FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
Gold of pleasure (wild
flax) oil
1. What is Gold of pleasure
(Camelina Sativa)? Why is it called wild flax?
2. What are omega-3 fatty acids?
3. What happened with omega-3 fatty
acids in our food supply? What health benefits can be achieved
through omega-3 supplementation?
4 . What are the advantages and disadvantages
of different available sources of omega-3 fatty acids?
Gold of pleasure
(wild flax) oil
1. What is Gold of
pleasure? Why is it called wild flax?
Gold of pleasure (Camelina Sativa) -
also known as wild flax, German sesame, or Siberian oilseed
– is an ancient oleaginous (oil-bearing) plant from the Cruciferae
family, which has been domesticated and extensively used
in Europe for several thousand years. The seed
oil of Gold of pleasure contains an exceptional amount
- up to 45 per cent! - of omega-3 fatty
acids, as well as a unique antioxidant complex making
the oil very stable and resistant to heat and rancidity.
Known as “wild flax” because it is commonly
found growing together with common flax (and also sometimes
referred to as “false flax” due to its visual similarity with
regular flax), Gold of pleasure, while supplying almost as
many omega-3 fatty acids as regular flax, is much more stable
than the latter, and also tastes much better.
Back to
top
2. What are omega-3
fatty acids?
Omega-3 fatty acids are long-chain polyunsaturated
fatty acids (18-22 carbon atoms in chain length) with the
first of double bonds beginning with the third carbon atom.
They are called “polyunsaturated” because their molecules
have two or more of the so-called “double bonds” between carbon
atoms. Their designation as “long-chain” fatty acids has to
do with the fact that they consist of at least 18 carbon atoms.
The omega-3 family of fatty acids includes alpha-linolenic
acid (ALA, 18 carbon atoms, 3 double bonds), eicosapentaenoic
acid (EPA, 20 carbon atoms, 5 double bonds), and docosahexaenoic
acid (DHA, 22 carbon atoms, 6 double bonds). ALA is the “base”
omega-3 fatty acid, from which EPA and DHA are made in the
body through a series of enzymatic reactions
Some fatty acids, including alpha-liniolenic
acid (ALA) from the omega-3 family, are so important for health
that they have been termed “essential
fatty acids” (EFA). The essentiality of these fatty acids
stems from the fact that our bodies need them to perform vitally
important functions, but are unable to manufacture them.
Therefore, we must get them daily from outside sources (such
as food or dietary supplements). Otherwise, we risk developing
an omega-3 fatty acid deficiency and putting our health in
danger of serious negative consequences.
Back to
top
3. What happened
with omega-3 fatty acids in our food supply? What health benefits
can be achieved through omega-3 supplementation?
Until recently, the human diet has provided
adequate amounts of omega-3s to satisfy our basic need for
them. However, the 20th century has witnessed an unprecedented
shift from traditional, natural foods supplying abundant quantities
of omega-3 fatty acids to processed, denatured packaged foods
which are characterized by an almost complete absence of omega-3s.
In its tireless attempts to extend the shelf life of its offerings,
the food processing industry has all but squeezed these important
nutrients out of our food supply altogether.
As a result, omega-3 deficiencies have reached
health-threatening proportions. Many researchers link these
deficiencies to the current epidemic of degenerative diseases,
including heart disease, arthritis and other inflammation-related
diseases, and even cancer. Extensive research, including many
clinical studies, have confirmed that regular supplementation
of the diet with omega-3 fatty acids may be helpful in preventing
or reversing numerous debilitating health problems. Here is
a partial list of health benefits achievable by supplementing
one’s diet with omega-3 fatty acids:
- Reducing the overall level of inflammation
in the body, and the resulting healing or alleviation of
many inflammation-related conditions such as peptic ulcers,
gastritis,cholecystitis (gall bladder inflammation) and
ulcerative colitis
- Lowering the risk of heart disease, including CHD (coronary
heart disease) and atherosclerosis
- Lowering the level of triglycerides (fats) in the blood
- Lowering high blood pressure (alleviating hypertension)
- Anti-clotting (thrombolytic) effect on the blood
- Reduction in heart irregularities, such as elevated heartbeat
rates and arrhythmias (disturbances of the normal rhythm
in the heart's beating)
- Alleviation of circulatory problems, including varicose
veins and Raynaud's disease
- Helping to alleviate mood disorders, such as depression
- Reducing aggression
- Helping patients with attention deficit/hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD), dyslexia and dyspraxia
- Helping to improve memory and learning skills, and prevent
Alzheimer's disease
- Prevention of allergies in children
- Improving the condition of those who suffer from inflammatory
skin disorders such as psoriasis and eczema
- Alleviating rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and other inflammatory
forms of arthritis, affecting, in particular, persons with
psoriasis and gout
- Improving the immune status
- Alleviating certain symptoms of PMS
- Improving vision by lowering the risk of age-related macular
degeneration - an eye condition which is the leading cause
of severe loss of vision in people over 50.
Back
to top
4. What are the pros
and cons of different available sources of omega-3 fatty acids?
There are two major known sources of omega-3
fatty acids: certain types of fish (and their tissue or organ
fat, also called fish oil or fish liver oil), and a number
of plant seeds and their oils (flax oil being the best known
one).
Fish and fish oils have an advantage of containing
the most nutritionally available variety of omega-3s, eicosapentaenoic
acid (EPA), which is converted directly into PGE3
– the compound responsible for most of the health benefits
of omega-3 supplementation. However, you must be very careful
when choosing fish or fish by-products as a source of omega-3s.
First of all, it should be kept in mind that only the fatty,
cold water fish varieties, such as salmon, sardines, and anchovies,
are rich in omega-3s, whereas most other fish species supply
little or no omega-3s. Even with salmon, you have to make
sure that it is wild and not farm-raised, because only the
salmon caught in the wild has any appreciable amounts of omega-3s,
because it gets them from its natural diet. Farm-raised salmon
does not supply any omega-3 fatty acids.
Fish oils additionally suffer from contamination
with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and mercury. Modern
industrial agriculture produces a huge toxic runoff which
goes into our rivers and streams and eventually ends up in
the ocean. At the same time, coal-burning power plants are
increasingly polluting our atmosphere with mercury. These
harmful chemicals tend to accumulate in fish. The larger the
fish – the more PCBs, mercury, and other toxins (like lead
and cadmium) will be found in its tissues. The problem is
so serious that the US government has recently issued a number
of warnings cautioning pregnant women and young children against
consuming certain species of fish because of contamination.
One more disadvantage of fish-derived omega-3
supplements is that many people, including an ever-growing
number of vegetarians, are simply not able to use them, because
they are excluding all animal products and by-products from
their diets altogether. For them, the only viable alternative
source of omega-3 fatty acids has been flax oil.
While being the richest available plant source
of omega-3 fatty acids, flax oil has a serious downside. It
has to do with its susceptibility to oxidation and rancidity.
The oil is poor in natural antioxidants, and
starts going rancid as soon as it is pressed from the seeds.
In spite of many precautions taken by the flax oil industry,
most commercially available varieties of flax oil, both in
liquid and in capsule form, get rancid. And even if they don’t,
there is no way to avoid oxidation and rancidity once the
oil enters your body. Once ingested, it inevitably triggers
free radical chain reactions, damaging millions upon millions
of healthy molecules. Your body tries to stop these reactions
with its own natural reserves of antioxidants, such as vitamin
E, putting these reserves under an unnecessary and undesirable
stress. As a result, the benefits of taking flax oil may well
be outweighed by the harm done by free radicals and other
toxic by-products of lipid oxidation.
Considering the above, one inevitably comes
to a conclusion that, until now, none of the widely available
sources of omega-3 fatty acids have been fully satisfactory
and completely problem-free. While it is possible to achieve
the required level of omega-3 supplementation using either
fish and fish-derived products, or flax oil, it would be highly
desirable to have an omega-3-rich oil that would also be more
resistant to oxidation and free of toxic contaminants. The
good news is that such an oil does, indeed, exist. This is
the oil of Gold of Pleasure
(wild flax).
Gold of pleasure seeds produce a golden-colored
oil with a delicate, almond-like flavor, containing up to
45 per cent of omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). In addition
to valuable omega-3s, it is uniquely rich in powerful antioxidants,
primarily tocopherols. At 110 mg/100 g, its vitamin E (tocopherol)
content is among the highest of all natural tocopherol sources.
By contrast, flax oil contains only trace amounts of vitamin
E.
The fatty acid composition of Gold of pleasure
oil is also unique and very beneficial in terms of its health-promoting
qualities. In addition to being a rich source of ALA, the
oil is highly monounsaturated, naturally supplying more than
30 percent of stable monounsaturated (oleic and gadoleic)
fatty acids. This significant proportion of monounsaturates
(monounsaturated olive oil forms the basis of the healthy
Mediterranean diet) further enhances the oxidative stability
of Gold of pleasure oil, and makes it a more versatile cooking
oil.
The combination of these important advantages
makes Gold of pleasure oil the most balanced and desirable
source of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation. While providing
almost as many omega-3s as flax oil, it is highly stable and
abundant in vitamin E and other natural antioxidants, as well
as beneficial monounsaturated fatty acids. As a result, it
does not promote the formation of harmful free radicals. On
the contrary, it helps resist their destructive effects by
providing powerful antioxidant protection.
Back to
top
For a printer-friendly
version of this page, please press here
|
