Health Benefits of Delicious Flaxseeds

Prevention Magazine

Flaxseed is a slightly sweet, nut-flavored grain that’s out-of-this-world delicious.  Best of all, researchers are also hailing it as one of the healthiest foods on the planet, loaded with compounds that shield you against cancer and heart disease.  Flaxseed is an incredibly rich source of a group of compounds called lignans.  Many plant foods contain lignans, but flaxseed has the most, at least 75 times more than any other plant food.  You’d have to eat about 60 cups of fresh broccoli or 100 slices of whole wheat bread to get the same amount of lignans in ¼ cup of flaxseed.

This is important because “lignans subdue cancerous changes once they have occurred, rendering them less likely to race out of control and develop into full blown cancer,” says a professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto.

Flaxseed also lowers your cholesterol and shows great promise for reversing kidney damage caused by lupus.  In addition, flaxseed is very high in fiber.  Fiber is so important in your diet because it can help block the effects of harmful compounds that over time may cause changes in the intestine that can lead to cancer.  It also helps to move these compounds out of the intestine more quickly, giving them less time to do harm.