THE HEALTHY FLAXSEED & OIL

This beautiful blue flower is the flower of the Flax, also known Common Flax or Lin, so basically linseeds and flaxseed are the same. Linseed oil is very well know for the use to protect wooden furniture, it is non toxic and give a good protection even for the garden furniture that stays outside in summertime. But linseeds or flaxseeds are much more. They are very rich in omega-3 fatty acids and they also contains omega-6 and 9. Flaxseeds contain about 37% of fibre which is excellent for your digestive system, it will help your bowel system to be more regular. They also help you to lower your cholesterol levels. Flaxseeds are very good for constipation.

Some nutritionists, researchers, and scientists believe that it could be the most important health-promoting supplement next to a multi-vitamin. Nearly every system in the body can benefit from flax seed oil's natural properties, including the cardiovascular system, immune system, circulatory system, reproductive system, nervous system, as well as joints.

Flaxseeds come with two different colours, the brown ones and then there is a golden flaxseeds as well. The omegas that the flaxseeds oil contains comes in a good balance for 4:1 for Omega-3 about 59% and Omega-6 about 15%. It has also about 15% of Omega-9 fatty acids. The seeds contain lignans, that helps to keep a healthy lining in your guts and prevent cancer. These are release when you  keep flaxseeds in the water over night you will get this "slimy"thing around the seeds in the morning, it might not look very nice but this one part of the fiber that is water soluble and helps your intestines to heal and the rest of the fiber will help you to digest better. Regular use of flaxseeds and oil is beneficial for your health and it will keep your digestive system in good balance.  You can use flaxseeds in the morning muslies, porridge, and smoothies.
I use them in my morning smoothies and if you want all the benefits of them, put a two soup spoons of flaxseeds/ person in a luke warm water in a glass over night, just enough water to cover the seeds. As I told you, you will find a slimy thick water next morning, but it has all the goodness of the flaxseeds. So use this in your smoothie or mix it in you oatmeal. This won't add any bad or funny taste in your meal.

For the morning smoothie you need:

Fresh or frozen berries
honey
soya milk
flaxseeds that has been in the water over night

If you wish to add other ingredients like maca powder, ginseng or guarana powder or even pollen, all these you will find in a health shop.

Mix all this in a mixer and drink straight away. When drinking this slowly and biting the small bits and pieces in it you will help your digestive system to start working and this way you will get more benefits. Your digestive system can absorb better all the nutriments, when saliva has already been mixed in our mouth. This works with every kind of food, that's why we always should eat slowly and only eat small bites at the time.


What comes to flaxseed oil, use it in your smoothies
or you can also ad it to your French salad sauce. Here

is a way how you can make your own healthy salad sauce.

You can choose between vinegars and oils that you use.

Freanch Salad sauce

1 tea spoon of Dijon mustard
Vine vinegar, apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
Olive oil or any nut oil
1-2 tea spoons  flaxseed oil
Glove of garlic
Shallot onion

Peel the onion and garlic, cut them in very small pieces. Take a small bowl and add your mustard in the bowl with 1 soup spoon of vinegar or lemon juice, mix it well. Then add 3 soup spoon of the oil of you choice (not your flaxseed oil). Alway try to keep you oil vinegar in 1:3. So if you want more sauce put 2 soup spoon of vinegar and the 6 spoons of oil. Add now you flaxseed oil. Mix well all together and add the onion and garlic. This is a best way to get a healthy salad sauce without any preservatives in it.

You can also find flaxseed oil capsules but I prefer to use the oil and seeds daily in my food. Just make sure that you will buy organic cold pressed flaxseed oil and organic seeds. It will be better for your health and for the nature too. A small green choice amongs of others...

Overview:

Flaxseed oil comes from the seeds of the flax plant (Linum usitatissimum, L.).Flaxseed oil contains both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which are needed for health. Flaxseed oil contains the essential fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which the body converts into eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil. Some researchers think that flaxseed oil might have some of the same benefits as fish oil, but the body isn' t very efficient at converting ALA into EPA and DHA. And the benefits of ALA, EPA, and DHA are not necessarily the same. Omega-3 fatty acids, usually from fish oil, have been shown to reduce inflammation and help prevent certain chronic diseases such as heart disease and arthritis. Studies are mixed about whether flaxseed oil is useful for the same conditions.

Getting a good balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in the diet is important. These essential fats are both examples of polyunsaturated fatty acids, or PUFAs. Omega-3 fatty acids help reduce inflammation, while most omega-6 fatty acids tend to contribute to inflammation. A healthy diet should consist of roughly 2 - 4 times fewer omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3 fatty acids. The typical American diet, however, tends to contain 14 - 25 times more omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3 fatty acids. Many researchers believe this is a significant factor in the rising rate of inflammatory disorders in the United States.

Flaxseed -- but not flaxseed oil -- also contains a group of chemicals called lignans that may play a role in the prevention of cancer. Please see the flaxseed monograph for more information.

Overview from University of Maryland, USA

BACK TO HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT! I am sure most of us have heard this before. It is a statement that is often used in health and food articles or programs. Many people are ignoring the nutritional value of the food that they eat and they just carry on eating junk food and ready made dishes that are easily found  in every supermarket. But even supermarkets have better choices for your daily meals, than these industrially ready made dishes with full of salt, sugar, fat or additives. Most of the supermarkets have sections of organic food, from fruit and vegetables to meat and milk products. Organic food is actually food the most of the people used to eat just 50 years ago... Seasonal vegetables and fruits that had grown in the real fields without any artificial fertilizers or toxic pest control products... Meat and milk came from the farms where animals were feeding themselves by walking outside on the fields. Fish came from sea and lakes without being farmed in a closed pools where the fish get fed by automatic feeders and their food contains antibiotic just in case that the fishes might catch a sickness. I know a person who is allergic to antibiotics and she can't eat farmed salmon because of the antibiotic that is stores in the salmon flesh.
There is an other eating habit problem that many people have today... That is over eating, many people just eat too much, what they really need for the daily requirement and when that food has no nutritional value, the person feels tired and have lots of digestive problems and which on the long term can cause diabetes, high blood presser, heart problems etc.
So many families don't have a shared meal anymore and in many families nobody really knows how to cook... Have we just become lazy, ignorant or what is it? Today there are so many sources that we can get information about good healthy food... Cooking a meal with your children can be a quality moment and they will learn from a early age how important is to cook your own meals.

I try to eat the healthiest possible way, but I am not a fanatic about the strict eating rules. I have suffered from Candida during many years when I was in my 20's and due to that had a terrible rush in my hands. If I don't control what I am eating the Candida comes back quite easily, so with my healthy eating habits I have manage to keep the Candida away. I enjoy good quality coffee and wines. I love my morning coffee and I just try to not have more than 3 cups of coffee per day... In the Mediterranean diet or way of eating, people have a glass of wine with their meal. Especially red wine can have some health benefits if you only drink a glass or two per day... The food that you eat should have nutritional value for your body but it also need to give you a moment of pleasure, a shared moment with family and friends and don't feel bad if you want to enjoy some wine with your meals... A moment of pleasure will be benefit for you and it will keep the stress levels down...
Your food choices will affect your body in good way or bad way...Most people who have a healthy lifestyle are less stressed and hardly ever catch a cold or flu, their immune system works much better and they have more energy.
Healthy food and lifestyle is not boring. Healthy food will teach you about new flavours and it will bring more colour to your plate. Most of the ready made dishes contains artificial colours and flavours...So many people especially children don't know about a real taste of food.
 Ones you shift your mind for a healthier lifestyle and start to eat food, that will be good for you and will give you the needed vitamins and minerals your desire for the junk food falls away. You begin to feel better so you begin to eat for life. Why so many of us only take this decision after they have fallen sick? So many diseases could be avoided by eating healthier from your childhood and young adulthood. Exercise is the second key to the good health. A regular exercise will keep your body fit and help you to maintain your cholesterol levels, it will also help you to cope with stress and by exercising you will keep your heart healthy and your digestive system and circulation working better.
We all have periods in life when we tent to eat and drink more, those periods can be short term like festive seasons, bit longer like holidays and then so many of us fall into bad eating and drinking habits when we are stressed or we have relationship or work problems in our life.
If you feel that you really need a change in your eating habits to get a better and healthier lifestyle you might want to start with a detox program that will help you to cleanse your body. It is not a diet or a fastening program, it is a detox cleansing program that takes 28-days, during those days you can eat different vegetables, fruits, nuts, some fish, non dairy products...By this program you will loose some weight but which is the most important thing is that you will cleanse your whole body system and you will gain energy, feel great, look good and get back to a healthier lifestyle.