What are the real health benefits of flax seeds?

Linseeds are useful for helping to regulate your weight, given the range of benefits they have:

• Appetite suppressant action: thanks to their soluble fibers (5.4 g per 20 g), flax seeds swell on contact with water. They increase the volume of the food bolus, which encourages us to reduce the size of meal portions.

• Hypo-energetic action: flaxseed reduces the absorption of other nutrients, including carbohydrates and fats. Indeed, Flax is rich in fiber, which slows down and limits the access of digestive enzymes to their substrates. Ultimately, flax seeds reduce the energy impact of meals.

Please note, however, that no food alone allows you to lose weight! Flax seeds give a boost. All eating habits must be reviewed to promote weight loss.

Advice from the dietician-nutritionist:

• As a nutritional treatment: consume 10 g of flax seeds, twice a day, before each meal, for 12 weeks. Start with 5 g and gradually increase.

• In herbal tea : enhance a herbal preparation with 20 g of crushed flax seeds (4 teaspoons) for 1 L of herbal tea. Leave to infuse for ten minutes, filter and enjoy.

• Daily: sprinkle flax seeds into your culinary preparations, at the rate of one tablespoon per day.

Flax seeds promise a wide range of cardiovascular benefits. Their richness in fiber gives them a cholesterol-lowering activity. In fact, soluble fibers form meshes that capture cholesterol from food. As a result, cholesterol absorption decreases.

Also, the flax seeds contain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and particularly omega-3 (acid alpha-linolenic). The latter contribute to the rebalancing of cholesterol levels by promoting a reduction in LDL-cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and an increase in HDL-cholesterol (good cholesterol).

Once again, flax seeds cannot do anything without an overall change in lifestyle, especially in cases of lipidemia disorders which have multiple origins.

THE flax seeds also have hypotensive power. They appear to reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure by -2 mmHg and -1.8 mmHg, respectively. Please note, this property is not observed in subjects without blood pressure disorders. That is to say, with a systolic blood pressure lower than 140 mmHg and/or a diastolic blood pressure lower than 90 mmH, flax seeds have no effects. They are only effective in cases of high blood pressure.

Thanks to its cholesterol-lowering and hypotensive properties, flax seeds limit the complications observed in cases of atherosclerotic plaques (precursor of cardiovascular pathologies).

Advice from the dietician-nutritionist:

• Consume 20 g of flax seeds per day, for 12 weeks, preferably around meals. Start with 5g, then gradually increase every two days.

• Daily: sprinkle flax seeds into your culinary preparations, at the rate of one tablespoon per day.

More than a quarter of the nutritional composition of flax seeds is represented by soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fibers form a viscous gel on contact with water. In the digestive tract, this results in hydration of the stools, which modifies their texture, making them softer. As for insoluble fiber, they swell on contact with water. Thus, within the digestive tract, they weigh down the stools, which also helps to stimulate intestinal peristalsis.

In short, the laxative effect of flax seeds is observed by a change in the consistency of the stools.

Advice from the dietitian nutritionist:

• Temporary constipation, a treatment of flax seeds: consume 20 g (4 tsp) of flax seeds, raw, whole, in a cold liquid and on an empty stomach, for 5 days.

• Chronic constipation, a daily intake of flax seeds: consume 15 g (3 tsp) flax seeds, raw, whole, in a cold liquid and on an empty stomach, daily.

• In herbal tea : enhance a herbal preparation with 20 g of crushed flax seeds (4 teaspoons) for 1 L of herbal tea. Leave to infuse for ten minutes, filter and enjoy.

Flax seeds do not contain carbohydrates, which means that, when consumed alone, they do not modify blood sugar levels (blood glucose concentration).

Accompanied, flax seeds reduce the glycemic load of the meal. Indeed, through their macronutrients (fiber, lipids and carbohydrates), flax seeds reduce the availability of sugars in the meal. As a result, they regulate blood sugar levels by limiting hyper-variations in blood sugar levels. During diabetes, this notion is essential since it is necessary to help the body stabilize blood sugar levels. Blood sugar balance is indicated by HbA1C, or glycated hemoglobin. A meta-analysis also claims that flax seeds significantly reduce the HbA1C of diabetic patients.

Advice from the dietician-nutritionist:

• Consume 15 g of flax seeds per day for 8 to 12 weeks. Start with 5g, then gradually increase every two days. It is best to accompany snacks with flax seeds to observe their blood sugar stabilizing potential.

• Daily: sprinkle flax seeds into your culinary preparations, at the rate of one tablespoon per day.

Various nutrients of flax seeds help inhibit free radicals present in the body. First of all, a wide range of phenolic compounds in Flax are capable of preventing the oxidation chain of cells, such as phenolic acids (ferulic acid, chlorogenic acid, gallic acid), flavonoids (C-flavone and flavone O-glycosides) or lignans. In addition, copper and manganese are present in significant quantities in flax seeds: 20 g of flax seeds covers 26% of copper needs and 20% of manganese needs. These two trace elements are essential for the functioning of antioxidant enzymes.

Advice from the dietician-nutritionist:

• Consume 20 g of flax seeds per day, starting with 5 g.

• Prefer lightly crushed flax seeds to make nutrients easier to access. Grinding allows you to get rid of the indigestible shell. 

Flax seeds are ideal allies for pregnant women. They promise to reduce certain discomforts of pregnancy, such as constipation. They also encourage the baby's good development through their richness in lipids, and they help to preserve the mother's mineral stocks. Finally, flax seeds fight against oxidative stress, a factor increasing the risk of pregnancy complications.

Note, however, that flax seeds contain lignans, which are phytoestrogens. As a precaution, pregnant and breastfeeding women are not recommended to consume too many foods that carry phytoestrogens. Furthermore, it seems that flax seeds are likely to accumulate cadmium, which would increase the risk of breast cancer for the baby's future life (according to a study carried out on rats).

However, the benefit/risk balance seems to lean towards the benefits. Flax seeds have considerable benefits, consuming them wisely is the most interesting.

Advice from the dietician-nutritionist:

• Consume a maximum of 20 g of flax seeds per day from organic farming.

Menopause corresponds to the cessation of production of estrogen (sex hormones) by the ovaries. This hormonal drop can cause certain symptoms: fatigue, hot flashes, night sweats, mood disorders, vaginal dryness, etc.

THE flax seeds contain phytoestrogens, lignans, which have a structure close to estrogens. This structural resemblance gives flax seeds estrogenic properties: they mimic estrogens. But this reflection is hypothetical ! Numerous studies including a serious meta-analysis agree to refute this property. So, flax seeds do not help to improve the symptoms, by filling the estrogen deficiency

Flax seeds offer a whole range of bioactive compounds, which, in isolation, have health or cosmetic properties. Some studies observe a improvement in skin appearance (reduction in inflammation and pigmentation spots) after isolation and supplementation at a therapeutic dose of bioactive Flax compounds.

Although promising, its results cannot be transcribed to the whole flax seed: what about the quantities available in flax seeds? Interactions between all the components? Consumable daily quantities?

No study has proven that whole flax seeds have benefits for the skin.