Anyone out there take flax seeds?

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Replies

  • Thriceshy
    Thriceshy Posts: 708 Member
    Used to grind our own, but that's such a hassle, so we buy cold-milled flax and sprinkle it under pasta sauce, in vegetable dishes, mix a teaspoon or so into smoothies, etc. I had stopped for a long time (years), but my blood work came back with low HDL and high LDL, so I've added it back to my diet.
  • Majormountainbabe
    Majormountainbabe Posts: 1
    I grind a 1 tablespoon of flax every day in a small dedicated grinder and add it to my smoothie in the morning.
    My daughter likes the flavor - I'm not a huge fan but in the smoothie I don't even know it's there.
  • slim422
    slim422 Posts: 104 Member
    Our family eats both flaxseed (ground only you shouldn't eat them whole) and chia seeds. We add flaxseed as so many others have said to the standard oatmeal, cereals, salads etc. I also use dry ground flax as a thickener. For example, I made homemade beans last weekend, they were a bit runny so I added some ground flax seed, basically we put them in everything.

    As for the chia seeds, we eat them both dry and I always have a container of chia water in the fridge, which depending on how much seed you use can be very runny or thick almost like jello. I stir in a tablespoon of chia water to nearly every meal - stir-frys, spaghetti and other sauces. Another posted has already commented on the nutrition value, which is outstanding.

    My son uses chia seeds as part of his training in martial arts to avoid dehydration as many runners do. Before a competition he consumes a teaspoon of dry seeds followed by a litre of water over the next 20 minutes or so and he finds he does not dehydrate as quickly and no need for commercial energy drinks.

    Hope this helps.....
  • Thriceshy
    Thriceshy Posts: 708 Member
    On the subject of Chia seeds, I do want to say that if, if you have heart problems, are on blood thinners or aspirin therapy, or have low blood pressure (or are on medication to lower blood pressure), use caution when ingesting Chia seeds.

    Otherwise, carry on and enjoy!
  • MummyOfSeven
    MummyOfSeven Posts: 314 Member
    I make my own breakfast bars. Plenty of seeds in the recipe, including flax.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    Just a note, if you're taking flax for it's Omega 3's you should really look at fish oil instead as the conversion of ALA to EPA/DHA is very inefficient in humans
  • Banks01
    Banks01 Posts: 945 Member
    I use to take flax seeds, but not I eat Chia seeds, it has more Omega's than flax, has 3X the antioxidants as blueberries, more calcium than milk, more iron than spinach and is a better protein source than beans or soy!! I put them in my oatmeal and my protein shakes, and you can sprinkle them on your spinach salad... and Chia seeds taste better.. well I can't taste them so that is good lol


    I switched recently as well. So far I've just used them in shakes but am going to try them with fish tonight.


    And I'm doing a little experiment with them. They absorb 9 to 10 times their weight in water and turn into a gel. Some athletes eat them like that with a spoon.

    They warn about hydration because of this.
  • Tara4boys
    Tara4boys Posts: 515 Member
    I use to take flax seeds, but not I eat Chia seeds, it has more Omega's than flax, has 3X the antioxidants as blueberries, more calcium than milk, more iron than spinach and is a better protein source than beans or soy!! I put them in my oatmeal and my protein shakes, and you can sprinkle them on your spinach salad... and Chia seeds taste better.. well I can't taste them so that is good lol

    This! Love my chia seeds. They fill me up too! In addition to uses this poster says, I put them in my yogurt. They are tiny like poppy seeds and don't taste.
  • marquesajen
    marquesajen Posts: 641
    I put whole or ground flax seeds in my yogurt, smoothies, on salads, oatmeal, etc.
  • susanswan
    susanswan Posts: 1,194 Member
    I go for the whole food so I use ground flax seeds. I understand that if you use whole flax seeds you must break them (chew them) to get the benefit of eating them. I add them to oatmeal AFTER I cook it or else I find it gets gelatinous. I also add them to smoothies. I've heard that eating nuts or seeds with greens helps to release the nutrients of the greens into your body, too.
  • _VoV
    _VoV Posts: 1,494 Member
    I go for the whole food so I use ground flax seeds. I understand that if you use whole flax seeds you must break them (chew them) to get the benefit of eating them. I add them to oatmeal AFTER I cook it or else I find it gets gelatinous. I also add them to smoothies. I've heard that eating nuts or seeds with greens helps to release the nutrients of the greens into your body, too.

    Great point. I add it after cooking too for the same reason.
  • susanswan
    susanswan Posts: 1,194 Member
    On the subject of Chia seeds, I do want to say that if, if you have heart problems, are on blood thinners or aspirin therapy, or have low blood pressure (or are on medication to lower blood pressure), use caution when ingesting Chia seeds.

    Otherwise, carry on and enjoy!

    I can't take an aspirin a day due to old ulcer problem, so good to know about natural blood thinners. I like the natural way better than drugs, anyway! I'll have to look into chia seeds. I wonder if they must be ground, too?
  • MichelleRenee13
    MichelleRenee13 Posts: 363 Member
    I am going to try chia seeds after I am done with the flax I have. I like the fact that you don't have to grind and that they have no flavor.
  • fuzz_pawz
    fuzz_pawz Posts: 106
    Does anyone know what the real benefits to flax are?
    I know it is good for the digestive tract- fibre and all that. But are there real benefits to weight loss...or is it basically just an added fibre source to promote healthy diet?


    I recently bought ground flax seed and have been putting it in cooking, protein shakes etc.
    Through my lifestyle change, I have become a vegetarian and have limited many of the everyday bread carbs my husband and I used to consume..which was a LOT!
  • 81Katz
    81Katz Posts: 7,074 Member
    Ground organic flax seeds. I put it into a lot of things, oatmeal, yogurt, fruit cups, smoothies, etc.
  • ezranch208
    ezranch208 Posts: 25 Member
    Flax has MANY benefits! Omega's, lignans, fiber, etc. It also can help with inflammation. And YES it does help keep you fuller longer! It actually swells up giving you that full feeling. I had a bowl of Special K w/berries, 1% milk, an 1 TBSP of milled flaxseed as an evening snack and I wasn't hungry all morning. Thank God and thank flaxseed =)

    Here is a link to many articles about flaxseed. http://www.livestrong.com/flaxseed/
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