Flax Oil & increased blood ketones?

#1

While discussing my ketogenic diet and fasting protcocol with a friend earlier this year, she recommended flax seed oil due to being high in omega 3s. I did some reading and found that the types of omega 3s found in flax oil aren’t absorbed especially well by the human body. I decided to stick with fish oil supplements for getting adequate omega 3s.

But then she gave me a partial bottle of Nature’s Way Flax Oil Super Lignan. (She’s moving and the stuff needs to stay refrigerated, so rather than throwing it away, she gave it to me.)

I took some of that flax oil with food last night and the night before. When testing my blood ketones and blood glucose in the morning after consuming the flax oil, I obtained some surprising results.

These were my blood glucose readings (in mg/dL) from my Contour Next for the five mornings preceding my consumption of flax oil: 103, 108, 100, 101, 95

And after: 83, 87

Blood ketones (in mmol/L) for the same five mornings preceding the consumption of flax oil (measured with Keto Mojo meter): 1.2, 1.5, 1.4, 1.1, 1.0

And after: 4.0, 5.7

These are some pretty significant changes! That reading of 4.0 was, on the day that I took it, the second highest reading that I had ever seen. The highest reading of 4.8 had occurred after fasting for two days at the end of which I also did a six mile hike. Today’s BK reading of 5.7 is a new personal high. I thought that the reading of 4.0 might be a fluke, so I did a second test using a Precision Xtra meter. I got 3.9, so no fluke.

I can’t say for certain that it’s the flax oil as I’ve also recently begun taking a probiotic and inulin, however I started these several days prior to first taking flax oil.

I’m going to not take flax oil this evening. My hypothesis is that my BK and BG readings for tomorrow morning will be back in my normal range of morning readings.

#2

For anyone thinking of purchasing this stuff…

The Amazon reviews are mixed. Several mention that there’s some stuff which settles to the bottom of the bottle. This is most definitely the case. It’s kind of a thick, gooey sludge in the bottom two inches of the bottle that I have. For last night’s serving of oil, I tried to dislodge some of it with a butter knife and then shook it really well. I also took the cap off and poured the oil (and some of the sludge) out instead of squirting it through the hole in the cap. It doesn’t look especially appealing with the sludge mixed in. I probably wouldn’t have eaten it had it not been for the morning’s really surprisingly high ketone readings.

(Karen) #3

I have some I bought in the back of the frig. Was going to use it to season pans. Might try it tomorrow on my eggs

K

#4

If you take blood ketone measurements, I’d be interested in hearing about any changes (or lack thereof) in your blood ketone readings after consuming flax oil.

I’ll keep this thread updated with the results of my own experiments.

(Bunny) #5

It is a non-sea creature source of omega fatty acids (that’s why you get that result) and has good phytoestrogens!

I think this source of omega fatty acids can kills cancer cells (with another ingredient), but will save that for another time! :zipper_mouth_face:

#6

If you’re a man, you should avoid anything flax. It can increase your risk of prostate tumors and cancer.

(Bunny) #7

…only if you add sugar!

#8

Either way…

#9

I found a couple of articles which suggest that it’s the other way around…

https://nutritionfacts.org/2013/10/03/flaxseeds-for-prostate-cancer/

and:

(Though now that I’ve read further into the second one, it does advise caution with flaxseed oil. I’ll note however, that the stuff I’m consuming claims “Super Lignan”, which does seem to be protective.)

#10

Did you find any that suggested what I said is true? I’ll bet there is far more of those.

(Bunny) #11

Estrogens, Testosterone & Phytoestrogens

“…Phytoestrogens, or the plant “version” of estrogen found in various edible foods, such as soy and soy protein, serve primarily as weak precursors to estrogen production. … “That’s why we use phytoestrogens for both men and women who have hormonal-involved cancer,” such as prostate or breast cancer. …”

"The fear of soy protein and phytoestrogens is absurd," says reigning USA champ Tom Prince.“You need the proper receptor sites, and a significant amount of them, to produce estrogen in the body through ingestion of phytoestrogens.”

“…Men have fewer estrogen receptors than do women. Additionally, there is a technique for manipulating these sites in men so that genuine estrogen is minimized: Shippen suggests that high levels of phytoestrogens compete with the female hormone for receptor sites, block its actions – which can include some inhibition of pituitary functions – and stimulate the P450 system in the liver to more actively process and excrete excess estrogen. …More

(Duane) #12

Very interesting… I love a good self test experiment!:+1::grin: :popcorn::popcorn::popcorn:

#13

I’ve skimmed a few more articles. Advice on the safety of flaxseed oil for men seems to be mixed. While some say that the lignans in flax oil are protective, others mention studies which show an association between flaxseed oil consumption and increased risk of prostate cancer. I also came across an article which states that more research is needed in this area which, given the conflicting advice that I’ve just read, certainly seems to be warranted.

Anyway… I’m going to continue with my experiments for a short while at least. One of the things that I didn’t highlight in my initial post was that (in addition to raising the blood ketone levels), consumption of flax oil also (may have) decreased my fasting blood glucose by roughly 15-20 mg/dL. I tested several times on Wednesday and found that the decreased BG level persisted throughout the day.

(Bunny) #14

Sugar consumption variables are the factor in this!

#15

Providing some data for this…

Blood Glucose using Bayer Contour Next in mg/dL on 2018-02-21:

9:12am: 83
1:52pm: 83
10:00pm: 82

Likewise for blood ketones in mmol/L

9:12am: 4.0
1:52pm: 1.8
10:00pm: 2.8

I had fasted throughout the day (eating after 10:00pm) and at around 7:00pm, I got some exercise at an indoor rock climbing gym.

(Bunny) #16

Nice numbers

#17

Yes, much better than normal. When measuring morning fasting BG using the Contour Next, nearly all of the readings are over 100 mg/dL. I was very pleased (astonished, even) to see numbers in the low 80s.

(Bunny) #18

Mine are the same!

#19

I’ve done some more testing…

2018-02-23 (Friday):

I consumed no flaxseed oil the night before; the last flaxseed oil was consumed two nights earlier, as discussed in my earlier posts to this thread.

6:54am: BG: 84 BK: 3.7

I didn’t expect this result. My hypothesis was that BG would go up and BK would come down. The BG of 84 was actually lower than the 87 I got on Thursday, the 22nd. BK was down to 3.7 from 5.7 on Thursday, but 3.7 is still really high for me. I was expecting to see a value under 2.8 which is a normal high value for me.

I went out and hiked 10 miles and tested again when I returned…

1:16pm: BG: 99 BK: 2.7

This is more in line with what I expected for my morning result. I’ll note that I was still fasted at this point.

I then ate some lunch - I ate some leftover tuna casserole and ate some macadamia and pecan nuts. No flaxseed oil.

9:17pm: BG: 90 BK: 1.6

After an indoor rock climbing session, but before eating.

For my late dinner, I had brats and sauerkraut w/ flaxseed oil and avocado oil. Also more nuts and 3 squares of ChocZero chocolate. Also took a probiotic and drank an ACV drink w/ 1 tsp of inulin.

2018-02-24 (Saturday):

12:13am: BG: 80 BK:3.7

This was approximately 2.5 hours after my late evening meal of the 23rd.

Wow! That BG reading of 80 is the lowest I’ve seen with the Bayer Contour Next meter.

8:33am: BG 96 BK: 4.3

Huh. I didn’t expect the BG reading to go up.

After testing, I took my daily supplements along with a small amount (maybe 4 oz) of Kombucha which a friend gave me to try. It was quite good, but it also tasted sweet to me. I suspect it has way more sugar than I ought to be consuming.

I decided to wait a couple of hours, get another reading and then take just one tablespoon of flaxseed oil by itself…

11:05am: BG: 99 BK: 2.6

After that reading, above, I took 1 tablespoon of flaxseed oil.

12:10am: BG: 94 BK: 2.2

1:22pm: BG: 94 BK: 3.7

BG is down, but not by as much as expected. BK is back up pretty high though.

The other thing somewhat new about my nightly routine is that I’m taking a drink of ACV and 1 tsp of inulin, which, as I understand it, is a fiber which is supposed to feed the good gut bacteria.

So I decided to do that - drink ACV and 1 tsp of inulin and test a bit later…

3:27pm: BG: 84 BK: 3.9

Okay, so that BG value is what I expected to see earlier in the day. But, was it the ACV+inulin which caused this drop or merely the fact that I’m later into the fast? Or is the flaxseed oil working, albeit slowly? Did drinking the Kombucha early in the day break the fast that I had going from the night before? (Probably, yes.)

After posing these questions to myself, I realized that I had sort of made a mess of things. More/better testing is needed. It may be hard to get meaningful results though; I’ve tested throughout the day while fasting and see the numbers change a bit just in the course of the day. If I add in some short but intense exercise, they can change quite a lot.

That said, it seems that something that I’ve started doing recently is helping to get my BG values down and my BK values up. It’s possible too that it’s not just one thing, but that there’s a synergistic effect. I.e. maybe it’s a combo of probiotic + ACV + inulin + flaxseed oil that’s producing these results.

7:45pm: BG: 100 BK: 3.4

Above reading taken about one hour after three hour feeding window. Finished tuna & cauliflower casserole w/ flaxseed oil & avocado oil. Snacked on macadamia and pecan nuts. Second meal consisted of sausage & spaghetti squash casserole, a few more nuts, and two ChocZero squares for desert.

I’ll drink some diluted ACV and test later…

(Marti ) #20

Cancer can only live of of sugar.