Cook with Flax Seed Oil

Robert Kershaw <[email hidden]> wrote in part:

Quoted message said:

Is it OK to cook with flax seed oil, use flax oil anywhere normal oil is called for? I thought heat
was the worse thing for oil, would heat somehow degrade the Omega-3 oils?

Flaxseed oil does not survive cooking very well.
--
Jim Chinnis Warrenton, Virginia, USA

Robert Kershaw said:

Is it OK to cook with flax seed oil, use flax oil anywhere normal oil is called for? I thought
heat was the worse thing for oil, would heat somehow degrade the Omega-3 oils?

Think of flaxseed oil as an additive, not a cooking medium. It's too fragile for elevated heat
applications.

Bob

Thu, 05 Feb 2004 02:23:48 GMT in article
<[email hidden]> Robert Kershaw

Quoted message said:

Is it OK to cook with flax seed oil, use flax oil anywhere normal oil is called for? I thought heat
was the worse thing for oil, would heat somehow degrade the Omega-3 oils?

Flaxseed oil is high in alpha-linolenic acid (=linolenic acid), which produces some mutagenic and
even carcinogenic substances when heated. I don't use any oil with relatively high alpha-linolenic
acid content in cooking, not even rapeseed oil (Canola oil in North America). See

Shields PG, Xu GX, Blot WJ, Fraumeni JF Jr, Trivers GE, Pellizzari ED, Qu YH, Gao YT, Harris CC.
Mutagens from heated Chinese and U.S. cooking oils. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1995 Jun 7;87(11):836-41.
PMID: 7791233 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] <URL:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd-
=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7791233&dopt=Abstract>

"... RESULTS: 1,3-Butadiene, benzene, acrolein, formaldehyde, and other related compounds were
qualitatively and quantitatively detected, with emissions tending to be highest for unrefined
Chinese rapeseed oil and lowest for peanut oil. The emission of 1,3-butadiene and benzene was
approximately 22-fold and 12-fold higher, respectively, from heated unrefined Chinese rapeseed
oil than from heated peanut oil. Lowering the cooking temperatures or adding an antioxidant,
such as butylated hydroxyanisole, before cooking decreased the amount of these volatile
emissions. Among the individual fatty acids tested, heated linolenic acid produced the greatest
quantities of 1,3-butadiene, benzene, and acrolein. Separately, the mutagenicity of individual
volatile emission condensates was correlated with linolenic acid content (r = .83; P = .0004).
Condensates from heated linolenic acid, but not linoleic or erucic acid, were highly mutagenic.
CONCLUSIONS: These studies, combined with experimental and epidemiologic findings, suggest that
high-temperature wok cooking with unrefined Chinese rapeseed oil may increase lung cancer risk.
This study indicates methods that may reduce that risk..."

and

Giovannucci E, Rimm EB, Colditz GA, Stampfer MJ, Ascherio A, Chute CC, Willett WC. A prospective
study of dietary fat and risk of prostate cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1993 Oct 6;85(19):1571-9.
PMID: 8105097 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] <URL:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd-
=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=8105097&dopt=Abstract>

"... The potential roles of carcinogens formed in cooking animal fat and of alpha-linolenic acid
in the progression of prostate cancer need to be explored."

--
Matti Narkia

Robert Kershaw said:

Is it OK to cook with flax seed oil, use flax oil anywhere normal oil is called for? I thought
heat was the worse thing for oil, would heat somehow degrade the Omega-3 oils?

Thank You,

RSK

If it can be boiled and used as a wood preservative (linseed oil = flaxseed oil) do not see why you
can't use it to lubricate your car's rubbing parts and even door hinges.

Maybe you can consult: westonaprice.orgoiling5.htmlOpen ↗ to discover whether
or not it is edible.

A.L.