Ask the Expert Archive Week 23
Flaxseed
Flaxseed is the new wonder supplement. There's flax seed and there's flax seed oil. Naturopathic doctor Ruth Anne Baron tells us why flax seed is good for us and how to take it.
Well flax seeds are a wonderful source of fibre, as the whole seed, which you see here, but there also a very important source of fats called Omega 3 fatty acids or essential fatty acids. So really flax seeds provide two separate supplements. As a seed you can lightly grind it, sometimes you can even purchase is already ground, add it to your cereal, add it to yogurt, it provides a lot of good beneficial and gentle fibre.
But many people also take flax seed oil. And flax seed oil is an essential fatty acid, its an Omega 3 fat, and it's a source of those good fats that are hard to get in our food. Flax seed oil is a buttery tasting yellow oil that you need to take about one to two tablespoons of the oil a day. These oils are very useful because the body uses them to make a lot of anti-inflammatory chemicals, it provides a lot of good nutrition for the cardio-vascular system, helpful for people with high cholesterol, arthritis, all the body systems in the body run on Omega 3 fats.
You can also take the essential fatty acids, or the flax seed oil, in the form of a capsule. Some people don't care for the taste or they find it inconvenient to take it off the spoon. If you1re going to take flax seed oil capsules, you need to take about 4 to 6 capsules a day to achieve the equivalent dose. And flax seed oil should always be take with your meals because of course when you1re eating your digestion is turned on, and you'll absorb the benefits of the oils much better. If you would like to send a question to Ask the Expert you can either email us at rx@tvo.org or fill out our form.
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