General Questions

We always recommend that our oils are taken with food - taking it from the spoon on an empty stomach may cause nausea in some people.

Some people on first taking   Flaxseed Oil find that it causes diarrhoea.   If this occurs, reduce your intake until bowel function is normalised.

Where liver function is poor, taking too much Flaxseed Oil may over load the liver with fats.   Massaging Flaxseed Oil into the skin, especially straight after a shower, allows the body to absorb and use the oil without overloading the liver.

Some people may be allergic to Flaxseed Oil, although this is reportedly very rare.   Signs of an allergic reaction might include rash, itching or shortness of breath.   If any of these occur after taking Flaxseed Oil or Fibre and nothing else in the diet or environment has been changed, stop taking the product.

Gamma Linolenic Acid is not recommended for people who suffer from temporal lobe epilepsy.   Such people should therefore use Flax Original rather than the Flax Boost or Flax Magic blends.

Because of the careful way we manufacture our Waihi Bush Organic Farm Flaxseed Oil products, they are shelf stable at room temperatures up to about 30oC. Take care not to store in direct sunlight.

Once opened, Waihi Bush Organic Farm Flaxseed Oil products must be kept in the fridge and should be consumed within six weeks.  

Light and oxygen turn the oil rancid so the bottle must be kept closed except during use.

As with any gelatine, the capsules will go mouldy with prolonged contact with oxygen so must also be kept sealed unless in use.   Capsules do not need to be refrigerated but must be kept away from a direct heat source and direct sunlight (don't keep in the glove box of the car!).

We can only give rough guidelines on how much oil to take as everyone is unique in their requirement for essential fatty acids (EFAs).   It is better to start off with a little and build up slowly to minimise the likelihood of adverse reactions such as nausea or diarrhoea.

Suggested serving sizes are:

• Baby: 1 teaspoon/day. For babies, massaging with Flaxseed Oil is a good way to obtain its health benefits, or else a little oil can be mixed in with their feed.   If mum is breast feeding, the good fats will be passed on to baby in her milk.
• Toddler: 1 tablespoon/day
• Pregnant / lactating women:   1 - 2 tablespoon

Note: Flax Bloom is the product of choice for pregnant or lactating mothers and Flax Magic is recommended for small children because it is easier for a developing body to utilise.

Lignans act as a phytoestrogen and they are converted in a healthy gut to SDG, a human lignan with potent antioxidant substance, with a hormone-like structure.   Phytoestrogens are compounds found naturally in the plant world that have weak oestrogenic activity in the human body.

Flax Fibre is a rich source of lignans. 

We recommend 1 tablespoon of  Flax Fibre Original per day.

This is a serving size that most people can tolerate as support for a balanced diet.

However, lignan's can act as a weak phytooestrogen, so individual sensitivity can vary and pregnant women should seek advice from a health care professional before taking this product.

Our Waihi Bush Organic Farm Flaxseed Oil, Capsules and Flaxseed Fibre have a shelf life of 13 months unopened if stored according to our recommendations (i.e. away from direct sunlight and a direct heat source, at temperatures no greater than 30oC).

Crop and Food Research Ltd in Lincoln, Christchurch have done extensive testing and we have revised our policy regarding refrigeration on the shelf and extended our shelf life following these results.

Once opened our oils must be kept refrigerated and used within six weeks.

Hemp Seed Oil is more fragile, so only has a shelf life of 12 months and should be used within 4 weeks of opening.

The capsules do not require refrigeration but must be stored cool and dry.

All Flaxseed currently used by Functional Whole Foods New Zealand Ltd is grown by Certified Organic arable farmers in New Zealand, from Hawkes Bay down to West Otago, but mainly in Canterbury

No. The Flaxseed used in our products, is also known as linseed, is from the plant Linum usitatissimum.

In New Zealand the totally unrelated plant Phormium tenax is called New Zealand flax because it is useful for making fibres, just as linenflax or linseed is used to make linen.

Waihi Bush Organic Farm  bottles, lids and labels are all recyclable.

For more detailed information about the sustainability of our packaging see 'Why dont you use Glass Bottles'

There has been some confusion between these two names. Flaxseed Oil could also be called linseed oil, which is sold in hardware stores as wood treatment.

Flaxseed and linseed are often used interchangeably but there is an important difference.

Europeans and North Americans use Flaxseed Oil to describe the oils produced with health in mind and used for human or animal consumption to promote health.

They use the term linseed oil to describe the used as wood treatment or when it has been processed for industrial purposes - such oils will not promote health.