I have heard from several sources that you cannot cook with flaxseed oil (but that you can cook with milled flaxseeds) because it will denature the omega-3 fatty acids. However I keep reading stories that eating cooked fish is healthy because of the omega 3 content.
So why is it that eating cooked fish provides the benefits of omega-3s but supposedly if you cook something and use flaxseed oil (instead of vegetable oil) it will ruin the omega-3s of the flaxseed? Is there something to fish that keeps the omega-3 fatty acids stable or is it that only a small amount of omega-3s are destroyed in cooking?
Basically, why does adding flaxseed oil to a food when you cook it cause the omega-3 fatty acid to denature while the omega-3 fatty acids in fish still remain effective and active in the body even when you cook them?
I don’t get why eating cooked fish provides omega-3 benefits though. Fish is cooked at 400 F, and the omega-3s are still active enough to have an effect on things like demetia, depression and cardiovascular disease.
The oil in which fish is cooked may reach 400°F, but the fish itself is held below ~212°F by its water content. If you cook it long enough to drive off the water and reach higher temperatures, you end up with tough, burnt fish.
The tissue structure of the fish impedes oxygen diffusion, so unsaturated oils in the cell membranes are protected from oxidation.
[ul][li]The recipes I’ve seen to include flax seeds are things like multigrain bread; this does not reach the same temperatures during cooking as does frying oil.[/li][li]Flax seed oil oxidisies quite readily in contact with air, or at least some of its components do - notably the ones you’re interested in.[/li][li]fFax seed oil is also known as linseed oil - it has quite a strong waxy/oily taste of its own - there may be a tendency for anything you cook in/with large amounts of it, to taste like cricket bats.[/li][/ul]