omega 3’s

Can’t Stand the Heat

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I remember the first time I was introduced to the humble flax-seed.

It was the early ’90’s and my papa wasn’t eating eggs as part of his macrobiotic diet.  For a while we used the Ener-G egg replacer for baked goods but then one day my papa gave me some little brown seeds and told me to blend them with some water to make “eggs” for the cake.  I knew at that moment that this was one special little seed.

The flavor of flax was never the big appeal to me, although I don’t mind it; it’s the health claims and it’s ability to add volume and act like eggs that has made me a consumer for over half of my life.

As you are probably aware, the oil in flax is very sensitive to heat and light.  The whole seeds serve as a protective casing against the elements but once the oil is extracted or the seeds are milled the super unsaturated oil will quickly go rancid unless stored properly in a dark container in a cool place.

So what about baking or cooking with flax?  I was thinking about this last night as I mixed up some crackers with flax meal.

Is baking with flax counterproductive?  Does the exposure to heat in the cooking process negate any health benefits?

The answer is not clear cut.

From what I’ve learned it appears that exposure to heat starts the process of breaking down the omega-3’s but it doesn’t necessarily destroy them completely.  The longer a product baked with flax sits around the longer it has time for the essential fatty acids to go rancid.  To me this means that it’s alright to bake with flax at home in small batches that will be eaten quickly and can be stored in the fridge.

What about those delicious breads covered in crunchy flax seeds?  The whole seed can protect the oil from a certain amount of exposure and help keep all the good fat in tact but all you’re going to get from them, nutritionally, is insoluble fiber.  Fiber’s a good thing but as long as you are eating a whole foods diet most of the time it’s not necessary to suppliment.  Plus, when it comes to flax it means that you are missing out on a plethora of B vitamins, protein, lignans, antioxidants, calcium, manganese, and magnesium.

I can’t find much definitive information on the ill-effects of heated flax meal but I do know that the omega-3 to omega-6 ratio is often tipped when oils are heated.  I will miss cooking with flax eggs and meal but I am going to stick to raw flax for the most part.  More in tomorrow’s post on When Good Oils Go Bad!

 

Embracing the Fat

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I’ve always wished that I was a trend-setter but the truth is more like I am a solid trend-follower.  There was that one time in junior high when I was wearing knee high socks way before everyone else at school but West Virginia is behind the times on most things so it probably did not reflect on my (lack of) coolness.

Take America’s obsession with low-fat/fat-free food.  I rode the crest of that wave for as long as anyone.  Back in the day (early 2000’s?) I believed that calories from fiber and protein were what would keep me lean and healthy.  I knew that micro-nutrients (minerals and vitamins) were important too but I figured my veggie-dense diet would take care of that.

Fat, to me, was just a source of excess calories.

This is a bit of an exaggeration, I’ve never said “no” to avocado in my life and I knew that nuts were really healthy but when it came to dairy my cart was always fat-free.  I remember the days when we’d buy an 18 carton of the cheapest eggs and I’d toss the yolks into the trash while making my 3 egg white omelet.   In college I had my cholesterol tested for a class and the results were high.  This thoroughly pissed me off as a vegetarian who was dancing hours on end everyday.  I thought that removing as much saturated fat from my plate would make me low-fat and cholesterol-free.

Not anymore, my friends.

These days my meals are fatty affairs; full of Omega-3, lauric acid, and CLA goodness.

One thing that I’ve learned about fat that really hits home for me that, just like humans, animals “are what they eat”.

If a cow eats grass instead of grain than it is going to change the nutritional make up of it’s milk.  If a chicken is able to peck and scratch and eat grass and grubs than the eggs it lays will be much more nutritious than if it ate grain.  Farm-raised fish eat different than wild fish and thus the nutrients in the meat are different!

Besides a higher vitamin content in “pastured” animal foods, a big difference is in the balance of omega-3’s to omega-6’s.  Both of these are essential  fatty acids but the balance of 3 to 6 in the modern diet is seriously skewed, which could contribute to inflammation and a host of health issues.  A modern diet provides us with too much omega-6’s but eating pastured animal food, rich in omega-3’s, can helps tip the scales back to a healthy 3-6 balance.

Back in college we used to spend like $50 a week-at the most-for the two of us to eat all the farmed salmon and cheap eggs we could.  These days our grocery bills are certainly a little higher but really not that much.  I pay $175 a month for health “insurance” (and I know that many people pay much more than that!) so why would I not spend a few extra dollars at the supermarket to “insure” that I am feeding myself the healthiest fats available?

My favorite fats

  • chia seeds and ground flax seeds for omega-3 fatty acids, which boost anti-inflammatory properties among it’s host of benefits.
  •  nuts, especially Brazil nuts these days for my daily dose of Selenium.
  • butter, yogurt, and milk from grass-fed cows for a healthy balance of omega-3 to omega-6, CLA, and vitamin E.
  • coconut oil for lauric acid, which helps the body absorb micro-nutrients, and because coconut is anti-microbial, anti-bacterial, and high in antioxidants.

Fat is one trend that is in my life to stay.

Want to learn more?  Here are some articles that lay out in more detail the differences between “good” fats and “bad”.

Grass Fed Butter Tribute on Mark’s Daily Apple

Scary Article About Factory  Animal Products from Union of Concerned Scientists

Environmental Impact of Fish Farming from Time Magazine

Nutrition Differences Between Wild and Farmed Salmon from World’s Healthiest Foods

Pastured Vs. Caged Egg Nutrition from Mother Earth News (one of my favorites!)