Australian Flaxseed Oil

Flaxseed oil is a clear answer to one question: how to get an omega-3 if you don't eat fish. Most of what our naturopaths ask in store is about what you're expecting from it.

A good fit if

• You're vegan or vegetarian and want a plant omega-3 from a food oil
• Fish, fish oil capsules or their aftertaste are off the table for you
• You're after general omega-3 intake rather than a specific EPA or DHA target
• You'd rather take an oil with food than swallow a capsule
• You already eat flaxseed and want the concentrated oil instead of the bulk of the meal

Check with us first if

• You take a blood thinner or an antiplatelet medicine. Australia's required blood thinner warning is on concentrated fish oil ethyl esters rather than linseed oil, and the evidence we've reviewed says nothing either way about flaxseed itself.
• You have surgery or a dental procedure coming up. Tell your surgeon or dentist what you're taking.
• You're pregnant or breastfeeding. Australia's permitted ingredients list attaches no warning to linseed oil, but having no rule isn't the same as having evidence it's safe.
• A doctor has asked you to take a set amount of EPA or DHA. Flaxseed oil contains neither, so it can't fill that gap.
• You're buying it for a child. Children's adequate intakes are much smaller, and they're set for the fat, not for a supplement.
• You take any prescription medicine. Check with your doctor, pharmacist or our naturopaths first.

• Flaxseed oil, liquid (cold-pressed). Best known for: The everyday form: off a spoon, through yoghurt, or blended into a smoothie. Absorption: It's a food oil, and no study compares the liquid with the capsule. Typical use: Sold for drizzling and blending rather than frying. Keep it cold once it's open and finish it within the time on the label.
• Flaxseed oil capsules, usually 1,000 mg or 1,500 mg softgels. Best known for: No taste, a fixed dose, and nothing to keep in the fridge. Absorption: The same oil inside a shell; there's no separate absorption data. Typical use: The format most people stick with. Work out how many capsules make up the amount you actually want, because it's more than one.
• Organic or cold-pressed labelling. Best known for: How the seed was grown and how the oil was pressed, not what's in it. Absorption: No difference has been measured or claimed. Typical use: A matter of preference. The fatty acid inside is the same either way.
• High-lignan flaxseed oil. Best known for: Oil with some of the ground seed stirred back through it. Absorption: Not measured. Typical use: We don't quote a lignan figure or a lignan benefit here, because the evidence behind this page doesn't include either.
• Ground flaxseed, also sold as linseed meal. Best known for: The seed rather than the oil, so you get the fibre as well. Absorption: Not comparable. It's a food, eaten by the spoonful. Typical use: Stirred through porridge, yoghurt or baking. This is the form the flaxseed page covers.
• Whole flaxseed or linseed. Best known for: The simplest way to buy the seed, and the one bakeries use. Absorption: Not comparable. Typical use: Bread, LSA blends and baking. Most people grind it before eating it.

Reference values. There's no recommended daily intake for flaxseed oil. The NHMRC sets an adequate intake for ALA, the fat inside it: 1.3 g a day for men and 0.8 g for women, rising to 1.0 g in pregnancy and 1.2 g when breastfeeding. Children need between 0.5 g and 1.2 g, depending on age. An adequate intake is the amount that keeps a population clear of deficiency, not a dose tested for a particular effect.

Typical supplemental range. Australian capsules are usually 1,000 mg or 1,500 mg of oil, taken one to three times a day, and the liquid is measured by the teaspoon or tablespoon. That range comes from Australian labels rather than from trials. The ALA research looked at diets and foods far more than capsules.

Upper level. None has been set. Australia's permitted ingredients list (Schedule 1) gives no maximum daily dose for linseed oil, dried linseed, linseed powder or Linum usitatissimum, and there's no upper limit for ALA. Treat the directions on the label as your limit.

Worth knowing. Take it with food, and keep the liquid in the fridge once it's open. Buy a size you'll finish, because the oil goes off. What you need depends on your age, diet and health, so talk to one of our naturopaths.

Food first, where the diet allows it.

• Flaxseed oil: the concentrated form: the seed pressed, the fibre left behind
• Ground flaxseed, or linseed meal: brings the seed's fibre along with the oil
• Whole flaxseed: the seed as sold for bread, baking and LSA blends
• Walnuts: named alongside flaxseed as a main dietary source of ALA
• Chia seeds: the other plant ALA source on Australian shelves
• Per-serve figures: none are quoted: the reference set behind this page holds no verified table

If any of these sound like you, talk to one of our naturopaths or your doctor before you start.

• You take a blood thinner or antiplatelet medicine. We have no flaxseed-specific interaction data, so ask before starting.
• You have surgery or dental work planned. Tell your practitioner what you're taking.
• You're pregnant or breastfeeding. No Schedule 1 warning applies to linseed oil, and we found no safety evidence either.
• Children. Check first; the adequate intakes are much smaller and are set for the fat in food, not for a supplement.
• You've been prescribed a set amount of EPA or DHA. Flaxseed oil provides neither.
• The oil is rancid, or a liquid has been kept past its use-by-after-opening period. Throw it out.
• You notice unusual bruising, or bleeding that won't stop. Stop taking it and get medical advice.
• If you take prescription medicines, check with your doctor, pharmacist or our naturopaths before starting.