Posted by Larry Hoover on June 5, 2006, at 8:08:24
In reply to Re: Just a little flax oil FYI, posted by cecilia on June 5, 2006, at 3:34:10
> That's scary! You (I mean you personally, not the manufacturer) can't put vitamin E in capsules. I have some flax oil capsules that do have Vitamin E added, but some others (cold-pressed, organic) where the label doesn't mention anything about vitamin E. Now I wonder if they're safe. I have them in the refrigerator and the expiration date isn't til 2007. Cecilia
One of the main sources of vitamin E, natural source vitamin E, is flax oil.
You needn't worry that there's none there, because there is lots there. And, the gelcap container keeps the oil away from molecular oxygen, to a pretty substantial extent. It's not totally sealed up, inside a capsule, but it's close. So, you will get far lengthier shelf life out of encapsulated oil than you will from a bulk oil.
Every time you take some oil from a bulk container, you slosh it around, mixing air into it. You tip it over, forcing air in and out. And then you leave it for a while, permitting any oxygen that got in there to do damage......unless, you added in some of Mother Nature's special heavy duty anti-oxidant called vitamin E. You can't put too much in there, but you can put too little. Once oxygen from the air uses up what Mother Nature provided, the oil will turn rancid. Every time you open a bulk container, open the seal, you let more oxygen in. Thus, the short shelf life of bulk liquid flax oil......unless you entend the shelf life by helping to protect it, with extra vitamin E. Or, you could portion the oil out, and freeze the portions you'll use later. But you have to have little to no air in the freezer packs, for the same reason as above.
If you're worried at all about your capsules, break one open and smell it. It should not have any pungent notes. A little bit of pungency is okay, too. Like eating a stale nut, instead of a fresh one.....still good, just no longer great. It's a sliding scale, into rancidity.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:651612
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20060601/msgs/653121.html