The Health Benefits of Flax

Even thousands of years ago, at the early stage of civilization, human beings in such parts of the world as Egypt and Babylon were aware of the many health benefits of Flax towards making a healthy and disease free system.

 

But what flex seed exactly is?

Flex is a kind of oil seeds that had been produced for thousands of years in the fertile soils at the bank of the river valleys.

 

The flax can be classified into two broad types:

• The first variety falls under the category of oil seed and is grown for the sole purpose of being used as seeds.
• The second variety is cultivated as fiber to be specifically used in the textile industry.

 

Where to find?

The ancient flax crops were produced as field crops in large scale in the fertile lands of Babylon and Egypt. From these places, the flax production has spread across the countries of Africa and from there to Europe. It didn’t take much time to cross the Atlantic to arrive at USA. Today flax is grown all over the world. But majority of the flax production of world today comes from USA and Canada. In North America as a whole, flax is produced commercially as oil seed varieties. In the USA, vast regions of North and South Dakota are known for their extensive flax production.

 

The health benefits of flax

It was around 650 B.C. that Hippocrates had made known the magical qualities of flax in reducing abdominal pains. Over the course of history, many health and nutritional benefits have been discovered by the scientists. Today it is considered that flax as the part of balanced diet has the potential of cutting on the risk of many dangerous diseases including cancer and cardio vascular diseases. But how does it make this magic possible? Let’s describe one by one.

 

Flax seed is the best source of good fats in our body

Flax seed oil comes with a high content of Alpha Linolenic Acid (ALA). ALA is an essential fatty acid which we have to consume through the foods, as our body does not manufacture it. Once inside the body, ALA is converted into EPA and DHA. These two substances help maintain heart health and brain function and prevent arthritis and thrombotic disease. ALA also helps in improving immune function, cancer prevention, and male infertility.

 

Great laxative

Flax is also a great source of soluble and insoluble dietary fibers. Thus consumption of flax seeds or flax oils works for improved bowel movement and colon function.

 

 

Antioxidant properties

Among the vegetations, flax is the highest supplier of lignans---by fighting against some environmental toxins. Lignans also help reduce the risk of certain forms of cancer, especially breast and colon cancers.

 

Prevents Male Infertility

DHA deficiency in sperm cells leads to male infertility. The ALA in flax helps to overcome this shortcoming.

 

Now that you know the many natural health benefits of flax, consider adding flaxseeds or flax seed oil to your daily diet in whole, milled or capsule form. For adequate supplementation of ALA and lignans in your body, consider consuming 30 gm flax on regular basis.