Hippocrates tossed them as easily as aspirins on prescriptions for abdominal pains, and King Charles the Great was so convinced of their health benefits that he passed a royal decree ordering his subjects to pop the treats. While health scientists and nutritionists have been huffing and puffing over the scientific health value of the nutty trifle, it’s the latest buzzword to have caught among health writers advocating the golden brown seeds as the new food fad that hit the market since its cultivation a biblical millennia ago. To that end, I don’t have my doubts.
DUNK ‘EM DIABETES
High in dietary fiber, low in carbohydrate content, packed with micronutrients and omega-3 fatty acids, flaxseeds are a wonderful go-food for diabetics. They also have been shown to reduce the glycemic index of the foods if incorporated in recipes.
A study published last year by food and nutrition researchers at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India, found that food supplementation with flaxseeds reduced fasting blood glucose in type 2 diabetics by almost 20 percent.
A favorable reduction in total cholesterol (14 percent), triglycerides (17.5 percent), low density lipoprotein/bad cholesterol (22 percent) with an increase in high density lipoprotein/good cholesterol (12 percent) was observed, adding therapeutic potential in the overall management of both diabetes and high lipid profiles.
Evidence also suggests that the dietary fiber and lignin content of flaxseeds provide the hypocholesterolemic (lowering cholesterol) action.
CANCER CROSSER
A study recently published by Lee J and Cho K from the North Dakota State University has reported growth inhibition of breast cancer cells from the use of flaxseeds.
The same inhibitory effects on cancer proliferation were reported on colonic cancer cells in laboratory rats in another study replicated at Tanta University in Egypt.
Flaxseeds contain the highest number of over 800 lignins known in plants, which bind onto estrogen receptors in the body and interfere with the cancer promoting effects caused by estrogens on breast, colon and prostrate tissue. Lignins also act as antioxidants providing protection from cancer and aging.
HEART HEALER
Flaxseeds are a rich source of three cardio-protective components: omega-3 fatty acid alpha linolenic acid (ALA), dietary fiber, and lignins.
They decrease levels of inflammatory agents and reactions that can lead up to plaque formation in the heart, thereby preventing strokes and attacks. Studies have suggested that foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids prevent clogging up of arteries. Dietary flaxseed may also protect against ischemic heart disease by improving vascular relaxation responses and by inhibiting incidences of ventricular fibrillation.
A WOMAN’S FOOD?
While some preliminary studies suggested that flaxseeds may potentially be an effective treatment for hot flashes, the results of a study published by the Mayo Clinic early this year did little more than show dips in the intensity of hot flashes in more than a third of the women who participated in the study. While gastrointestinal effects like flatulence, distention and diarrhea were adversely experienced, more consistent data and research needs to be published to give full credence to flaxseeds’ many wonder food claims.
SOME TIPS TO CONSIDER
1. Flaxseeds can be bought whole or powdered. Powdered flaxseed is better digested than whole.
2. Whole flaxseeds can be added to salads, soups and yoghurts for added crunch and nutty flavor. Use ground flaxseed to bake bread, bagels, cakes or muffins. Substitute one-third or two-third of the flour content with flaxseed powder.
3. One to two teaspoons of ground flaxseed can be consumed daily. It’s safer to consume it with liquids to prevent intestinal blockages.
4. Freeze the powder in plastic packages to retain its nutritional potency and to prolong shelf life.
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Why eat flaxseed?
Why eat flaxseed?
