So I started out taking 1 tablespoon of Flaxseed. Noticed how soft and supple my skin got, especially my hands, but then I started getting hot flashes of all things!? I decreased to 1/4 teaspoon and I still get them! How come? Anyone out there that happened the same? I googled it but every source says that Flax balances hormones even though it contains phytoestrogens.
Maybe it has something to do with my liver? Dunno. Would be nice to hear feedback.
In the meantime I have switched to Black Currant Seed oil and seem to be fine with it except that my skin doesn't look as nice..

Thanks  

Flax is a phyto-estrogen. It sounds to me like your estrogen levels are already on the upper end of normal, and the added estrogen boost from the flax pushes your estrogen too high, leading to hot flashes.

Flax is high in omega 3 fats, which are good for the skin. I think the fats in black currant seed oil are a different kind (omega 9 maybe?) You might get good skin results with fish oil or by eating lots of oily fish. Fish oil has the omega 3s but isn't a phyto-estrogen.

I'm also wondering if you took whole  flax or flax seed oil. I'm not sure if flax oil is a phyto-estrogen or if it's just the whole flax that has that effect.

Why would high estrogen cause hot flashes?  Supposed to help balance hormones...although while
searching, I came across a woman on a chat forum who said flax oil gave her hot flashes the first one
she ever had in her life...... Oh, I just noticed Candace's age...probably has more to do with
fluctuating estrogen?...highs/lows/highs?  Seems curious.

http://www.cemcor.ubc.ca/help_yourself/articles/progesterone_hot_flushes

Maybe liver issues...unable to detox excess hormones?
http://www.treelite.com/members/handouts/HotFlashes.pdf

Thank you Ruthie girl!  I was surmising the same thing but I keep doubting it because my last test showed that my progesterone and DHEA was really high. But come to think of it I I remember now that the doctor didn't mention what my estrogen levels were.. so maybe..  Still all the websites say that Flax is good for all - premenstrual,peri-menopause and menopause..????  It sure doesn't have a balancing effect on me!  lol

I think the next time I see my doctor, I will ask her what my results were on the Estrogen and then see what she says/thinks..   In any case, I guess I can't take Flax anymore. Drats.     It really made a difference in my skin that I've never witnessed before with Fish Oils .. Yesk,  I guess I will
have to go back to Cod Liver Oil (or is there better?) and continue to take the Blackcurrant seed oil..

Thanks!

By the way how do you guys get your Genotype and info on the left hand side of your posts?
I went into my profile but didn't see where to enter it and entered it in some comments which is why it shows at the bottom of my posts!  Thanks..

lower the dose of flax

here s a link on how to get a shield, a step by step guide given to another new member, by our moderator....
http://www.dadamo.com/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?b-ref/m-1219018887/

Yes Chloe.l it could be liver issues.. come to think of it. I am recovering from adrenal burnout and I know my liver is bad. Perhaps it cannot metabolize it ? Thank you for the links!!!!!

Ruthie girl, forgot to answer you question :   I was taking Flaxseed oil.

Thank you Lola for the link to get a shield!!  I aready went really low to 1/4 teaspoon .. can't really go lower than that.. I guess I need to continue to work on my Adrenals and Liver..and maybe then...

add some curcuma

the levels of oils on my swami be about a tablespoon a day, but that is for all oils

so if you were eating 1 tablespoon of flax you should have anything else, probably better to keep the portions of that oil to 1/2 teaspoon and begin with every other day perhaps

How about switching to freshly ground flaxseeds instead of the oil?  Since they are a whole food and all . .

Ground flax at one point was the only thing that prevented hot flashes for me.

Amazone - What would curcuma (tumneric?) do?

Policychecker - I do make sure I take 1 tablespoon altogether although I do use Olive oil for cooking... I mean you have to use oil for cooking right?  Does it count or is that a Duh question?

For now  I've incorported fish oil back again, so I'm taking  1 teaspoon Cod liver oil, about 1/2 tsp Flaxseed oil, and 1/2 tsp Black Currant Seed oil.  My hot flashes still prevail even though I'm taking something for my liver. I only get the hot flashes when I'm stressed, which is during the day, never during the night. So it's my adrenals for sure, and somehow they don't like the flaxseed, and my liver probably is not working great either at metabolizing the estrogen. I think I have too much that is the reason.  I think I'm just going to give up on it now. We've been having a heat wave here, and I'm throwing in the towel!  lol

Victoria - I don't know about Flaxseeds.. wouldn't be the same? I guess I could try.. Will see. Thanks for the idea.

Quoted from Candace

Victoria - I don't know about Flaxseeds.. wouldn't be the same? I guess I could try.. Will see. Thanks for the idea.

I like the blonde flaxseeds better - they are more tender and delicate, also they grind up really nicely.  Grind fresh before eating.  Flax oil goes rancid quickly.  If you continue to use flax oil, it needs to be always kept refrigerated.  Whole flax seeds don't have to be refrigerated, but after they are ground, they do.  Best to grind only what you will use immediately.

Hi there.
I just received a hair analysis from ARL labs showing that I have adrenal exhaustion (major copper toxicity), hypothyroidism,anemia, hypoglycemia, stressed liver and kidney. They are the main ones. i alsso some toxic aluminum.

I am a Slow Oxidizer which means I can tolerate only a small amount of fat/oil. This means that all protein sources (dairy, meats) and oils be considered to make up 1 tablespoon. This describes my blood type too, since most Blood type A's produce too much cortisol.

I am not in menopause way yet, but in peri-menopause. I was having my cycle every month still.
My estrogen and progesterone are both considered high. In any case, I understand now why the flax seed oil and tofu gave me hot flashes/sweating.. What was happening is that when one is high in estrogen already (due to copper toxicity) and their liver is stressed like mine,the extra estrogen that the flax oil and tofu  contain cannot be metabolized or flushed out of my liver properly. Thus leaving me with hot flashes/sweating.

A better way is to leave with anyone interested with the same problem, with a link to this website and this specific the article. Here's a piece of it:

From:   http://sensiblehealth.com/Journey-04.xhtml
The controversy about plant estrogens or phytoestrogens
There seems to be a common misconception in the natural health community that women with high estrogen levels should take phytoestrogen (plant estrogen) because phytoestrogens are "protective estrogens" which reduce estrogenic activity. It is believed that phytoestrogens compete with endogenous estrogens for estrogen receptors. When the estrogen receptors are occupied by phytoestrogens, cell divisions are reduced because phytoestrogens are "weak estrogens". This theory made sense to me until my own experience showed otherwise. With my endometriosis, my pain level was a measurement for my condition. When I tried Don Quei, Licorice, Ginseng and Royal Jelly, I did feel better initially for a few weeks because they helped my blood circulation. As I continued to take these remedies, my pain would come back with a vengeance, more severe than before. I realized that weak estrogens could add up significantly if given enough time. I believe that many women are misled by initial feelings of wellness without realizing that longer periods of usage actually makes the problem worse. Many other endometriosis sufferers that I know also have had similar experiences with phytoestrogen. After my personal experience, my belief is that weak plant estrogens may replace our own more potent estrogens for receptor sites, but our own estrogens still have to go somewhere if the liver is incapable of eliminating them.

I also wanted to mention that I used a supplement called Estrobalance from Enzymatic.
It is made from Broccolli and helps to filter out the bad estrogen from the liver.
I took it for 4 days and all my sweating and hot flashes are gone. THANK GOD.  
I'm sure that once my copper toxicity is gone as well, I will not have the problems.

I'm glad you found something that works!

Ruthiegirl... Thankyou !     Actually I see that Chloe up above had it right.. That's exactly what my issue was.. due to copper toxicity.

Quoted from Candace

Hi there.
I just received a hair analysis from ARL labs showing that I have adrenal exhaustion (major copper toxicity), hypothyroidism,anemia, hypoglycemia, stressed liver and kidney. They are the main ones. i alsso some toxic aluminum.

I am a Slow Oxidizer which means I can tolerate only a small amount of fat/oil. This means that all protein sources (dairy, meats) and oils be considered to make up 1 tablespoon. This describes my blood type too, since most Blood type A's produce too much cortisol.

I am not in menopause way yet, but in peri-menopause. I was having my cycle every month still.
My estrogen and progesterone are both considered high. In any case, I understand now why the flax seed oil and tofu gave me hot flashes/sweating.. What was happening is that when one is high in estrogen already (due to copper toxicity) and their liver is stressed like mine,the extra estrogen that the flax oil and tofu  contain cannot be metabolized or flushed out of my liver properly. Thus leaving me with hot flashes/sweating.

A better way is to leave with anyone interested with the same problem, with a link to this website and this specific the article. Here's a piece of it:

From:   http://sensiblehealth.com/Journey-04.xhtml
The controversy about plant estrogens or phytoestrogens
There seems to be a common misconception in the natural health community that women with high estrogen levels should take phytoestrogen (plant estrogen) because phytoestrogens are "protective estrogens" which reduce estrogenic activity. It is believed that phytoestrogens compete with endogenous estrogens for estrogen receptors. When the estrogen receptors are occupied by phytoestrogens, cell divisions are reduced because phytoestrogens are "weak estrogens". This theory made sense to me until my own experience showed otherwise. With my endometriosis, my pain level was a measurement for my condition. When I tried Don Quei, Licorice, Ginseng and Royal Jelly, I did feel better initially for a few weeks because they helped my blood circulation. As I continued to take these remedies, my pain would come back with a vengeance, more severe than before. I realized that weak estrogens could add up significantly if given enough time. I believe that many women are misled by initial feelings of wellness without realizing that longer periods of usage actually makes the problem worse. Many other endometriosis sufferers that I know also have had similar experiences with phytoestrogen. After my personal experience, my belief is that weak plant estrogens may replace our own more potent estrogens for receptor sites, but our own estrogens still have to go somewhere if the liver is incapable of eliminating them.

Hi Candace, great information. I've got two questions though;
1) Where/how did you order that ARL lab test?
2) How did you find out you're a slow acetylator?

Thanks

I just had a chat with my associate for my hair analysis and I got even more information!

She advised me to get off the Black Current Seed oil.  You see I replaced the Flax Oil with this oil which was also on my list of recommendations.

I was told Omega 6's are pro-inflammatory !  My hair test showed quite a lot of inflammation.
So, the Black Current Seed oil (which is Omega 3&6)  was also contributing to my continuing sweating and hot flashes !  It makes sense now why my hot flashes/sweating never went away after I stopped taking the Flax!!    

As a summary, if I would have eliminated any Omega 6 supplementation (except for Olive oil for cooking) and just taken Omega 3 supplmentation my hot flashes/sweating would have been gone as quickly as they came.   I would not have needed the Estrobalance supplement at all!

Hi Damon.

Yes.. ARL Laboratories in Arizona. I went through Dr. Lawrence (Larry)  Wilson in Arizona who has a unique gift of being shown how to analyze hair mineral tests, and healing through balancing body chemistry, mineral ratios and detoxification. He has select associates around N.America and some in Europe. Through the hair mineral test you can find out whether you are a slow,mixed or fast oxidizer!

The same thing happened with me with flax oil so I didn't take it anymore after two trials. It is happening with chicken too. I have the same question as Damon. How did you get your lab test ordered? My hormones/body is so messed up that I would love to get to the bottom of things. Thanks.

Hi Garden girl


Wow you too, huh? My associate told me it happened to her too. Especially when you have copper toxicity/adrenal fatigue you are already in Estrogen dominance!!!!

You can go through Dr. Larry Wilson who analyzes the tests predominantly ,and then goes over them with the associate who is your contact and advisor throughout. You can pick your associate.
You are given Hair analysis by ARL labs, a comprehensive report as well as your associate going through it with you, the right diet (whether you are slow, mixed,fast)  supplements from Endomet Labs, and a healing protocol just for you. Very affordable. Highly recommended.

http://drlwilson.com/do%20hair%20analysis.htm

you might want to rethink the flax and have the fish oil
http://www.4yourtype.com/prodinfo.asp?number=GT1%2D4SYN

unless swami were to compute a different genotype for you, given all your personal variables

also think of having a secretor test to finetune all your options......the discovery is well worth it

Hey Lola.
My swami calculated Flax and Black Current Seed oil for me... which is why I switched from Cod Liver oil to those..  I did mark off that I was prone to inflammation too, but maybe the fact that I'm in Adrenal Exhaustion and high Copper toxcity that for me Omega 6's are a no no right now..

Thanks. I will look into it.