Re: Taka's misinformation, false propaganda and evidence tampering(Re: Omega-3: The killer oils)

Matti Narkia wrote:
Mark Thorson wrote:

RF wrote:
I have thought of trying to develop a tolerance to
flax meal by taking a single seed, squashing it in
my mouth and swallowing it - one per day at first
and slowly increasing with time. Do you know if a
tolerance could be built up in that way?

Oops! I posted the wrong quote. I meant to post
this one:

Quoting from _Vegetable_Fats_and_Oils_ (2nd ed.) by
George S. Jamieson, American Chemical Society Monograph
Series Number 58, page 266:

"It should be observed that flax seed as well as the
press cake contain a cyanogenetic glucoside known as
Linamarin. The cake, however, from "hot pressing,"
is innocuous to cattle. The heat apparently prevents
the action of an enzyme in the seed upon the glucoside
and stops the evolution of hydrocyanic acid from the cake
in the presence of moisture."


Yes, they do contain cyanogenic glycocides (linamarin, linustatin and
neolinustatin) but so do about 2500 other plant species, many of them
commonly used as food, for example apple seeds, cassava etc..:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycoside#Cyanogenic_glycosides>

"Cyanogenic glycosides

In this case, the aglycone contains a cyanide group, and the
glycoside can release the poisonous hydrogen cyanide if acted upon
by some enzyme. An example of these is amygdalin from almonds.
Cyanogenic glycosides can be found in the fruits (and wilting
leaves) of the rose family (including cherries, apples, plums,
almonds, peaches, apricots, raspberries, and crabapples). Cassava,
an important food plant in Africa and South America, contains
cyanogenic glycosides and therefore has to be washed and ground
under running water prior to consumption. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor)
expresses cyanogenic glycosides in its roots and thus is resistant
to pests such as rootworms (Diabrotica spp.) that plague its cousin
maize (Zea mays L.)."

The amounts present in flaxseed cause no harm for humans when
flaxseed are used in usually recommended amounts. It is actually
difficult to use too much flaxseed, because when ground it takes up
volume and it is not easy to consume large amounts of it. See
also the study

Process-induced compositional changes of flaxseed.
Wanasundara PK, Shahidi F.
Adv Exp Med Biol. 1998;434:307-25. Review.
PMID: 9598210
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9598210>

"... However, the presence of cyanogenic glucosides and
diglucosides in the seeds is a concern as they may release
cyanide upon hydrolysis.

[...]

Furthermore, cyanide levels produced as a result of autolysis are
below the harmful limits to humans. ..."

If one is at all uncertain, one can always heat flaxseed up to
about 70 degrees, which destroys the enzyme, which releases cyanide,

That is 70 degrees Celsius.

when flaxseed are crushed.




--
Matti Narkia

http://ma.gnolia.com/groups/Nutrition
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Takas misinformation, false propaganda and evidence tampering(Re: Omega-3: The killer oils)
    ... commonly used as food, for example apple seeds, cassava etc..: ... In this case, the aglycone contains a cyanide group, and the ... Cyanogenic glycosides can be found in the fruits (and wilting ... flaxseed are used in usually recommended amounts. ...
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