On the tenth day of Christmas my foodie gave to me...

10 Facts About Flaxseed

Send your special someone the gift of flax! You can send a pound of ground flaxseed along with these "Ten Facts About Flax." Or you can put together a little Flax Pack by packaging The Flax Cookbook with a pound of ground flaxseed... all wrapped up in holiday ribbon with a shiny new tablespoon measure dangling from the bow. The book is available on amazon.com for $11.64, and add a pound of ground flaxseed for about $2.50 per pound.

10 Facts About Flax

I think that flaxseed is one of the most nutritionally powerful plant foods on the planet. I believed this so much that I wrote a cookbook a few years ago titled, THE FLAX COOKBOOK. It was the first cookbook on the market that featured information and recipes for ground flaxseed. Quite a bit more research has come out since I wrote the book, most adding even more credibility to the idea of adding a tablespoon of ground flaxseed to your daily diet.

To help motivate you to add a tablespoon of ground flaxseed a day, here are 10 interesting facts about flax (most of which are from THE FLAX COOKBOOK):

1. Flaxseed has been on the planet for thousands of years and is currently mostly grown in Canada and the Dakota states.
2. You need to grind flaxseed before you eat or cook with it (or buy it ground) otherwise it passes through your digestive system and you don't get all of its nutritional attributes.
3. Flaxseed contains a high concentration of plant omega-3 fatty acids (around 1.5 grams per tablespoon) and lignans (phytoestrogen phytochemicals), which have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
4. Each tablespoon of ground flaxseed contributes about 2.3 grams of fiber, a combination of soluble and insoluble fiber.
5. A tablespoon of ground flaxseed also contributed some important vitamins and minerals: 6% of the recommended daily amount for vitamin B6, 6% for vitamin E, 15% for folic acid, and 12% for magnesium.
6. Three new studies published in June 2006 point to positive effect of flaxseed: reducing the risk of breast and colon cancers, and decreasing inflammation caused by the treatment of lung cancer.
7. Why attach a tablespoon measure if you are giving a pound of ground flaxseed to someone as a gift? It serves as a reminder of the amount of flax to work into each day. "I think it is reasonable to take one tablespoon of ground flaxseed a day," says Lilian Thompson, Ph.D., an expert on flaxseed from the University of Toronto.
8. Lilian Thompson's recent animal studies suggest that flaxseed does not interfere with the action of tamozifen (medication often given to women being treated for breast cancer), as previous studies have found, rather "it helps tamoxifen in reducing human breast tumor growth," says Thompson. "However, there are no clinical data on this interaction yet." So stay tuned!
9. It only takes two weeks! Eat a higher omega-3 fatty acid diet for two weeks and you will see a significant increase in desirable plant omega-3 concentrations in body tissues (a three to four-fold increase), according to an Australian study and earlier studies by Stephen Cunnane, a researcher with the University of Toronto.
10. What would a list of facts be without the obligatory disclaimer: Keep in mind that researchers have yet to conduct large, randomized studies on the role of flaxseed in reducing cancer and other health risks. For example, there is no conclusive data on the safety of flaxseed taken daily by children, and women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or on anti-estrogen medications.

~~Elaine

Related Topics: Adding Flaxseed to Your Diet, The Benefits of Flaxseed

Technorati Tags: flaxseed, cookbooks, holidaygifts, 12daysofchristmas

Image courtesy of Elaine Magee