Flaxseed is one of the current health trends being discovered by millions in the Western World. Flaxseed has been used in linen manufacturing for the last 5000 years.

Flaxseed is perfect for linen production because the plant has strong, flexible fibers that can grow quite long, and can be made into soft fabric that lasts for a very long time and only becomes softer and shinier with age.

As for eating flaxseed, it may be a new trend in the United States, but other countries have known about the health benefits of this plant for hundreds of years.

The Benefits of Eating Flaxseed

Flaxseed is what is known as a super food. It is full of nutrients and fiber and it is a very healthy thing to include in your diet. You can add to it all kinds of foods to make it easy to eat including oatmeal, smoothies, rice, potatoes or yogurt. But what exactly are the benefits that you see when you eat flaxseed every day and is there anything that you need to be concerned about?

1. Increase your omega-3 fatty acids. Much of the recent research points to omega-3 fats as being one of the major things that your body needs to combat depression, and maintain brain health such as memory and quick thinking.
2. Flax seeds can lower your cholesterol levels an average of 50% or even more for women.
3. Flax seeds can also lower your triglyceride levels from between 25 and 60%.
4. Flax seeds not only help prevent diabetes and keep blood sugar levels stable, they also can help to prevent it in the first place.
5. Not only does flaxseed give you omega-3, you also get as much omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids as an entire pound of fish in three tablespoons.
6. Flaxseed helps you stay regular by giving your daily requirement of fiber in 6 tablespoons.
7. The lignans in flaxseed could help fight several different forms of cancer, heart disease and osteoporosis. Lignans also decrease inflammation, working like an anti-inflammatory to help with illnesses like arthritis and lupus.
8. Flax seeds have plenty of protein which most people don’t get enough of.
9. Flaxseed can help you to lose weight by giving you a full, satisfied feeling with every meal.

Obviously, there are enormous health benefits of eating flaxseed every day, including lower risk for many diseases and many of the body’s functions working more smoothly. But what about the risk of consuming too much flaxseed? Is there such a thing as too much, and if so, how much is it?

Too Much Flaxseed

Although you can take anything to excess and it will be potential harmful. However, the amount of flaxseed that you would need to even begin negatively affecting your health is probably more than you can possibly take. So, flaxseed has all of the benefits and none of the disadvantages it seems.

Sources:
http://nourishingwords.net/2010/11/07/10-reasons-to-eat-flax-seed-every-day/
http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/61-health-benefits-omega-3-fatty-acids
https://www.oncologynutrition.org/erfc/hot-topics/flaxseeds-and-breast-cancer/
Image Source: http://www.sciencecrumbs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Flax-Seed.jpg