Flax seeds and Estrogen

[PunkRotten]

Hi,

I hear that Flax promotes estrogen? Is this true? I read on another Raw forum, some girl mentioned her boyfriend won't eat anything with flax because it promotes estrogen. I'm worried cause I am a guy.

[k8sl8]

It does not "promote" estrogen. It breaks down into a very weak type of estrogen. In the research I've seen, it isn't a problem unless one already has a problem with estrogen dominance (hormonal imbalance).

The following is a list of several other things that have a like effect:

Sources of Xenoestrogens (or foreign estrogens)

•Commercially raised meat
•Canned foods
•Plastics, plastic food wraps
•Styrofoam cups
•Industrial wastes
•Personal care products
•Pesticides and herbicides
•Paints, lacquers and solvents
•Car exhaust and indoor toxins
•Cosmetics
•Birth control pills and spermicide
•Detergents
•All artificial scents
•Air fresheners, perfumes, etc)

[joyce09]

It does not "promote" estrogen. It breaks down into a very weak type of estrogen.

Does that mean that Flax is good for older women whose body does not produce enough estrogen?

[Mary Kay]

I haven't done the flax/estrogen connection research, but with ALL the places who recommend flax as THE predominant oil to take with cancer --Gerson, Hippocrates.....then I'd say that it would not promote the bad estrogens. I wouldn't worry about it.

There is some research though that says that grinding it yourself and then ingesting it --even if right away ---that itbecomes rancid in your body. that is, unless it's the milled stuff, where the cells are "split" rather than being cut like when they're ground.

I'm not quite buying it, but never say "never!"

Mary Kay

[Mary Kay]

...and just thought of something else: When a man has too much bad estrogen, it is converted into dihydrotestosterone (forgive my spelling if incorrect)---and this can cause probs with the prostate and even cancer....so if flax is hailed as a great helper for cancer, then it just wouldn't be increasing the bad estrogens......

Well, you get my drift....

MK

[TaupeRawMan]

...and just thought of something else: When a man has too much bad estrogen, it is converted into dihydrotestosterone (forgive my spelling if incorrect)---and this can cause probs with the prostate and even cancer....so if flax is hailed as a great helper for cancer, then it just wouldn't be increasing the bad estrogens......

Well, you get my drift....

MK

Hi Mary Kay -

I didn't know that about men and estrogen. I know if a man has too much testosterone, it converts to estrogen via aromatase and dihydrotestosterone via 5-alpha-reductase. Can you point me to any sources about estrogen to DHT?

[sport]

Because the lignans in flax are actually phytoestrogens (weak estrogenic compounds from plants), they may help relieve menopausal symptoms. In fact, in one study, flaxseed was as effective as hormone replacement therapy in reducing mild menopausal symptoms in menopausal women.

- Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S., The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About What You Should Eat and Why

[joyce09]

The following article is from
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=81


Special Protection for Women's Health

Flaxseed meal and flour have been studied quite a bit lately for their beneficial protective effects on women's health. Flaxseed is particularly rich in lignans, special compounds also found in other seeds, grains, and legumes that are converted by beneficial gut flora into two hormone-like substances called enterolactone and enterodiol. These hormone-like agents demonstrate a number of protective effects against breast cancer and are believed to be one reason a vegetarian diet is associated with a lower risk for breast cancer. Studies show that women with breast cancer and women who are omnivores typically excrete much lower levels of lignans in their urine than vegetarian women without breast cancer. In animal studies conducted to evaluate lignans' beneficial effect, supplementing a high-fat diet with flaxseed flour reduced early markers for mammary (breast) cancer in laboratory animals by more than 55%.

In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, when postmenopausal women ate a daily muffin containing either 25 grams (a little less than 1 ounce) of soy protein, 25 grams of ground flaxseed, or a placebo muffin containing neither for 16 weeks, the estrogen metabolism of those eating flaxseed, but not soy or placebo, was altered in several important protective ways:

Levels of 2-hydroxyestrone, a less biologically active estrogen metabolite thought to be protective against breast cancer, increased significantly.
The ratio of 2-hydroxyestrone (the protective estrogen metabolite) to 16alpha-hydroxyestrone (an estrogen metabolite thought to promote cancer) increased.
Blood levels of the estrogen fractions (estradiol, estrone, and estrone sulfate) did not change significantly-which is important since estradiol is involved in maintaining bone mass.
So what does this mean in plain English? Eating about an ounce of ground flaxseed each day will affect the way estrogen is handled in postmenopausal women in such a way that offers protection against breast cancer but will not interfere with estrogen's role in normal bone maintenance.
In addition to lessening a woman's risk of developing cancer, the lignans abundant in flaxseed can promote normal ovulation and extend the second, progesterone-dominant half of the cycle. The benefits of these effects are manifold. For women trying to become pregnant, consistent ovulation significantly improves their chances of conception. For women between the ages of 35 and 55 who are experiencing peri-menopausal symptoms such as irregular menstrual cycles, breast cysts, headaches, sleep difficulties, fluid retention, anxiety, irritability, mood swings, weight gain, lowered sex drive, brain fog, fibroid tumors, and heavy bleeding, a probable cause of all these problems is estrogen dominance. Typically, during the 10 years preceding the cessation of periods at midlife, estrogen levels fluctuate while progesterone levels steadily decline. Flaxseed, by promoting normal ovulation and lengthening the second half of the menstrual cycle, in which progesterone is the dominant hormone, helps restore hormonal balance.

Preliminary research also suggests that flaxseeds may serve a role in protecting post-menopausal woman from cardiovascular disease. In a recent double-blind randomized study, flaxseeds reduced total cholesterol levels in the blood of postmenopausal women who were not on hormone replacement therapy by an average of 6%.

Lastly, lignan-rich fiber has also been shown to decrease insulin resistance, which, in turn, reduces bio-available estrogen, which also lessens breast cancer risk. And, as insulin resistance is an early warning sign for type 2 diabetes, flaxseed may also provide protection against this disease.

Flaxseed Reduces Hot Flashes Almost 60%

Researchers recruited 29 postmenopausal women who had suffered from at least 14 hot flushes each week for at least one month, but would not take estrogen because of a perceived increased risk of breast cancer. After taking 40 grams (1.4 ounces) of crushed flaxseed each day for six weeks, the frequency of hot flashes decreased 50%, and the overall hot flash score decreased an average 57% for the 21 women who completed the trial. J Soc Integr Oncol. 2007 Summer;5(3):106-12.

[sport]

That is a high level of flax to be taking daily. I take 10 grams per day. 40 is a lot.
I could do it but it would raise my fat levels too much.
I also think that it would throw out your 3 to 6 balance too far.
I need to counter the 10 grams of flax with 5 grams of either sunflower or pumpkin to keep that balance right.
I think that 10 is enough for me as I do not have the damaging effects of a sad diet to fight.

[sport]

None of this helps the OP who is a man and was worried about the effects that flax will have on him.

[Mary Kay]

Oh TaupeRawMan, you are so correct and I said it all half-assed backwards! Testosterone is converted to dihydrotestosterone , so this is what I'd believed up until now! thanks! and testosterone is converted to estrogen. It USED to be the thought that high DHT was a cause for prostate enlargement as well as estrogen dominance, but apparently is not the case...it's only the high estrogen. Back in my day when researching hormones about 12 -13 years, while trying to conceive and I became a host/moderator ofan infertility forum - it was thought that the two went hand-hand ---the DHT and the estrogen. and the DHT was implicated .....

If you look, I doubt you'll find it that estrogen is actually CONVERTED to DHT.

But back on the subject: this is all so interesting to me, and I DO have estrogen dominance with recently recurring fibrocystic breasts and I was told to up my EFA's ---especially flax.

and that article that Joyce so kindly shared also stated (and this is for the OP! :

OH MY!!! I went back to that article now twice and my puter started wigging out! I think I may have caught a virus.....anyway, the article also talks about some study on the prostates of men who took flax and that it was beneficial to them. there were three groups: a control group, and a lowfat + flax group and a flax only group. The last two groups were men who were going in for surgery and it said they both benefitted from the flax.
*******(I think I'm going to go post a warning to others....Joyce09, maybe you should just quote the article and delete the address! I went there twice to try to retrieve it and both times my puter wigged out!)

[joyce09]

(I think I'm going to go post a warning to others....Joyce09, maybe you should just quote the article and delete the address! I went there twice to try to retrieve it and both times my puter wigged out!)

Really! I have been using that website for years and never had a problem. Here is the homepage for that website.

http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php

[Tenuviel]

flax should be fine in small amounts. Raw fruits and vegetables are so cleansing, that most likely we should be able process and flush out excess hormone. Eat lots of things good for the liver... beets, dandelion, etc. you could also eat flax for a few weeks, then take a week off of it each month like you would do with medicinal herbs

[Mary Kay]

Tenuviel and all,

Why do you think of using flax in small amts? What would be wrong with using large - er, well within reason? Someone like Robt Young advocates 3 1/2 oz of oils a day which = 7 TBSP.

And while I've got all your attention, what do you think of flax oil vs flax.

One lab in N. Carolina, says unless you're doing whole flax, milled is better...that ground flax, even if eaten immediately upon grinding goes rancid in your body....Personally, I'm not buying it, but "never say never."

Joyce 09, My puter wouldn't even shut down when I went to that site....I couldn't type, I couldn't do anything....it just kept doing the clicking, clicking thing...like it was retrieving info. I did "control alt delete" too and it just wouldn't shut off I even pushed the "off" button and the computer kept running...I did everything short of pulling the plug....Makes me think it's a virus.....Hope I'm wrong.

LOL, I'm too afraid to go back there!

MK

[Tenuviel]

to me a small amount is a TBS or less. With me at least, more than that I would have diarrhea.... which would not be good, as it will make the food move through the digestive tract undigested, and therefore, unabsorbed. It seems to have an extreme laxative effect on some people. If you can tolerate it though, go for it!

[Mary Kay]

Oh Tenuviel, Now I get it! I rarely do ground flax straight like that, so that makes total sense.

Now, again, what do you think of flax oil?

MK

[sport]

I cannot see how taking any oil is good. It s 100% fat and it is a fractional food. I use ground flax seeds. You do not know what other things are in the seed that counter the effects of the fat.
I am afraid of fractional foods and my ideal is to never take them and I am achieving this goal.