Flaxseeds

Linum usitatissimum

nuts & seeds · prebiotic

Small flat seeds of an annual plant domesticated in the Fertile Crescent, grown both for its oil and for the fibre that makes linen. They provide mucilage, plant omega-3 and lignans, which the gut flora turns into enterolignans.

Origin

Fertile Crescent

Season (United States)

all year round · grows in your region

Preparation

Whole, they pass through the gut without opening: they must be ground to get anything from them. Ground, they go rancid quickly — keep cold, and no more than a few days. No more than 15 g per meal, one tablespoon: ground, they release a little cyanide, harmless at that dose. Soaking, sprouting or sourdough bring its phytates down — and release the zinc and iron they were holding. Most of its goitrogens go with cooking, even a short one.

Molecules

Vitamin B1 (thiamine) · Magnesium · Manganese · Insoluble fibers · PhytosterolsWhat slows things down Phytates · Goitrogens

Did you know?

The oldest known fibres may be twisted, dyed flax threads found in Georgia's Dzudzuana Cave, 36,000 years old — a disputed date.