October 24, 2009 - 10:45am
Flax seed
Have a question...I read or heard somewhere that whole Flaxseed was not good for a male to consume...something to do with the Prostrate...However, I see whole Flaxseed being used everywhere--has anyone heard about this? Also, I "thought" I had, again, read or heard that you get the full benefits of Flaxseed by grinding them....anyone know about that?? Just wondering if that is all true, or is the FLAXSEED "fairy" messing with my dreams??????
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You should grind them first. The body can not digest whole flax seeds. So to get the most out of them you should grind them. Now the male thing, got no idea.
I make a bran muffin which calls for (among other things) flax seed. Hodgson Mills sells milled flaxseed which I buy at Wally-World and find to be far preferrable to flaxseed itself. Solid flaxseed are very tiny and hard. I wouldn't be surprised to find that they are indigestable, although I don't know that to be the case. i have been advised that flaxseed are good for avoiding prostate issues.
Thank you to everyone....I looked at the two web sites and it looks like the flaxseed supplements that were taken were in fact, ground flaxseed. The first site didn't state that, but the second site did. Second site also stated that the whole seed can not be digested by the body, so, grinding the seed is what I will do! Thanks all!!
I add flax seed to my hard wheat berries and grind together, both better ground
fresh, so I just grind what and when I need. qahtan
I love flaxseed.
Sometimes I use it in bread whole, sometimes ground. Ground, it gets sprinkled on yogurt, cereal, and veggies, as well. I've used it for years, and my educated guess would be that used whole you might be rewarded with some soluble fiber. Ground, on the other hand, gives you a generous helping of both soluble and insoluble fiber, depending on the amount you ingest, of course.
It's much cheaper to buy whole flaxseed and grind it in a coffee grinder (from a thrift store?) than buying it ground. Don't use the same grinder for your coffee beans. Grind enough for a few days' use and keep the ground seeds in a jar in the fridge. The whole seeds live in the pantry.
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Susan from San Diego
Years ago a 'very' well known and good Dr. in Santa Barbara advised against consuming seeds..little hard seeds! The reason why... you may have or could have what is known as 'bloops' or polyps in your colon..bloops are the ones that protude outwards, polyps are the ones that protude inwards...in otherwords...these little hard seeds can become stuck inside of these bloops..either polyps or bloops can become cancerous and so seeds that do not digest properly in colon should be avoided. They can become lodged in the bloops. This comes from first hand experience..my then husband had bloops..I don't want to get into detail here..other than I don't always avoid eating seeds..but I can't help thinking about their effects everytime I look at them! I have heard also what you said about pepper..whether it's true or not..I don't know.
Remember when no one took antibiotics for ulcers? And now that's a recognized treatment. I think a similar thing happened with seeds and nuts. Years ago people were warned about them for the very reasons you state, Sylvia. I was never quite sure about those warnings, and was pleased to read about this study from last year.
Another interesting article. In fact, it even carries a link to the above-mentioned article.
Susan from San Diego
Interesting article. I hope I never have to deal with that disease. The part that didn't convince me was the second article about were doctors are still leary due to the potential of seeds, nuts, popcorn, corn to cause etc..... The study farther down never mentioned seeds only that corn, nuts and popcorn were eaten by those studied. I still love and eat lots of nuts and everything else...I just have a hard time wanting to eat tiny seeds...a lot of them ground I prefer. I love caraway, sesame and poppy...here's another one..Mike won't eat poppy seeds..he says if they ever gave him a drug test for his cycling races it would test positive from the poppy seeds.. and I love poppyseed rolls.
Sylvia
I actually bought whole flax seed yesterday at a market (in Spakenburg, Netherlands). the lady told me to make sure I grind it before I consume it (in bread...), the seeds are too hard for our body. I usually did that already, but leave a few whole ones for the cover of the bread (looks nicer...).
Happy baking.
Cheers,
Jw (male).
I recently made the three seed sourdough from J.H.'s "Bread" and used golden flax seed (Bob's Redmill brand) which were smaller than regular flax seeds. The recipe called for soaking the seeds, which may have made them more digestible, but said nothing about grinding. The bread turned out fine.