Flaxseeds
Discover how eating flaxseed can lower your blood pressure and keep your heart healthy!
Is your heart healthy? Did you know that eating about two tablespoons of flaxseeds daily can help prevent the number one worldwide cause of dead, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs)? According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death, killing around 17.7 million people annually. An unhealthy diet is one of the primary risk factors that has been attributed to developing cardiovascular diseases. Let’s celebrate American Heart Month by reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases, treating some cardiovascular conditions, and improving your heart health profile by adding 2 tablespoons/day (~30 g/day) of flaxseed to your daily diet. Flaxseed is an ancient grain packed with omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids, fiber, vitamin E, and lignans, which gives it tremendous power against CVDs.
1. Improves Lipid Panel
High cholesterol and the so called “bad cholesterol” (LDL) are significantly responsible for heart diseases. Multiple scientific studies have proven that adding about 2 tablespoons of flaxseed daily can lower your LDL and cholesterol. These scientific findings are attributed to the fact that flaxseeds contain in their coat a component called lignans and are a high source of fiber. Lignans are nutrients found in some plants, that work as antioxidants and as a component that imitates some hormones in our body (phytoestrogens). A diet high in fiber is recommended to patients with lipid problems. Fiber helps by increasing satiety (therefore reducing caloric intake), decreasing intestinal transit time, and encapsulating cholesterol and excreting it in the feces. By lowering your cholesterol and LDL you are decreasing the risk of having a build-up of fats in the blood vessel walls (called atherosclerosis), one of the principal causes of CVDs.
2. Lowers Blood Pressure
A diet mainly focused on highly processed food is a principal factor that plays a role in developing hypertension, and many scientists have focused on finding a healthy diet or food that can help your heart. So here we have the super flaxseeds; multiple recent research studies suggest that eating two tablespoons daily can decrease your blood pressure and reduce your risk of CVD. They found that after six months, participants blood pressure dropped between 7 to 15 units. The content of omega-3 fatty acids working together with lignans and fiber is the cause of these positive health benefits. Omega 3 fatty acids are antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents, making flaxseeds an excellent meal addition. Flaxseeds are one of the few plant foods containing these essential fatty acids, commonly believed to be found only in fish.
Tips: Incorporating Flaxseeds
- Use flaxseed as an egg replacer. Substitute one tablespoon of flaxseeds mixed with three tablespoons of water for each egg in your favorite baking recipes. Examples: cakes, muffins, or cookies.
- Use flaxseeds as a topping in salads, desserts, cereals, oatmeal, or yogurt.
- Add flaxseed to your morning smoothies.
- Use finely ground flaxseeds to thicken soups or sauces.
- Remember that, as with all high-fiber content foods, an adequate intake of water should be maintained to avoid adverse effects.
After learning all the benefits you can gain from adding flaxseed to your diet, I highly recommend trying this powerful, packed plant food. An unhealthy diet is a significant risk factor for developing any cardiovascular disease, but you can reverse or treat it by making small changes in your daily diet. Flaxseed can be bought in any supermarket of your preference, ground or as flaxseed oil. You can incorporate flaxseed in many recipes, like cookies, banana bread, snack bites, overnight oats, and as an egg substitute in pancakes, muffins, and waffles.
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