Flax oil contains only about 2% of the lignans found in flax seed.

Because lignans are water-soluble, they dissolve very poorly in oil and therefore, when flax oil is pressed, most of the lignans remain in the flax seed cake. 'High lignan' flax oil is 'dirty' flax oil in which the fine seed material suspended in flax oil, when it is pressed, has not been filtered or allowed to settle out, but is permitted to settle to the bottom of the bottle. There, the seed material, which contains lignans, compacts.

The buyer gets less oil, pays more, and does not obtain the lignans unless he scrapes, with a thin pointed object, the seed material containing the lignans that is stuck to the bottom of the bottle. Since the oil is packaged in black plastic, the buyer is usually not aware that this material has adhered to the bottom and is not alerted to this fact either. A second problem with leaving seed material in the flax oil is that this material usually has a high bacterial count, and can contaminate the oil. That is why oils should be filtered before being bottled.

Lignans are highly valuable phytonutrients, and are very good for health. The seed cake material rather than the oil contains most of them (about 98%). Lignans have anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial properties. They also show anti-cholesterol, anti-cancer, anti-diabetes, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-lupus benefits. In addition, lignans are phytoestrogens (weak estrogen activity), and therefore decrease high estrogen in women before menopause (protect against estrogen-related cancers) and increase estrogen after menopause (serve as estrogen replacement).

Lignans are found in many plants, including flax, sesame, and red clover, but flaxseed is by far the richest source. It contains about 100 times more lignans than the next highest known source. Unfortunately, the oil in flax is too rich in omega-3 for the amount of omega-6 it contains (omega-3 :omega-6 ratio is 3.5-4 :1), and has led many people to suffer symptoms of omega-6 deficiency.

The richest source of lignans, along with the best kinds of fiber, proteins, and enzymes is a product called Udo's Choice Wholesome Fast Food Blend™. It contains more lignans than flaxseed (because much of the oil is removed, concentrating the lignans). It contains more than 10 times more lignans than 'high lignan' flax oil would provide per equal amount of volume or weight, even if all of the seed material containing lignans was scraped off the bottom of the plastic bottles of those products and eaten.

A second very rich source of lignans, along with greens, several kinds of fiber, antioxidants, phytonutrients, and enzymes is a whole food blend called Udo's Choice Beyond Greens. It contains about 7 times more lignans than 'high lignan' flax oil.

In both Wholesome Fast Food Blend and Beyond Greens, the oil remaining in the seed cake (about 13% of the total weight of the product) includes sesame and sunflower (omega-6), so that the omega-3 :omega-6 ratio is 1.7 :1 in the former, and 1.1 :1 in the latter. These ratios prevent omega-6 deficiency.

Flaxseeds and flax seed cake are two other rich sources of lignans, but oil in the seed (about 35-45%) and seed cake (about 13%) has the same poor ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 that can lead to omega-6 deficiency.

The newest twist on the lignan story is the ridiculous notion that lignans really provide most of the benefits that have been ascribed to essential fats.

That story is completely false. It is an attempt to take market share away from oil-based essential fat products and replace the good oils with flaxseed products. The truth is that omega-3 and omega-6 essential fats, in the right ratio, amount, and shape (not damaged by destructive processing) are absolutely essential for health. They have a strong track record on their own, apart from any benefits of the lignans and fiber that are also present in flaxseed and seed cake.

Essential fats and lignans both have very useful health properties.

Essential fats are one of the 14 components of health.

Phytonutrients, which include lignans and hundreds of other useful molecules found in plants, herbs, and seeds, make up another of the 14 components of health. The other components of health include greens, water, air, light, minerals, vitamins, essential amino acids (from proteins), fuel, probiotics, digestive enzymes, fiber, and antioxidants.