Flaxseed Helps Lower Cholesterol
At the gym one day I overheard a trainer telling a client to rub flaxseed oil all over his body. He claimed it helps make your muscles tighter.
I don't know if flaxseed oil can do that--maybe you do--but a new study has determined one thing flaxseed oil can't do is lower cholesterol.
Turns out, it's only whole flaxseed that does it.
Most people don't know about flaxseed. They're practically little vitamin pills, loaded with omega-3 fatty acids and fiber, good for heart, digestive and brain health. But, those flaxseed oil supplements don't fair as well.
New studies, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, show people consuming whole flaxseed had drops in total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol, particularly in individuals with higher levels of cholesterol from the get-go.
However, this wasn't the case for those trendy flaxseed oil pills. Flaxseed oil supplements lead to no declines in total and LDL (or "bad") cholesterol. So don't start rubbing yourself down with them anytime soon.
I've been eating cold-milled flaxseed for years now. I've got clinical depression, so the omega fats keep my brain in check. Do any of you use flaxseed or flaxseed oil?
Via Reuters.
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Flaxseed when it's ground can go rancid fairly quickly and doesn't have a long shelf life. A tip that I learned recently was to buy the whole flaxseeds and buy a cheap coffee grinder and grind up the flaxseed up as you need it. How clever! Then there's no waste by throwing out a bag of ground flaxseed that's gone off. Whole flaxseed have a long shelf life.
ReplyI use flaxseed in so many things from oatmeal to turkey meatloaf to homemade protein bars & more! I really thing it has made a difference sine I added it to my food program.
Replyno, but I use krill oil, one of the best sources of omega 3. Great for reducing inflammation.
ReplyYour saying "whole" flaxseed to differentiate it from flaxseed oil...but it still must be ground. I use it every day in my oatmeal, and add it to any other baked goods I can think of. I have a little electric spice grinder and I grind enough seeds to fill up a little snack baggie (you want it to be as fresh as possible)... it takes 3-4 days to go through it all. My cholesterol numbers dropped at least 20 points lower than my normal.
BTW, I usually add 2-3 TBS to a pot of 3 or 4 cups of oatmeal or to a muffin or pancake recipe... I'd be interested to hear the proportions other people use
ReplyIt is true that most flax milled can go rancid quickly even if you grind it yourself, just grind for the day. But a better alternative is Flax USA Real Cold Milled flax seed that has a shelf stable 22 month shelf life. All the nutrients stay intack and it tastes great. I have found it at Sams Club in the vitamin section and some Costco's or online at www.flaxusa.com
ReplyThis is the greatest and much better than oil, pills or grinding your own!
Hope this helps
It is the lignins, not the oil, in flaxseed that is thought to lower cholesterol.
Ground flaxseed does not go rancid that quickly. Keep some at room temp and the rest in the fridge if you consume it very regularly, in the freezer if you don't use it up quickly.
ReplyHemp is a great source of omega 3s as well. Manitoba organic brand, a Canadian Co. has a great line of hemp products
ReplyActually, I've read in reliable places that ground flaxseed does, in fact, go rancid very quickly.
I bought these wonderful flaxseed grinders filled with whole flaxseed online. XOXO kitchen products has them. They are small and easy to use. Closest thing to these would be a pepper mill, I would think a coffee grinder would be overkill.
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