I was going to go buy flax seed oil because of all its benefits but then I have read that it increases estrogen levels. I am 15 years old and still growing and I know that estrogen is what causes the growth plates to close so is there a possibility that it could stunt my growth?
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03-09-2003, 09:23 PM #1
Flax Seed Oil>Estrogen Increase>Stunted Growth
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03-09-2003, 09:34 PM #2
You have estrogen in your body right now. I find it hard to believe that Flax has the ability to take your estrogen levels to that beyond what is the normal allowable range for young males. If I were you, I would not worry about it. If Flax was going to harm the young males of the world, the FDA would be all over it.
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03-09-2003, 09:41 PM #3
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03-10-2003, 06:56 AM #4
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03-10-2003, 09:12 AM #5
Read this site http://www.udoerasmus.com/
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03-10-2003, 02:29 PM #6
That site is good but it doesn't really answer my question cuz I know lignans are a weaker form of estrogen in a way. Estrogen causes bone fusion. I know the flax seed itself has the most lignans and oil has a lot less. I am just interested in buying it for the omega's.
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03-10-2003, 02:35 PM #7
I have only heard that Flax Oil helps increase your test levels. However test can convert to estrogen if it is in high enough levels in the bloodstream but the increase in test levels provided by flax oil won't be enough to put enough estrogen in your body to close your growth plates.
O xein angellein Lakedaimoniois hoti tede
Keimetha tois keinon rhemasi peithomenoi
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03-10-2003, 03:14 PM #8
Fatty acids of all kinds are your body's primary source of nutrients to support hormones of all kinds, supplimenting with flax is simply a healthier way to acheive your dietary fat needs.
It's also loaded with all the EFA's you will ever need, It will increase your HDL (good cholesterol) lower cardiovascular heart disease-risk, and --ASSIST-- hormone production.
But theres if you eat a lot of junk loaded in fat then it will all be a waste and you will just get too much fat in your diet.
I suggest taing in 2-3 tbl spoons a day depending on your weight.
Just use the cold-pressed oil, the pills are junk.
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03-10-2003, 03:35 PM #9
POWER: Do monounsaturated fats like olive oil or almond oil increase testosterone? And is it true that cholesterol increases testosterone increases testosterone levels?
ERASMUS: Our body makes testosterone from cholesterol. That doesn't mean, however, that you have to consume cholesterol, because your body can also make cholesterol, and it makes however much you need.
If testosterone levels are low, then stimulating cholesterol production is good. Essential fats help to accomplish this by giving our glands the energy they need to their job better, and longer.
Regarding olive oil which is low in Omega-6 and contains almost no Omega-3s at all, I haven't seen an increase in libido, unless the person had previously had low energy levels from being on a low-fat or no-fat diet. Extra-virgin olive oil does have some minor ingredients that are very good for health. Good health is a very powerful aphrodisiac, especially if you are also in love.
POWER: I just encountered some research which said that when people eat high amounts of monounsaturated fats, such as occur in nuts and olives, they increase testosterone more than other oils. Is this true?
ERASMUS: I don't think so. Your body can make monounsaturated fats out of sugar and starch, so if monounsaturates were the key testosterone production should not be a problem. Many researchers also state that monounsaturates are good for cardiovascular disease. But in extra-virgin olive oil it is the minor ingredients, which make up only 2 percent of the oil, that carry most of the cardiovascular benefits.
POWER: People are being exposed to increasing amounts of estrogen from the environment. Both males and females suffer from too much estrogen in the body as a result of aging, as well as the hormones in beef, chicken and dairy products, from plastics, petroleum fertilizers, and pesticides that pollute our water and food. Too much estrogen in the body creates stubborn fat, and can cause breast cancer and other hazards.
ERASMUS: Not to mention fat deposits on men's pectoral muscles, what some people in body building call "bitch tits." A study in Canada found that men who eat a lot of (inorganic) chicken actually grow female-shaped breasts from estrogen hormones fed to chickens to make the birds grow faster for commercial reasons.
POWER: Can proper fat metabolism protect you from this estrogen syndrome?
ERASMUS: Optimal testosterone production, encouraged by optimal essential-fat intake, can help because men produce some estrogen, just as women produce some testosterone, but the normal ratio of testosterone to estrogen is much higher in men than in women. So higher testosterone levels in men can help prevent the feminization of their chest. Optimal testosterone production helps muscular development. Essential fats also improve insulin function, which also plays a role in muscular growth.
POWER: Is it true that lignans in flax act like an estrogen blocker? Can they mimic estrogen?
ERASMUS: Yes. The lignans in flax are phytoestrogens, which have weak estrogen activity. They can raise low estrogen levels and lower high estrogen, because they occupy the estrogen-activity sites.
POWER: So you could say flaxseed oil has an estrogen-balancing effect?
ERASMUS: It's possible. That's interesting, but not likely, because almost all of the phytoestrogens in flax remain in the seed cake and don't end up in the oil. I ascribe the benefits of flax oil to the fact that the Omega-3s in flax oil help to build muscle. Omega-3 deficiency causes weakness. When people use flax oil (properly balanced with Omega-6), they can work out longer; their muscles grow quicker; they recover quicker. And there's the testosterone production effect.
I ascribe these effects to the Omega-3s. But remember that flax can make you Omega-6 deficient, and then every tissue in the body falls apart. So flax should be enriched with Omega-6-rich sunflower and sesame oils to get the Omega-6s up.
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03-10-2003, 05:36 PM #10Originally posted by pogue
POWER: Do monounsaturated fats like olive oil or almond oil increase testosterone? And is it true that cholesterol increases testosterone increases testosterone levels?
ERASMUS: Our body makes testosterone from cholesterol. That doesn't mean, however, that you have to consume cholesterol, because your body can also make cholesterol, and it makes however much you need.
If testosterone levels are low, then stimulating cholesterol production is good. Essential fats help to accomplish this by giving our glands the energy they need to their job better, and longer.
Regarding olive oil which is low in Omega-6 and contains almost no Omega-3s at all, I haven't seen an increase in libido, unless the person had previously had low energy levels from being on a low-fat or no-fat diet. Extra-virgin olive oil does have some minor ingredients that are very good for health. Good health is a very powerful aphrodisiac, especially if you are also in love.
POWER: I just encountered some research which said that when people eat high amounts of monounsaturated fats, such as occur in nuts and olives, they increase testosterone more than other oils. Is this true?
ERASMUS: I don't think so. Your body can make monounsaturated fats out of sugar and starch, so if monounsaturates were the key testosterone production should not be a problem. Many researchers also state that monounsaturates are good for cardiovascular disease. But in extra-virgin olive oil it is the minor ingredients, which make up only 2 percent of the oil, that carry most of the cardiovascular benefits.
POWER: People are being exposed to increasing amounts of estrogen from the environment. Both males and females suffer from too much estrogen in the body as a result of aging, as well as the hormones in beef, chicken and dairy products, from plastics, petroleum fertilizers, and pesticides that pollute our water and food. Too much estrogen in the body creates stubborn fat, and can cause breast cancer and other hazards.
ERASMUS: Not to mention fat deposits on men's pectoral muscles, what some people in body building call "bitch tits." A study in Canada found that men who eat a lot of (inorganic) chicken actually grow female-shaped breasts from estrogen hormones fed to chickens to make the birds grow faster for commercial reasons.
POWER: Can proper fat metabolism protect you from this estrogen syndrome?
ERASMUS: Optimal testosterone production, encouraged by optimal essential-fat intake, can help because men produce some estrogen, just as women produce some testosterone, but the normal ratio of testosterone to estrogen is much higher in men than in women. So higher testosterone levels in men can help prevent the feminization of their chest. Optimal testosterone production helps muscular development. Essential fats also improve insulin function, which also plays a role in muscular growth.
POWER: Is it true that lignans in flax act like an estrogen blocker? Can they mimic estrogen?
ERASMUS: Yes. The lignans in flax are phytoestrogens, which have weak estrogen activity. They can raise low estrogen levels and lower high estrogen, because they occupy the estrogen-activity sites.
POWER: So you could say flaxseed oil has an estrogen-balancing effect?
ERASMUS: It's possible. That's interesting, but not likely, because almost all of the phytoestrogens in flax remain in the seed cake and don't end up in the oil. I ascribe the benefits of flax oil to the fact that the Omega-3s in flax oil help to build muscle. Omega-3 deficiency causes weakness. When people use flax oil (properly balanced with Omega-6), they can work out longer; their muscles grow quicker; they recover quicker. And there's the testosterone production effect.
I ascribe these effects to the Omega-3s. But remember that flax can make you Omega-6 deficient, and then every tissue in the body falls apart. So flax should be enriched with Omega-6-rich sunflower and sesame oils to get the Omega-6s up.
-AT
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03-10-2003, 05:49 PM #11
Great questions and great replies
"... I ascribe the benefits of flax oil to the fact that the Omega-3s in flax oil help to build muscle. Omega-3 deficiency causes weakness. When people use flax oil (properly balanced with Omega-6), they can work out longer; their muscles grow quicker; they recover quicker. And there's the testosterone production effect.
I ascribe these effects to the Omega-3s. But remember that flax can make you Omega-6 deficient, and then every tissue in the body falls apart. So flax should be enriched with Omega-6-rich sunflower and sesame oils to get the Omega-6s up. "
Now I am beginning to understand why Udo's Choice comes highly recommended...it has Omega 3, 6 and 9.
I love the stuff I've noticed some increase in strength for sure, and that makes this Ectomorph happy, as added strength means added weight to the sets, which means added muscle (knock on wood :P )
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03-10-2003, 07:12 PM #12
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03-10-2003, 07:23 PM #13
Udo's Choice is Udo Eramus's own personal blend of essential fatty acids and oils from flax, and various other sources. Its a complete blend and much better than regular flax oil, but its kind of pricey and usually only found at smaller local health food shops. I usually vary from purchasing Barlean's flax and Udos Choice.
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03-10-2003, 09:36 PM #14
Ok, but if one consumes the typical american diet, which is loaded in omega-6, and starts taking flax oil, wouldn't the american diet make sure that one never becomes omega-6 deficient? I see no reason to supplement with another oil just for omega-6, when your diet is already loaded with it.
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"I don't which is worse, that everyone has a price or that the price is always so low"--Hobbes
"To live is to suffer, to survive, well, that is to find meaning in the suffering"
"Give me the strength to change what I can, the inability to accept what I can't, and the incapacity to tell the difference"--Calvin
"That which is behind me, does not matter"
"I am the Path, not the Ride"
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03-10-2003, 10:49 PM #15
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03-11-2003, 08:11 AM #16Originally posted by Sir Foxx
Ok, but if one consumes the typical american diet, which is loaded in omega-6, and starts taking flax oil, wouldn't the american diet make sure that one never becomes omega-6 deficient? I see no reason to supplement with another oil just for omega-6, when your diet is already loaded with it.
EDog
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03-11-2003, 08:12 AM #17
Well then every article I've ever read about omega 3,6,9, flax oil, olive oil must be wrong then. Every one of them states that Americans get more than enough of omega 6 in their diet but almost no omega 3 or 9.
"Loyalty Above All Else, Except Honor"
"I don't which is worse, that everyone has a price or that the price is always so low"--Hobbes
"To live is to suffer, to survive, well, that is to find meaning in the suffering"
"Give me the strength to change what I can, the inability to accept what I can't, and the incapacity to tell the difference"--Calvin
"That which is behind me, does not matter"
"I am the Path, not the Ride"
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03-11-2003, 10:10 AM #18
Flaxseed (linseed) oil and estrogen
The lignans in flaxseed can be processed by micro-organisms in your gut to form compounds with estrogen-like properties.
Whether they have a net pro-estrogenic or anti-estrogenic effect really depends on the prevailing hormonal conditions (e.g., your estrogen levels).
I have noticed women taking ground flaxseed (richer in lignans than some flaxseed oil preparations) experience alterations in menstrual cycle activity (e.g., prolongation of time between periods).
We really don't know what hormonal effects, if any, flaxseed oil ingestion may have in, e.g., young males.
One thing to keep in mind is that for most of our evolutionary history as a species, we got lignans and indeed essential fatty acids like alpha-linolenic acid (abundant in flaxseed) from whole plant materials (e.g., leaves, oil seeds).
From this perspective, one could argue that taking, say, 1-2 tablespoons of concentrated flaxseed oil is a pharmacological endeavor. Indeed, a vast quantity of flaxseeds goes into one tablespoon of flaxseed oil. All things in moderation.
Also, if you're trying to increase your docosahexanoic acid (DHA) levels by using flaxseed oil, understand that feeding and labelling studies suggest that taking DHA per se is the best way to do this. The bulk of the alpha-linolenic acid you consume, it appears, is oxidized, not turned into DHA.
Bottom line: I suggest using smaller amounts of flaxseed oil (e.g., 1/4 tablespoon) ever other day or so to avoid any undesirable pharmacological effects in regards to estrogen. Remember that I base this not on specific clinical findings, of course.
Incidentally, a study in the European Journal of Nutrition found that soya flour decreased testosterone levels in males. Note that besides its isoflavone contents (which may have been to blame), the soya flour may also have contained n-3 fatty acids such as alpha-linolenic acid (again, also found in flaxseed). This might have played a role in the testosterone reductions, also.
I have not yet read the study, but I am awaiting a copy of it.
Hope this provides some useful insights.
Thanks,
Robert Thoburn
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03-11-2003, 02:34 PM #19
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03-11-2003, 03:22 PM #20
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03-12-2003, 02:51 PM #21
Re: Flax Seed Oil>Estrogen Increase>Stunted Growth
Originally posted by bodychemistry
I was going to go buy flax seed oil because of all its benefits but then I have read that it increases estrogen levels. I am 15 years old and still growing and I know that estrogen is what causes the growth plates to close so is there a possibility that it could stunt my growth?BrinkZone, Where Bro-Science Got Rabies and Died!
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