Flax Seed Oil question....

[jport1540]

I am currently on a cutting diet and just bought my flax seed oil, but had a few quick questions:

1. Whats the dosage I take? They are gel caps in 500mg
2. When is the best time to take it and how many tomes a day?
3. What is the bennefit of it, and why is it a necessity? (other than its an EFA, I am hoping for a more detailed response)

[C_Bino]

I am currently on a cutting diet and just bought my flax seed oil, but had a few quick questions:

1. Whats the dosage I take? They are gel caps in 500mg
2. When is the best time to take it and how many tomes a day?
3. What is the bennefit of it, and why is it a necessity? (other than its an EFA, I am hoping for a more detailed response)

1. Well softgels are not a good option. I take generally 1 tablespoon per serving. This gives me 14g of flax. This means you would have to take 28 pills per serving. And NO this is not an extreme amount, in fact it is quite modest. Some people take 2 tablespoons, in your case equaling 56 softgels at a time.
2. I take it once per day before bed with protein, or in the middle of the night depending on when I train that day. The meal I have directly before sleep is pro/fat. So I have some type of meat and have flax with it. This is assuming I trained at an earlier time in the day. If I train later at night closer to when I sleep I still need to have 2 pro/carb meals which means I am having a pro/carb meal as my last meal of the day. In this case I have a liquid protein drink with flax in it by my bedside and drink it halfway through the night, then back to sleep.
This is solely, how I supplement it. Some also like to have it at breakfast or other times throughout the day in a pro/fat meal.
3. Flax along with other EFA's are a good source of fats. More specifically polysaturates. These fats are good for a host of things, good for you overall health...heart and blood, also your hair skin and nails. But mainly as you already know it is a good source of fat that you have in place of trans and saturated fats which I would hope are low in your diet. Fats are essential to metabolism and thyroid function and cutting them out completely as some do is not going to help, keeping good sources of fat allow your body to function properly while not adding on unwanted bodyfat as readily as other fat sources would.

I dont use fat supplements anymore than once per day though as I get most of my fats through diet. I eat a variety of meats in cluding fish (fantastic for fats), beef, chicken, eggs (yolk). Like I said though saturated fats can be good for you to in terms of thyroid function etc. Just dont over due it. A good rule of thumb is that a fat is good for you if it is liquid at room temperature. Notice how EFA's are in liquid form when you buy them at room temp. But if you drain bacon fat and save it, it becomes solid. Ya you wouldnt want to take a tablesppon of that bacon fat and eat it. But again some is good, moderation is really key with dieting and all macro intake.

Just remember variety is key here.

[jport1540]

Very Very helpful Bino. I appreciate it. I will return my gelcaps for the liquid tomorrow. My only concern was that 2 tbsp. seems to be alot of calories in terms of a cutting diet, and I was worried about the calories. You think I should till mix it in with the protein shake i take in the day? Or what else should I mix it in?

[C_Bino]

Oh I definitely believe that 1 tablespoon is enough bro. Like I said I only do 1 per day and its with my very last meal to slow digestion and use alongside protein as carbs will not be in that meal...even when bulking.

You can still mix it in with a protein shake during the day. Like I said I get a lot of my fats through food, if you arent going to have whole food and have a shake instead than sure I dont see a problem using flax in place of what you would be getting from fish for example.

And definitely return the caps for pure oil. much better imo. Its also cheaper in terms of amount of actual oil. Caps are convenient at first sight but when you realize the sheer volume of which you need to consume it really lacks appeal.