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We dribble some flax seed oil over our dogs' food each meal. Supposedly it promotes a healthy coat. Turns out that flax seed and linseed oil are the same thing. Learn something every day.

I take a Flaxseed oil capsule every morning and I can testify that it doesn't prevent male pattern baldness, also what little hair is left isn't especially healthy.
Mike

Linseed oil and flaxseed oil ARE NOT the same thing!

Although both are derived from the same plant, only flaxseed oil is safe for human or canine consumption. Linseed oil commonly contains additives that may be toxic to you or your dog. Linseed oil is not as pure or as refined as flaxseed oil, and is intended for industrial or wood finishing purposes.

Straight linseed oil is not very suitable as a gunstock finish, but does have some utility as a wood cleaner. Boiled linseed oil is commonly used and recommended as a gunstock finish, but it was mainly used by gunmakers because it is relatively cheap and available. Boiled linseed oil as a stock finish offers little protection, and does next to nothing to prevent moisture exchange into gunstocks. It can make an attractive finish, but there are much better choices, (and Timberluxe is not one of them).

I use boiled linseed oil every year around this time as an ingredient in the mixture I spray under my vehicles to prevent road salt from eating them up. The crosslinking of the BLO as it oxidizes supposedly helps keep the mix from washing away. But by the following summer, it's about all gone.

Just so that no one gets confused by this statement, linseed oil and flaxseed oil are the exact same thing with different names used based on their intended purposes.


"Cold-pressed linseed oil" and "cold pressed flaxseed oil" are identical in every way (assuming the labeling is correct), except packaging and intended purpose. (There are also 'hot press' and ''solvent extraction' methods of obtaining flaxseed/linseed oil)

'Refined Linseed Oil' and 'Refined Flaxseed Oil' both contain 100% linseed oil with no additives, the refinement being the removal of impurities and plant matter remaining from the extraction process. Again, only the package and purpose are different. Here's an article on alkali refinement of linseed oil, for those interested. As the authors point out, "[Linseed oil] is widely used today, not only in artist materials, but also for a wide range of industrial applications and as a dietary supplement." And here is an artist showing a traditional method of making "refined linseed oil", starting with food grade "flax seed oil."

"Polymerized Linseed Oil" is flaxseed/linseed oil that has been heated in the absence of oxygen to increase viscosity and decrease drying time. Still food safe, assuming no other additives, but no health advantage to polymerization as far as I can tell. Tried and True is my favorite maker of polymerized linseed oil, but there are others out there.

"Boiled Linseed Oil", of course, may be heated in some cases, but is generally the term used for flaxseed oil that has been processed with the addition of chemicals that improve performance as a product, but also make it toxic. Don't drink it.