Acne is a common skin condition that occurs when hair follicles under the skin become clogged. Sebum—an oil that helps protect skin from drying out—and dead skin cells clog pores, leading to breakouts, commonly called pimples or pimples. Although there haven't been many studies on flaxseed oil and acne, flaxseed supplements remain a popular acne treatment for both naturopaths and acne sufferers.
Flaxseed is traditionally used as a natural laxative that adds volume to the stool and lubricates it at the same time. But flaxseed oil has many other benefits that stem from its wealth of omega 3 essential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids are called so because we have to get them from our diet - our body does not make them. They are important for normal growth and development, brain function and help prevent chronic diseases such as arthritis and heart disease.
Essential fatty acids come in several forms, the most well-known being omega 3 fatty acids and omega 6 fatty acids. Omega-6 fatty acids are more common in our Western diet, found in oils such as safflower, sunflower, corn, sesame and other oils. It is possible to be deficient in omega 6 fatty acids if you rely only on omega 3 fats such as flax and fish oil as the main type of fat in your diet. Or if you take omega 3 fatty acids in larger amounts for one and a half to two years to restore the omega 3 deficiencies. But the more likely scenario is that the excess omega 6 fatty acids are consumed in proportion to the omega 3.
Symptoms of omega 3 fatty acid deficiency include dry skin, sticky platelets and tissue inflammation. Since inflammation is especially important to acne sufferers, it's easier to see why increasing the amount of omega 3 fatty acids in your diet is still a popular natural acne treatment.
Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in certain types of fish, such as salmon and mackerel, and flaxseed oil. And as well as reducing inflammation, omega 3s speed up healing – again important for acne sufferers – and reduce the stickiness of platelets. Platelet stickiness becomes important outside of heart health when you consider that blood cells carry the oxygen supply to cells, including cells in our skin and cells involved in healing.
There are 3 types of omega 3 fatty acids that are significant. These are alpha-linolenic acid (ALA or LNA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). ALA (or LNA, as it is often abbreviated) is converted to EPA and DHA in the body. EPA and DHA are the forms in which omega 3 is most easily used in the body. ALA supplementation has been found to reduce inflammation and improve dry skin.
Flaxseed oil is a very good source of ALA, containing on average 55% or more. However, the body needs good levels of zinc, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin B3 and vitamin B6 to make the conversion to EPA and DHA.
The recommended intake of ALA is about 2,220 mg per day. Higher doses are recommended to treat deficiencies or certain conditions. There is no real standard recommendation for acne sufferers, simply because not enough studies have been done on acne. But doses of 3,000 to 6,000 mg per day are used to prevent and treat some chronic conditions.
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