20 Reasons to Eat Flaxseed Daily

Flaxseed could be called a super-food. It has many amazing benefits. Even if the results of every study aren’t 100% conclusive, there is enough evidence of the benefits of flaxseed that we don’t need to wait for further study to begin enjoying its benefits and see what it will do for us.

Freely eat whole is not a scientific research site. There are plenty of those out there, and that is not my forte!

My focus is not on reducing our health and foods to isolated bits of scientific research on isolated bits of nutrients or compounds. Nor is it the magic pill view believing that there is one super-food/nutrient/supplement (or a handful of such) that will do it all for us in one fell swoop. Rather mine is the wholistic viewpoint (based on scientific research, but more importantly based on God’s Word) that eating a variety of whole plant foods provides us with the nutrients we need for vibrant health, without having to count calories or carbs or known nutrients. Freely eating whole is Simple. But what those foods do synergistically is complex, and will never be fully discovered by man’s scientific research. Eating should be more of an art than a science.

But, that said, occasionally, I do like to include a few discoveries that are particularly helpful. And today is one of those days. 🙂

Let’s take a look at Flaxseed:

“The science has never been clearer: flaxseed deserves to be top of the list of the world’s most powerful medicinal foods. For just pennies a day it may protect against dozens of life-threatening health conditions. ” ~ Sayer Ji, GreenMedInfo.com

“Some call it one of the most powerful plant foods on the planet. There’s some evidence it may help reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes. That’s quite a tall order for a tiny seed that’s been around for centuries.” ~ WebMD

Flax has some fantastic properties:

• High in Omega 3 “good fats”–ALA
• High in antioxidants and plant estrogens–#1 source of Lignans
• High in magnesium, manganese, B vitamins
• High in fiber
• Anti-inflammatory
• Anti-viral, anti-bacterial

And quite a bit of research has shown its benefits against:

• Hypertension
• Arrhythmia
• Heart failure
• Cholesterol (heart attacks, strokes)
• Cancer (colon, prostate, breast, ovarian, skin)
• Diabetes/blood sugar (glycemic control)
• Inflammation (asthma, Parkinson’s, and others)
• Lung disease
• Women’s hormonal imbalance (menopause, osteoporosis, and menstruation)
• Weight (obesity, overweight)
• Digestive dis-ease (Crohn’s, gut flora imbalance, constipation)
• Liver disease
• Depression
• Radiation toxicity

Flaxseed is best eaten ground, as the whole flax is not very digestible, and will mostly go through you whole. That’s great for the fiber aspect, but not the other nutrients. Flax should be purchased whole though, as with its rich omega oils it can go rancid quickly. It can be easily ground into flax meal in a coffee grinder or blender. You can blend enough to last you for a couple weeks or so, and store in the refrigerator (or possibly grind more and store in the freezer.)

Add ground flaxseed to smoothies, granola, oatmeal or other cereals, breads, muffins or other baked goods, sprinkled over potatoes or steamed vegetables, or a myriad of other foods.

1 tablespoon a day is recommended by most health minded doctors and other nutritional advisors.

Fun fact! You can also use ground flaxseed as an egg replacement in baked goods, or as a binder in other recipes. Mix 1 Tbl. ground flaxseed with 3 Tbl. purified water, per egg you’re replacing. Let set for several minutes while you get your other ingredients together. Then use like an egg in your recipe. Flax is mucilagenic, so it will have the texture of an egg white.

Comment below: Do you eat flaxseed? How?