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Seeds of Health

Patients eating meals at the Whitaker Wellness Institute frequently leave the table and wander over to the buffet where we keep a large bowl of flaxseed and a coffee grinder. A couple of tablespoons into the grinder, a quick push, and the fluffy, powdery ground seeds are ready to be sprinkled on cereal or salad or added to a drink.

You want to lower your cholesterol without taking dangerous cholesterol-lowering drugs? Use flaxseed. You want to reduce your risk of breast or prostate cancer—or slow down tumor growth if you have cancer? Use flaxseed. You want to keep your arteries pliant and retard atherosclerosis? Use flaxseed. Simply put, flaxseed is one of the most uniquely beneficial foods available.

Flax (Linum usitatissimum) is one of the oldest domesticated crops. Prized for its fibers (Egyptian mummies were wrapped in linen made from flax) and its oil (used for everything from cooking to fueling lamps), flaxseed also has a long history of medicinal use. Eighth-century French king Charlemagne was so bullish on flax that he passed a law requiring his subjects to eat it. Although flaxseed’s industrial uses—the oil is used in paints, plastics, and linoleum—have overshadowed its medicinal uses in the past century, it has made a comeback among the health-conscious.

The first of flax’s health benefits to be discovered was the unique composition of its oil. Unlike most seeds and nuts, the dominant fat in flaxseed oil is an essential omega-3 fatty acid that is converted in the body into EPA and DHA. These are the same fats that give fish oil its broad range of cardiovascular and anti-inflammatory effects. Flaxseed contains far more of this important fat than any other plant.

Flax is also a great source of protein and fiber. A quarter cup of ground flaxseed contains almost 8 grams of high-quality protein and 11 grams of fiber—well over half of what the average American gets in a day. Flax fiber is a good mix of insoluble fiber (roughage) that helps prevent constipation and soluble fiber, the gelatinous mucilage that lowers cholesterol.

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