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disease, cancer, inflammatory conditions, breast cancer, test scores, and bowl movements. Flax seed has large amounts of Omega 3, an essential fatty acid. With a lack of Omega 3 fatty acids comes impaired vision, impaired learning abilities, susceptibility to alcohol and environmental toxins, plus it can't pro-actively prevent all the diseases listed above. What in flax seed is so great? Well, aside from the oil rich in Omega 3, which is desperately needed in the body, it contains fiber, protein, mucilage, and lignans. Lignans come from the hull (shell) of the flax seed and they help regulate hormone metabolism. There are three distinct types of omega 3 oils, alpha-linolenic acid (abbreviated ALA but not to be confused with alpha-lipoic acid, and also abbreviated LNA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The body uses ALA to make EPA and DHA. There area also three types of Omega 6: linoleic acid (LA), gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), and arachidonic acid (AA). Omega 6 has been linked to many negative results. Flax seed oil has both Omega 3 and Omega 6, but apparently the level of omega 6 is not high enough to make a difference, or perhaps the effects of the Omega 3 mask the effects of Omega 6. Dr. Johanna Budwig, who passed away at the age of 99 just this last year (2003), was the leading author on the benefits of flax seed oil. She was a large proponent of polyunsaturated oil, but she chose flax seed oil because she knew it contained high amounts of Omega 3 essential fatty acids. She didn't just say take flax seed oil though, she said in order for the polyunsaturated oil to be able to become water soluble, it must be combined with sulpherated proteins found in quark or cottage cheese that aid it in this process. She even took terminally ill patients home form hospitals, treated them accordingly, and had wonderfully amazing results. I do believe, however, that Dr. Budwig erred in believing that unsaturated fats were the cause of all her success, instead I believe it is only certain types of polyunsatured fats that are good. Some unsaturated fats like linoleic acid are full of Omega 6, which has been found to be harmful. You will hear that fish are also high in Omega 3 fatty acids, and this is true, but be careful when choosing your fish. Fish raised on a farm, rather than wild fish from rivers and oceans, have been fed "bad" foods that make them more harmful that beneficial. (Continued on page 5)
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