When it comes to eating for optimum health, there’s one food that should definitely be on your list. It’s accessible, inexpensive, and ridiculously good for you—and, best of all, it doesn’t even have to be cooked.
This food is flaxseed, and according to experts, it’s as close to a “superfood” as it gets. “These tiny seeds are the unsung hero of the plant world,” explains registered and certified dietary nutritionist Jennifer Scheinman of Timeline Nutrition. “They're a nutritional powerhouse.”
That may sound hyperbolic, but it’s the truth: multiple well-conducted studies have found that eating flaxseeds has a number of benefits, among them improved digestion and improved heart health, as well as lower risk of certain cancers, obesity, and diabetes. Eating flaxseed might even ease menopausal symptoms, which—among its many other nuisances—can often include GI issues. But the appeal doesn't end there: Flaxseeds are so filled with nutrients that, recently, influencers have even been using them in DIY beauty treatments for their skin and hair. “This is Botox that you make at home,” one viral Tiktok proclaims. “And the best part is, it’s two ingredients: flaxseeds and water. It works as a natural shampoo as well.”
While comparing flaxseed to Botox might be a stretch, there’s no doubt that they do have many transformative properties, especially when ingested. But what exactly are flaxseeds, how should you use them, and how do they specifically benefit your health? Read on to find out what the experts recommend.
What are flaxseeds?
Flaxseed is exactly what it sounds like: the seed of a plant called flax. The seeds are very small—similar in size and shape to a sesame seed—and either golden or brown. And, here’s a fun fact: Humans have been growing the flax plant for thousands of years for its seeds, oil, and fibers; your favorite linen shirts are actually made from its fibrous stems.
What are the health benefits of eating flax?
Flaxseeds have a host of good-for-you compounds, among them fiber, lignans, and antioxidants, as well as vitamins and minerals like thiamine and magnesium. They’re also one of the few plant sources of all-important omega-3 fatty acids—an essential nutrient also found in fish oil that has been proven to help lower cholesterol and lower the risk of heart disease. “Flaxseeds are packed with nutrients often lacking in Americans' diets,” Scheinman says.
Aside from the obvious fact that all of the nutrients in flaxseeds are essential for our general health, the compounds in flaxseeds perform several specific functions as well. “Many of flaxseed’s benefits are related to how these compounds act in the digestive tract and interact with the gut microbiome,” explains April Panitz, a registered and certified dietary nutritionist at Amenta Nutrition. “Due to their fiber content, flaxseeds can reduce cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood by decreasing lipid reabsorption and increasing fat excretion in stool when eaten regularly.”
Flaxseeds for digestion
Flaxseeds' magical ability to reduce cholesterol and “increase fat excretion” is thanks to a very specific kind of fiber called “mucilaginous gum”—a gelatinous type of soluble fiber also found in seaweed and legumes. If you’ve ever soaked flaxseeds in water and noticed how slimy they get—as seen in the aforementioned Tiktok—that’s mucilaginous gum doing its job. When eaten, “this gel-forming soluble fiber can increase feelings of fullness and help with weight management,” says Panitz.
