Your immune system protects you from microorganisms that cause colds, flu and other ailments. Sometimes, however, immune cells make a mistake and attack your body's healthy cells or tissues, resulting in an autoimmune disease. These disorders may affect your joints, muscles or any of your organs. Seeds from the flax plant contain an oil that is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which have many benefits, including helping to prevent or improve some autoimmune problems. Consult your doctor to discuss if flax seed oil is a good choice for you.
Flax Seed Oil
The flax plant has been grown as a crop and used medicinally for thousands of years. Its seeds contain an oil that is rich in essential fatty acids, a type of fat the body needs but must obtain from food. One of these oils, alpha-linoleic acid or ALA, is an omega-3 fatty acid, a class of compounds that has many health benefits. These include suppressing inflammation, one of the processes that cause symptoms in autoimmune diseases.
Flax Seed Oil and the Immune System
When you experience an autoimmune disorder, your organs or tissues become inflamed, causing many problems, including swelling, discomfort and pain. Omega-3 fatty acids such as ALA in flax seed oil reduce inflammatory responses by your immune system. They suppress production by certain immune cells of natural chemicals that initiate inflammation; these include molecules called interleukins and leukotrienes. Overproduction of these compounds occurs in many autoimmune disorders.
Autoimmune Diseases
Because omega-3 fatty acids such as those in flax seed oil suppress inflammation, they may help improve some autoimmune diseases such as Sjogren's syndrome, an eye disorder, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus erythematosis. In a study of rheumatoid arthritis published in 2008 in "Rheumatology," subjects with the disorder who took omega-3 fatty acids were able to reduce their consumption of anti-inflammatory drugs compared to others who took a placebo. In another study in "Internal Medicine" in 2000, subjects with asthma who consumed plant-derived omega-3 fatty acids experienced an improvement in symptoms compared to a placebo group. While large clinical trials with flax seed oil are still needed, these results suggest that the oil may be beneficial for several autoimmune disorders.
Recommendations
Flax seed oil is available as an pure oil or as a supplement in capsules from most health food stores. It is generally considered safe and without significant side effects. The usual dose is one tablespoon, two or three times daily, or one to two capsules each day. Flax seed oil may affect the speed at which some medications are absorbed by your body. Do not consume the oil if you have diabetes, prostate problems or breast cancer. Discuss its use with your doctor in detail before adding it to your regimen.
References
- National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases: Autoimmune Diseases
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center: Omega-3
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Omega-3 Fatty Acids
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Flaxseed
- "Rheumatology"; Cod Liver Oil (N-3 Fatty Acids) as a Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory...; B. Galarraga et al.; May 2008
- "Internal Medicine"; Effects of Dietary Supplementation witn N-3 Fatty Acids Compared with N-6 Fatty Acids on Bronchial Asthma; M. Okamoto et al.; February 2000
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