I am looking to beef up my morning protein shake/meal replacement with some additions and had a few questions.
Which is better flax sees or flax oil? Don't you miss out on the fiber component if you just use flax oil? Do you not get the full benefits if you use flax seeds?
Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced greens supplement? I am aware of lightforce but awhile back someone listed a much cheaper option?
further info...my typical breakfast replacement shake will consist of some frozen fruit, whey protein, maybe a half of a banana and some ice.
I've tried other green supplements, some of them less expensive, some not, and Lightforce was the only one I found palatable. And it doesn't need refrigerating, some of the others do. I'd stick with the Lightforce personally.
If you eat whole seeds, you get only fiber. Ground seeds are ok, but whole seeds keep better. My suggestion would be to get whole seeds and grind them (a coffee grinder is perfect, a blender might well do it, a mortar and pestle will do it with a bit more work). Ratio is 3:1, i.e., 3 tablespoons of ground seeds will get about 1 tablespoon of oil.
That said, flax seeds are excellent for fiber, so whether you want that or not might depend on how much other fiber you have in your diet. Seeds will also be a bit "mealy" and will hide a bit less well in the shake, but this is minor.
there are numerous other chemical compounds in flax oil in addition to the EFA's and near perfect balance of omeag 3's and 6's. The important part of the EFA is the E as in essential meaning that to be healthy in body and brain you need to ingest EFA's. Flax meal and Flax oil is a great source, go to WalMart and the RexAll brand around $5-6/8oz
OK, yes, the "E" is important, but "the important part"? That doesn't make sense. It's not separate from the "F" or "A". Or is it "the important part to understand"? In which case... you need this stuff, it's essential. I'm not gonna tell you what it is, because that's extraneous to the important part. You need it. (I, however, can quit any time that I want. Seriously. I can).
All of which is to say... the essential fatty acids are the oil. The proteins in seeds are negligible. The fiber is good. Most oils are not super well filtered, which means you have a bit of one type of soluble fiber (flax lignans) that are associated with cancer prevention.
Whole seeds have other fiber (insoluble). Enough of that is a good thing. "Too much" is obviously bad -- irriatation of the intestinal lining and sequelae can result; but then, most of us don't get anything like too much fiber. I just don't know about any one person asking on the internet.
EFA meaning essential fatty acid. the essential meaning it is necessary for a healthy human body. there was a study done by the feingold assoc. on prisoners and people with violent tendencies and while i forget the exact percentage there was a significant drop in violent behavior when they began to supplement the peole with EFA's. the brain is 60%+ fatty tissue so it would make sense that certain types of fats are crucial to brain function
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Regarding the greens:
I would disagree with RingGirl about the palatable part...It's all like
medicine to me.
More importantly though, Lightforce Greens is the ONLY green
supplement that I've taken that I can actually feel a difference. It's great
for energy! One of my students keeps it at work and if any of her
employees are tired, she makes them drink Lightforce! LOL!