When you think of heart health do you immediately think of gyms, dietary regimes and pills as you head straight for the couch? Sometimes it all seems like too much effort, especially if you buy in to the all or nothing approach. Here at PPC we favour the approach of taking small, bitesized steps towards big changes. Drum roll. Flax seed. The sum total of those incremental steps pay huge dividends when they all start stacking up. And when it comes to heart health, adding flax seed to your diet will provide an impressive return on investment.
Benefits
High in fibre and packed with vitamin B1, omega 3 essential fatty acids, flax was first cultivated by the early Egyptians. Something of a wonder plant, flax has been used for food, clothing and woven for utensils. More than a mere superfood, flax is medicine, potentially able to provide the following benefits;
Improved digestion
Lower cholesterol
Clearer skin
Weight loss
Reduced Blood Pressure
Research has found that dietary flaxseed consumption reduces both systolic and diastolic blood pressure (that’s the top and bottom number). Flaxseed reduces blood pressure in healthy subjects as well as those already experiencing hypertension. If you’re looking for ways of making dietary changes, flax is a great place to start. And if you’re already in full flow with diet and exercise, flax will give your existing efforts a boost.
How to add Flax
If you’re wondering how to add flax into your diet, look no further. You can buy ready ground flax (sometimes called linseed) in health food stores and supermarkets. Or, grab your coffee grinder and get your flax on at home.
Here at PPC we add it to our morning oats, kefir and fruit for a nutty flavour (see the photo for one made earlier).
Try adding a teaspoon of flax to smoothies for a protein boost.
Flax can also be added to soup, casseroles.
Add to yogurt with honey
If you’re baking biscuits, muffins, bread or flapjacks, sneaking flax in is easy, add a tablespoon or two for some extra Omega 3.
Sources
Rodriguez-leyva D, Weighell W, Edel AL, et al. Potent antihypertensive action of dietary flaxseed in hypertensive patients. Hypertension. 2013;62(6):1081-1089.
Journal of Nutrition Lifestyle Counseling and Supplementation with Flaxseed or Walnuts Influence the Management of Metabolic Syndrome1,2,3,4
Hongyu Wu5, An Pan6, Zhijie Yu5, Qibin Qi5, Ling Lu5, Geng Zhang5,
Danxia Yu5, Geng Zong5, Yunhua Zhou5, Xiafei Chen7, Lixin Tang7,
Ying Feng7, Hong Zhou8, Xiaolei Chen8, Huaixing Li5,
Wendy Demark-Wahnefried9, Frank B. Hu6,10,11,*, and Xu Lin5,*
Flaxseed dietary fibers lower cholesterol and increase fecal fat excretion, but magnitude of effect depend on food type
Mette Kristensen, Morten G Jensen, Julie Aarestrup, Kristina EN Petersen,
Lise Søndergaard, Mette S Mikkelsen and Arne Astrup
Nutrition & Metabolism20129:8 DOI: 10.1186/1743-7075-9-8© Kristensen et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2012 Received: 23 November 2011Accepted: 3 February 2012Published: 3 February 2012
- photo courtesy of the brilliant Unsplash.
