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From:	Jeff Novick, MS, RD, LD, LN (novick.vegsource.com)
Subject:	Re: whole flaxseeds
Date:	October 20, 2008 at 6:07 pm PST

In Reply to: Re: whole flaxseeds posted by libby on October 20, 2008 at 10:48 am:

Hi Libby

There are different standards and definitions by which people base "fresh" on.

While the flax council of Canada states that ground flax seed is very stable, and studies have shown stability (depending on storage conditions) from 14 weeks to 20 months, if I was worried about freshness, I would err on the side of caution and not try to push it to the limit. And if we are looking for optimal health, then I also would not recommend pushing things to the limit of what may be acceptable. Most organizations recommended up to 3 (to 6) months if refrigerated and my recommendation is to err on the side of the most caution and say "up to 3 months."

However, it may be a moot point as we have to realize that if someone is consuming 1-2 TB per day, a 3 month supply is 180 TB or over 11 cups worth of ground flax and that is per person. Most retail packages are much less than that and I would not recommend someone grinding that much in advance.

For "optimal" anyone could easily grind what they need as needed.

>It is more inexpensive for me to get my good fats by adding this into my diet vs. buying raw nuts which can be very very pricey as well as higher in calories and they also are not as high in the omega 3's and other nutrients compared to flaxseed meal. Do u agree or disagree?

Most nuts are very poor sources of Omega 3s. The only real exception is the English Walnut and 1 oz would exceed the AI set the NAS. The best source of Omega 3s per calorie is flax seeds. Also, realize many green leafy veggies are also a rich source of Omega 3s and we need to look at "total" intake from "all" foods.

In Health
Jeff

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