Flaxseeds are versatile ingredients. They add crunch and flavor to your meals and provide high nutritional value. But how to eat flaxseed? You can easily use flaxseeds in your morning smoothies, batters, and even homemade burgers! Let’s look at the top benefits of flaxseeds, followed by some tasty recipes on how to eat flaxseed.
Benefits of eating flaxseeds
1. Nutrient-Rich
Flaxseed comes in two varieties: brown and golden. Both varieties carry equal nutritional value. Flaxseeds are stocked with nutrients like protein, fiber, and omega-3 fatty acids. A single serving i.e. one tablespoon of flaxseed (7 grams) contains the following percentage of various nutrients, vitamins, and minerals:
- Fat: 3 grams
- Protein: 1.3 grams
- Fiber: 2 grams
- Carbs: 2 grams
- Magnesium: 7% of the daily value
- Manganese: 8% of the daily value
- Selenium: 3% of the daily value
- Iron: 2% of the daily value
- Folate: 2% of the daily value
- Vitamin B6: 2% of the daily value
2. High In Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Flaxseed offers high amounts of alpha-linolenic acid or ALA, a variant of omega-3 fatty acid that protects your heart. You can consume ALA only via your food intake as your body does not produce it naturally. Some studies suggest that ALA prevents the build-up of cholesterol in your blood vessels and checks inflammations in the body.
3. May Protect Against Cancer
Flaxseeds consist of nutrients called lignans, which are considered effective in combating cancer growth. Some scientific studies on animals have also linked flaxseeds with a reduced risk of developing breast cancer and postmenopausal cancer.
4. Maintain Low Cholesterol
One of the primary benefits of flaxseeds is regulating your cholesterol levels. The probable reason behind this is the presence of fiber in flaxseeds. It indirectly causes your cholesterol levels to lower.
5. Fiber-Rich
Following up on the previous point, high amounts of fiber in flaxseeds has several benefits. It manages your cholesterol levels, improves digestive health, and keeps your gut healthy. The two fiber types present in your body: soluble and insoluble, carry different properties and benefits. Overall, they keep your bowel function smooth and disease-free.
6. Regulate Blood Pressure
Ideal blood pressure is a vital health marker for good heart health. Flaxseeds have it covered for you. They are considered highly effective in lowering blood pressure in people with high blood pressure issues.
7. Regulate Blood Sugar
If you have type-2 diabetes, adding flaxseed to your diet is beneficial. Due to the presence of soluble fiber in flaxseed, the sugar is well-absorbed by your blood. Flaxseeds look after preventing insulin resistance, a condition that hampers the sugar-regulating abilities of your body.
8. Support In Managing Weight
As soluble fiber slows your digestion, you feel less hungry and low on appetite. Hence, it automatically leads to healthy weight management. (Also Read: Best Weight Loss Food List: Lose Weight Without Dieting With These Food Items)
9. Manage Estrogen
Flax seeds are rich source of lignans, which are a type of phytoestrogen. Among all the food containing estrogen, flax seeds are known to occupy the top position.
10. Easy to use
An added perk of any nutritious ingredient is its ease of use. Flaxseeds bring that perk with them. You can sprinkle a tablespoon atop your favorite meal or throw some grams of it into batters and mixtures to make your meals crunchy and healthy.
How to Eat Flaxseed?
After knowing the various benefits of flaxseed, the question that follows is, “how to eat flaxseed?” Don’t worry! We have plenty of tasty meal ideas using flaxseed for you. Read below.
1. Sprinkle In Your Smoothies
This is perhaps the most convenient solution to how to eat flaxseed. Prepare your favorite smoothie and swirl some flaxseeds into it. You will get a bounty of nutrients and great taste.
2. Add To Your Burger Patty
If you Want to avoid using meat in your burger without letting go of the meaty flavor, flaxseeds are the best choice. By adding 1/4th cup of flaxseeds to your burger patty, you can feast on a delicious burger with gluten and meat-free patty!
3. Replace The Oil With Flaxseed In Baked Goods
Oil is an essential ingredient in almost all recipes for baked items. But, the good news is that you can find a way to make your baked goods cholesterol friendly. Add ground flaxseeds to your batter along with less quantity of oil. The ideal ratio is 3:1 (3 tbsps. ground flaxseed to 1 tbsp. oil).
Other Interesting Ways On How To Eat Flaxseed
4. Prepare Tasty Sandwich Spread
Like sunflower seeds, flaxseeds have sufficient amounts of fats to prepare a rich and creamy spread. The original taste of flaxseed may not be palatable for you, so you can add flaxseeds to some other spread of your choice. It will lend some nutritional value to your spread and develop your taste for flaxseed. Making healthy spreads from flaxseeds is an easy and tasty solution to how to eat flaxseed.
5. Use As Salad Dressing
You can always use salads as a go-to meal to throw in all the nutritious ingredients in one place. Use flaxseeds likewise. Add some ground flaxseeds to your salads as crispy dressings.
How To Eat Flaxseed – The Bottom Line
Flaxseeds are nutrition-packed tiny seeds that add crunch and flavor to your meals. There are plenty of tasty recipes that can help you with the question of how to eat flaxseed.
Disclaimer: The information on this site is provided solely for educational reasons and is not intended to replace the medical treatment provided by a healthcare professional. Because each person’s needs are different, the reader should check with their doctor to see if the material is appropriate for them.
