Flax seeds: what they are, benefits and how to use them
When it comes to healthy eatingFlax seeds should definitely be on your list. It’s accessible, cheap and incredibly healthyand the best part is that you don’t even have to cook it.
This product is also known as flaxseed. and according to experts, it’s the closest thing to a superfood. “These little seeds are the unsung heroes of the plant world,” explains registered dietitian Jennifer Scheinman of Timeline Nutrition. “They are a source of nutrition.”
This may seem like an exaggeration, but it’s true: numerous well-conducted studies have shown that Eating flax seeds has many benefits, including improving digestion and heart health, and reducing the risk of certain cancers, obesity and diabetes. Eating flaxseed may even relieve menopausal symptoms, which (among many other troubles) usually include gastrointestinal problems.
But the attraction doesn’t end there: Flax seeds are very rich in nutrients that influencers have been using them in at-home beauty treatments for their skin and hair lately: “This botox at home“, declares the viral Tiktok, “and the best part is that it has two ingredients: flax seeds and water. It also works as a natural shampoo.”
While comparing flax seeds to Botox may be an exaggeration, there is no doubt that they have many transformative properties, especially when taken orally. But what are flax seeds, how should they be used and how they specifically benefit health?
Zoe Gertner.
What are flax seeds?
Flaxseed sounds exactly like this: seed of a plant called flax. The seeds are very small (similar in size and shape to sesame seeds), golden or brown in color. And an interesting fact: people have been growing flax for thousands of years for its seeds, oil and fiber; in fact, your favorite linen shirts are made from its fibrous stalks.
Benefits of flax seeds
flax-seed contain a large number of compounds good for your health, including fiber, lignans and antioxidants, as well as vitamins and minerals such as thiamine and magnesium. They are also one of the few plant sources of essential fatty acids. Omega 3an important nutrient also found in fish oil that has been shown to help lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease: “Flax seeds are rich in nutrients. something that American diets often lack,” Scheinman says.