and lack

of participation by very many newbies there may be a few hundred or

so who are a little intimidated by the swift comments and blocked

posts. I am a moderator of some other (non-cr) groups myself and

it seems the posts by newbies not familiar with previous content and

links tend to self correct after they start to read the list and

discover the files and links (even without the feedback and guidance

of the moderator). It is pretty easy to hit the delete key or scan

the message to see if I am interested or want to respond. I

committed a big faux pas on another list a while back and replied to

a long digest without cutting the old text by mistake. I got a very

cordial and friendly email just asking me to repost, rather than

citiations about the lists rules, etc. I understand the moderators

don't have time for such attention, but maybe just letting the posts

slide into oblivion or letting those interested respond offline

could be useful in more cases (which I know and appreciate you

already do to a considerable extent based on my experience). From my

reading of the list rules and lurking for a while, one might get the

impression this is a list for persons already knowledgeable and

relatively well versed in CR seeking support from others who are

similarly knowledgeable, ie. those who have read most of the books

and archives. I don't know if this is the full intent of the owner

or not. On the other hand, the name of the list " support group "

gave me the impression (my mistake I completely acknowledge) that it

might be a good place for a newbie to get a little support along the

way before he or she had a chance to digest (pardon the pun) or read

many of the links and archives. I still find myself asking some

pretty stupid or obvious questions from time to time, as well as

violating computer/internet etiquitte, despite my best efforts. The

problem with a new or dedicated list for newbies is that they

rapidly outgrow the list and are no longer newbies. Not many

experienced persons have time to hang around and be full or part

time mentors. I don't really have a solution and it is not my place

to suggest one. I do wonder if the moderators have ever allowed a

more lenient approach (other than blocking the obvious abusive or

misleading posts) to see if it was a big problem or maybe if it even

made it more interesting if not more " learned " . Otherwise, maybe

there could be a more emphatic statement (though you may rightfully

feel it is already pretty clear) that this is not an appropriate

list for " newbies " to post on until they have done a good bit of

study on CR.

P.S.-I just remembered there is a " poll " function on .

Maybe members could be polled about their attitudes on this issue at

some point, if it has not already been done or already clear from

the history of the list (or if it is simply not negotiable, that is

ok too).

September 25, 2006

Cooking with flaxseed oil would be a tremendous mistake...It goes rancid (and thus creates free radicals) at room temperature (and even in the fridge after some months have passed)...To Cook with it would be to invite ill health over time I would strongly suspect...

On 9/24/06, ddesteph <ddest@...> wrote: