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Health Facts about Flaxseeds

By Laura Ng

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 07Nov2007 Word count: 556 Viewed: 401 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

We need essential fatty acids (EFAs), namely the linoleic acid (LA) and the alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), as they form the building blocks for the cells that make up our bodies. They're vital in regulating the functions of our brain, organs and nervous system. If deficiency in either one occurs, problems will arise such as vision and learning impairment, dry and irritated skin, mood and behavioral changes, fertility issues and heart disease.

LA and ALA are converted into omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids respectively by our bodies which perform more important tasks in regulating blood clotting, platelet aggregation, blood pressure and cell proliferation.

The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that we should maintain an ideal ratio of omega-6:omega-3 fatty acids as 2:1. The average American diet contains way too much omega-6 and insufficient omega-3. Even for vegans and vegetarians, the scale is tipping towards omega-6 because more processed foods containing more omega-6 than omega-3 are being consumed.

It's important to keep LA and ALA in balance because both are competing for the enzymes needed to convert into omega-6 & 3.

Sources of Omega-6 and Omega-3

Vegans and vegetarians can obtain LA easily from processed oils such as sunflower, corn, grapeseed, seeds, walnuts and grains which convert readily to omega-6. But it's more difficult to balance omega-3. Other than the fact that the conversion is less efficient, the sources for ALA are decreasing as food processing often removes the unstable ALA.

All is not lost though as vegans and vegetarians can still increase their omega-3 intake by eating unprocessed seeds. All seeds provide good sources of essential fatty acids.

Flaxseed - The Best Source of Omega-3

Of all seeds, flaxseeds (the seeds of the plant Linum usitatissimum) have the highest ALA and lowest LA, thus can help improve the imbalance in essential fatty acids. Therefore, flaxseeds should form an important part of a vegan or vegetarian diet.

Health Benefits of Flaxseed

As mentioned above, ALA in flaxseed has many health benefits. One of them is to protect the heart in two ways - through improvements in abnormal heart rhythms and a reduction of blood platelet stickiness. ALA also reduces LDL or "bad" cholesterol and lipoprotein levels for the prevention of heart attacks and stroke.

ALA also keeps blood pressure at normal level by inhibiting inflammatory effects on blood vessels, thereby preventing formation of plaque on blood vessels which cause poor blood circulation.

Flaxseeds contain approximately 28% fiber, soluble and insoluble. The insoluble fiber helps to relieve constipation, improve colon health and may prevent colon cancer. The soluble fiber comes primarily from mucilage fiber, which is also a great stool softener when consumed with lots of fluid. It also prevents toxicity which results from constipation.

In addition, mucilage fiber slows down sugar absorption into the body, thereby stabilizes blood sugar and control cravings. It helps those who are obese, diabetic or hyperglycemic to overcome overeating and carbohydrate addiction.

Flaxseeds contain the highest level of lignans among all plants. Lignans are phytoestrogens which resemble human hormone estrogens. Despite being much weaker than human estrogens, they nevertheless help to balance hormone levels in the body and may protect against breast, colon, prostate and skin cancer.

Lignans may also have antioxidant properties and hence may reduce cell damage caused by free radicals. Therefore, it is said to be effective in slowing down diabetes Type 1 and 2.

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