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Both my husband and best friend had high blood pressure and cholest. issues. My friend tried Flax seed oil and had a complete recovery in 7 days. My husband had the same results in 5. It's the best kept secret, as far as I'm concerned.

I'd like to add an affirmative vote on the wonders of flax seed oil. A few years back, I was listening to the radio and heard a fellow by the name of Thomas Smith talking about diabetes and how flax seed oil had helped him with the problem.

For reasons that I won't go into here, I tried the oil. It turned out that I didn't have diabetes, but, within a week, my allergy problems, that had grown progressively worse for years, were dramatically reduced in their scope and intensity.

This prompted me to buy and read Smith's book, and my world view of health, nutrition and medicine was forever changed. Smith is an engineer who was diagnosed with Type II, insulin resistance, diabetes. He didn't like the idea of taking prescription drugs for the rest of his life. Accordingly, he went into the library and began reading the medical literature.

He learned enough to cure his diabetes primarily by changing his diet, and his book, "Insulin: Our Silent Killer," is his story. The basic idea is that flax seed oil is high in the omega-3 fatty acids. These are among the "essential" fats to have in our diets because our bodies cannot produce them.

The omega-3's are an important component in cell walls through which glucose must travel before it can be used in the cell interior. A deficiency in the omega-3's results in cell walls that are less efficient in transmitting glucose to the interior; and this, in turn, results in an increase in the concentration of glucose and insulin in the bloodstream. This is bad for one's cardiovascular health.

We are a nation starved for the omega-3 fats because the fats and oils that are most likely in "your" kitchen, have been processed to the point where they are devoid of these essential nutrients. Smith talks about the history of fat and oil production in his book and correlates it with the mid-century rapid growth of cardiovascular problems in our country.

I start my day with flax seed that is freshly ground in a coffee grinder. The seed is cheaper than the oil and doesn't have to be refrigerated. You can also get the omega-3's from fish oil (have you ever heard of cod liver oil?).

You can buy these products at any heath food or natural food store, or your local food co-op. Smith self-published his book and, besides having typos and some grammatical errors, it is not available through the normal book stores. You can purchase it through KHNC ( The American Freedom Network), a local radio station in Colorado (800-205-6245).