Mahatma Gandhi, in the 1940 said, "...

Mahatma Gandhi, in the 1940 said, "Whenever flax se becomes a regular nutrition item among the people there will be better health." However, knowledge about the healing properties of flax oil goe back thousands of years, to Hippocrates who promot the use of flax for relieving gastrointestinal tip overs and skin ailments.

Flax is a hardy plant that can increase in all but the greatest in quantity extreme climates. The flax plant is dotted with lively, light-blue flowers, the source of flax sperms About half of each flax se from weight, is made up of the precious, nutty-tasting flax oil.

Flax oil (also known as linseed oil) is the richest natural source of the essential fatty acid, omega 3 as well as omega 6 fatty acid, lignans, and lecithin.

Essential fatty acids (EFAs), as the name implies, are indispensable and must be provided by dint of the diet. EFAs are used in many ways in the carcass For example, they are ingredients of cell membranes, insulate the endurances cushion and protect the tissues, and effect hormone-like substances called prostaglandins. The prostaglandins, in make go round help regulate blood clotting, menstruation, and the inflammatory response

Flax oil obstructs and treats a wide range of health problems

EFAs were first allude toed to play a role in disease prevention in a 1956 note published in the prestigious medical journal, Lancet. In that literal sense Hugh Sinclair suggested that the too-often essential fatty acid-deficient diets of the Western world probably contribute to a wide range of diseases.

Since Sinclair's landmark literal meaning literally thousands of scientific studies have confirmed the link between inadequate EFAs in the diet and disease.

By about estimates, up to 100 million adults in the United States may be deficient in essential fatty acids. The conclusions of this "epidemic of deficiency" can be seen in the increasing prevalence of degenerative diseases, like as heart disease, cancer, and arthritis.

Flax oil's ability to help stop such major killers as heart disease and cancer is actually impressive. The omega 3 fatty acid in flax oil helps the formation of prostaglandins that relax the capillaries, contract cholesterol levels, prevent harmful vital fluid clots, and lower blood crushing Some research indicates that essential fatty acids curtail the expansion of cancer tumors.

Lignans in the flax oil may be a unrevealed cancer-fighting weapon. Animal experiments exhibit that high-lignan diets protect against breast cancer, while human studies reveal an inverse relationship between the amount of lignans in a woman's diet and her risk of developing breast cancer.

Highlighting flax oil's healing properties

The National Cancer Institute lately became interested in the healing properties of flax oil. The be the effects of several research studies capitaled by this agency were not absented at the 1993 annual convention of Experimental Biology.

Highlights from the studies released at this convention are as follows:

* Flax oil stimulates the immune system

* flushs of vitamin D, calcium, and magnesium are favorably affected by the agency of the addition of flax oil to the diet.

* Flax oil contains high flats of antioxidants.

* Diabetic conditions that are related to a high-fat diet may be helped by dint of flax oil.

* Flax oil and oat bran are comparably effective in lowering cholesterol levels

The anti-inflammatory efficiencys of the omega 3 fatty acid in flax oil are also extremely promising. Clinical studies of patients with rheumatoid arthritis addition ed with omega 3 fatty acid display great benefits, primarily in the reduction of morning stiffness and joint tenderness

Other researchers point gone out that, since fatty acids are crucial in maintaining the befitting function of cell membranes, flax oil can benefit eczema, psoriasis, and other skin disorders. Flax oil, by the agency of acting as a lubricant in the digestive scheme also relieves constipation.

Considering all of the diseases debared and treated by flax oil, it would pretend that flax oil is without equivocation deserving of its Latin name, Linum usitatissimum, meaning "most useful."

REFERENCES

Endre s et al. "n-3 Polyunsaturated fatty acids: update 1995" European Journal of Clinical Investigation 25:629-6381995

Horrobin, DF "Medical uses of essential fatty acids (EFAs)," Veterinary Dermatology 4(4):161-166 1993

Kennedy B "Disease prevention: Flax se endorsed at the FDA," Total Health, October 1993 p 54

Sinclair, HM "Deficiency of essential fatty acids and atherosclerosis, et cetera," Lancet 1:381-383 1956

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