We all are well aware of the fact that almost every type of nuts and seeds are nutritious and beneficial for our health. Flaxseed is one of them. It is one of the world’s oldest crops. It is packed with lots of nutrients and provides you numerous benefits. Flaxseed is rich in protein, Omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, thiamine, copper and many more essential micronutrients. This makes it an amazing food that helps to maintain a sound health. 1 or 2 tablespoons of flaxseed is considered a healthy amount to consume daily. You can mix it with various food items to enhance their taste like pancakes, smoothies, oats etc. Without, further ado, let’s know what are the benefits of flaxseed that are proven by science over the years.
Reduces Inflammation And Helps in Recovery of Muscles
One of the most common and well-known benefits of flaxseed is the reduction of inflammation. Yes, consuming flaxseed will help you to reduce the inflammation in the muscles and recover them faster from workouts because flaxseed is rich in Omega-3. 1 tablespoon of flaxseed (1950 mg) per day is enough for an adult to reach the daily limit of Omega-3 which is quite amazing! Better muscle recovery means better muscle growth. That’s why, you should consider consuming flaxseeds if you don’t take other good sources of Omega-3.
Read More: 10 Highest Omega-3 Foods That You Shouldn’t Avoid!
Lowers the Bad Cholesterol Level
Omega-3 not only helps in recovery of muscles, it also helps in lower the LDL or bad cholesterol significantly. The excellent thing is, flaxseed is also rich in fiber and fiber also helps in reducing the bad cholesterol. A recent 1-month study proved it. A bunch of people with high cholesterol was consumed 30 grams or 4 tablespoons of flaxseed for a few weeks and their bad cholesterol level dropped by 15%. So, if you want to reduce your bad cholesterol, flaxseed is a must in your diet.
Lowers the Risk of Diabetes And Heart Diseases!
We got to know that Omega-3 helps in reducing the inflammation of the muscles and lowering the bad cholesterol but do you know, Omega-3 especially Alpha-Linolenic Acid (ALA) type Omega-3 is very important for heart health? Yes, while other Omega-3 types like DHA & EPA are better for the muscle recovery, ALA is better for your heart. ALA type Omega-3 is found mainly in plant foods and flaxseed obviously is a plant so it’s filled with ALA.
There was a recent study that proved how important ALA is to prevent Diabetes and chronic heart diseases. 8,866 people were told to intake ALA for few weeks and the results were: decreased cholesterol, a lower chance of heart diseases and type 2 diabetes. So, if you want to live longer in with a healthy heart, just include this super-food called flaxseed in your diet.
Can Protect Against Several Types of Cancers!
Yes, this might be one of the greatest benefit of flaxseeds and it might be even greater in future! Consuming flaxseed can protect your body against several types of cancers. The reason behind this is, flaxseed is very rich in a type of plant compound which are called lignans that have been studied for their cancer-fighting properties.
There are several other studies that showcases about how consuming flaxseed lowers the risk of breast cancer especially for the postmenopausal women. Moreover, there are various tests on animals that have been done and it is proven that flaxseed actually can protect against skin, blood, colon and lung cancer. But, the tests on humans is yet to start so we can not be sure enough to say that flaxseed is really that miracle food but yes, looks like it really has the potential!
Promotes Regular Bowel Movements
You already have known that flaxseed is rich in fiber. One tablespoon of flaxseed contains 2 grams of fiber which is a decent amount. The more outstanding thing is that flaxseed contains two types of fiber – soluble and insoluble. These two types of fiber can not only help you to lower the bad cholesterol but also support gut health and improve regular bowel movements.
By supporting gut health means, these fiber can slow down the digestion process in a healthy way, prevent constipation to improve the gut health so that the bowel movements becomes regular without any issues. So, if you have any irregular bowel movement issues or indigestion problems, make flaxseed your good friend.
Helps You to Manage a Healthy Bodyweight
One of the underrated benefits of flaxseed is that it can help you lose extra weight and maintain a healthy bodyweight. How? So, we already have known that flaxseed possesses both the soluble fiber and the insoluble fiber, right? What the soluble fiber actually does is to slow down the digestion process and it leads to reduction of the feelings of hunger and appetite. In this way, you will be consuming less calories especially which you need to especially if you are planning to lose weight.
Promotes Brain Health and Metabolism
Flaxseed is also rich in thiamine which is a B vitamin that plays a crucial role in cell function and energy metabolism. That’s why, flaxseed intake can promote a healthy metabolism in your body. Moreover, flaxseed is also high in copper and copper is essential for improving brain health and brain development. So, if you want a healthy brain cells and metabolism then flaxseed can also help you in that.
Conclusion
Therefore, these are all the awesome benefits of flaxseeds that you can get to improve your overall health. Moreover, flaxseed is also well-known for lowering the blood pressure as well as controlling the blood sugar levels. Now, hopefully, you can realise how 1 or 2 tablespoon of flaxseed per day can change your health drastically. You can also use flaxseed oil in your foods to get some of the benefits of flaxseed. Only disadvantage of consuming flaxseed oil is that it doesn’t contain the fibers like the seeds do so, you can’t get the fiber related benefits from the oil. Either way, don’t miss this super-nutritious food whether you are an athlete or you are a health-conscious individual. Lastly, if you have found this article about benefits of flaxseed helpful enough, don’t hesitate to express your valuable thoughts in the comment section below. Thanks for visiting and appreciating our work.