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Flax
Nutrition
- General Information -
This section seeks to provide
practical information about the
health benefits of flax for those
with a general interest in flax such
as consumers. Nutritional
information is presented in everyday
language.
- Technical Information -
This section will be of interest
mainly to the health professional,
including dietitians, nutritionists,
researchers, and members of the
medical profession. This information
on the health benefits of flax
contains references to scientific
journals and uses medical and
scientific terms. All nutrition fact
sheets are in PDF format, Adobe
Acrobat Reader is required to view.
What is Flax?
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Flax is a blue flowering crop grown
on the Prairies of Canada for its
oil-rich seeds. The seeds of flax are
tiny, smooth and flat, and range in
colour from light to reddish brown. They
serve a variety of purposes, including
baking and other food uses.
People have eaten flaxseed since
ancient times. Taste a pleasant, nutty
flavour is one reason. Good nutrition
is another.
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Flaxseed As a Food
Because of its link to good health,
flaxseed is fast becoming a new food in
many diets. Bakers and commercial food
companies use flaxseed as a unique
ingredient in everything from yeast
breads, to bagels and cookie mixes. Not
only do muffins and breads baked with
flax taste great, but studies also find
that these foods provide health
benefits.
Omega-3 enriched eggs from hens fed
rations containing flaxseed are also
very popular. These eggs contain eight
to 10 times more omega-3 fatty acids
than regular eggs. Two of the enriched
eggs supply more than half Health
Canadas recommended daily intake of
omega- 3s for adult men and women.
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Why Flaxseed Is Good Medicine
Current nutrition research continues
to identify various substances in foods
that appear to act as protectors against
chronic illnesses like cardiovascular
disease and cancer. Flaxseed, a popular
food ingredient in Europe and Canada, is
no exception. The reasons are many:
- Several studies confirm that
flaxseed can be a
cholesterol-lowering agent like oat
bran, fruit pectin and other food
ingredients that contain soluble
fibre. By packaging both omega-3
fatty acids and soluble fibre
together, flaxseed presents two
ingredients that favour healthy
blood lipid patterns.
- Flaxseed contains healthy
amounts of both soluble and
insoluble fibre. Scientists at the
American National Cancer Institute
singled out flaxseed as one of six
foods that deserved special study.
The reason: flaxseed shows potential
cancer-fighting ability. Flaxseed is
one of the richest sources of
lignans, a type of phytoestrogen
which may protect against cancer,
particularly hormone-sensitive
cancers such as those of the breast
and prostate.
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Nutrition Profile
While flaxseed is rich in protein,
research suggests that its health
benefits probably have more to do with
its fatty acid and fibre profile.
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Nutrient Profile of Flaxseed
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Proximate |
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100
grams (3 ½ ounces) |
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Food
Energy |
450
Kilocalories (Calories)
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Fat*
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41.0
grams |
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Total Dietary Fibre |
28.0
grams |
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Protein |
20.0
grams |
*Analysed by the American Oil
Chemists Society (AOCS ) Official
Method Am 2-93, which is based on the
Federation of Oils, Seeds and Fats
Associations Ltd. (FOSFA) Official
Method. The American Organization of
Analytical Chemists (AOAC International)
Method 996.06 will produce a slightly
lower fat content.
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A Focus on Fatty Acids
Part of the reason fats and oils
have earned such a bad reputation in
recent years is because people eat too
much fat, particularly too much
saturated fat. (Saturated fats raise
blood cholesterol levels and increase
the risk for heart disease.)
Although about 41 per cent of
flaxseed is oil, very little of that is
saturated. More than 70 per cent of fat
in flaxseed is of the healthful
polyunsaturated type. In fact, a unique
feature of flaxseed is the high ratio of
alpha-linolenic acid (an omega-3 fatty
acid) to linoleic (omega-6 fatty acids).
Nutritionists consider these two
polyunsaturated fatty acids as essential
because the body cannot manufacture them
from any other substances. (Normally,
the body converts carbohydrates,
proteins and fats into fatty acids as
needed.) That means they must be eaten
as part of the diet.
While other plant seeds corn,
sunflower, peanuts contain omega-6
polyunsaturated fatty acids, flaxseed is
the only one that contains so much of
the essential omega-3 fatty acids.
Understanding how these two types of
polyunsaturated fat differ, can help
underscore why flaxseed has so many
unique health benefits.
Fatty Acid Composition of
Flaxseed Oil
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%
of total fatty acids
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Saturated fatty acids
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9
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Monounsaturated |
18
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Polyunsaturated fatty acids
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Omega-3 fatty acids |
57
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Omega-6 fatty acids |
16
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Omega-3 fatty acids More than half
the fat in flaxseed is of the essential
omega-3 fatty acid type. Scientific
studies reporting health benefits for
omega-3 fatty acids show that these
fatty acids are required for proper
infant growth and development.
Cholesterol can be reduced by adding
flaxseed to the diet. New research also
suggests that alpha-linolenic acid, an
omega-3 fatty acid which is abundant in
flaxseed, offers protective effects
against both coronary heart disease and
stroke. Omega-3s have been shown to also
protect against hypertension, and
inflammatory and autoimmune disorders.
Long-term studies of flaxseed effects on
breast cancer are now underway.
Omega-6 fatty acids An essential
fatty acid, linoleic is the chief
polyunsaturated fat in the North
American diet. Most omega-6 fatty acids
in the diet come from vegetable oils.
Ratio of omega-3s to omega-6s
Studies of hunter-gatherer populations
show their diets contained roughly equal
amounts of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty
acids. Currently, researchers and
nutrition experts recommend people
replace some omega-6 fatty acids in
their diet with omega-3 fatty acids like
those found in flaxseed.
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A Focus on Fibre
What makes flaxseed stand out above
other whole grains is also its mix of
fibre. Rather than containing large
amounts of one type of fibre, flaxseed
contains generous quantities of both
soluble and insoluble fibre. Researchers
are particularly interested in the
cancer-fighting ability of lignans.
Flaxseed is one of the richest sources
of lignans in the plant kingdom.
Soluble fibre - Most of the
soluble fibre in flaxseed is mucilage, a
thick, sticky substance. Few studies
have looked at the direct effects of
flaxseed mucilage on health. But studies
show that eating flaxseed (baked into
muffins and breads) can lower blood
cholesterol levels.
Since it is well known that soluble
fibres fruit pectin, oat bran or
mustard seed mucilage are effective
cholesterol-lowering agents, it's likely
that the soluble fibre in flaxseed is no
exception.
Insoluble fibre - Not
surprisingly, studies show that the
insoluble fibre in flaxseed, like that
in wheat bran, is helpful for regulating
bowel movements and preventing
constipation. Because flaxseed's
insoluble fibre components have the
capacity to hold water, they help soften
the stool and allow it to move through
the colon more quickly.
Lignans - When bacteria in
the digestive tract act on plant lignans
these compounds are converted into
potent hormone-like substances. Research
with animals suggests that the newly
formed compounds may be capable of
blocking the action of certain
cancer-causing substances in the body,
substances that can contribute to the
formation of tumours.
Currently,scientists are trying to
determine how effective lignans and
other chemicals in foods (phytochemicals)
are at preventing cancer. They are also
looking over evidence that suggests the
omega-3 fatty acids in flaxseed are
potential anticarcinogens.
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An Overview of Health Benefits
Recent scientific reports point out
that flaxseed can have a positive
influence on everything from cholesterol
levels to laxation to cancer and heart
disease.
Here are some highlights:
Eating 50 grams of flaxseed per day
(baked into muffins) helped increase the
frequency of bowel movements and the
number of consecutive days with bowel
movements in a group of older Canadian
adults.
- A lower risk for heart
disease
Total cholesterol levels dropped 9
per cent and LDL (the "bad" cholesterol)
decreased 18 per cent when a group of
nine healthy women ate 50 grams of
milled flaxseed a day for four weeks (as
flour or cooked into bread) along with
their regular diets, according to a
report from the University of Toronto.
In a similar study with men and
women, 50 grams of flaxseed (eaten daily
in muffins) lowered total cholesterol
and showed a constant trend of about 11
to 16 per cent lower serum lipids (fat
in the blood).
Lignans and alpha-linolenic acid are
found abundantly in flaxseed. Population
studies of diet and disease risk suggest
an anticancer role for flaxseed.
Long-term studies of flaxseed effects in
women with breast cancer are underway.
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What's the Best Nutrition Advice?
It's following North American
dietary guidelines. These guidelines for
a healthful diet offer advice for
healthy people two years of age or more.
By following the dietary guidelines, you
can enjoy better health and reduce your
chances of getting certain diseases -
such as heart disease, high blood
pressure, stroke, certain cancers, and
the most common type of diabetes. These
guidelines are the best, most up-to-date
advice from nutrition experts.
- Eat a variety of foods.
- Maintain healthy weight.
- Choose a diet low in fat,
saturated fat, and cholesterol.
- Choose a diet with plenty of
vegetables, fruits, and grain
products.
- Use sugars only in moderation.
- Use salt and sodium only in
moderation.
- If you drink alcoholic
beverages, do so in moderation.
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Nutrition Fact Sheets
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