Flax: Good Source of Omega-3 Oils

As discussed in my previous post "How does Food Affect Your Cholesterol Level?" I recommend that you maintain constant intake of Omega-3 fatty acids in your diet to keep your heart healthy. In addition to popular cold water fish like salmon, I'd like to discuss a good plant source of Omega-3 in this post - flax seed.

First of all, the oils in flax seed contain high concentration of Alpha-Linolenic Acid (ALA) - one of three primary Omega-3 fats. There is about 3000 mg of Omega-3 fat in one serving (14g) of flax seed as well as 800 mg of Omega-6 fat. Both Omega-3 and Omega-6 are equally important to our health. The former reduces inflammation in our body, while the later promotes. The ideal balance between Omega-3 and Omega-6 is 1:1. Since Omega-6 fats are commonly found in the western diets, the 3:1 ratio of Omega-3:Omega-6 in flax seed is very welcome.

The other unique property of flax seed is the high concentration of lignans. Lignans are plant estrogens or phytoestrogens that offer powerful
antioxidant properties including blocking estrogen activity in cells
and reducing the risk of certain cancers. Flex seed contains at least 75 times higher concentration of lignans than any other plants.

Lastly, flax seed is a good source of dietary fiber. In fact, 28% of flax seed is fiber. That's about 4 grams of fiber in one serving of milled flax seeds. Very nice.

Pumpkin and sunflower seeds share some properties of flax seed, and could serve as alternatives to flax seed. Unlike flax seed, though, both pumpkin and sunflower seeds have higher ratio of Omega-6 fatty acid than Omega-3.

Most of flax seed products are ground flax seed for easy digestion. Unfortunately, some ground processes generate heat spurring early Omega-3 oxidization. When selecting your flax seed product, be sure to choose those produced by "cold" milled processes.

At Fishtarian.com, we have selected a grand list of seed products based on a number of criteria. Feel free to tour around our Seeds store for the products that suit your need. Hope you enjoy these products and give us feedback.