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Nutritional Benefits
The Good Fat
The fact is there is fat that is good for you. As more and more clinical research continues to emerge, essential fatty acids otherwise known as "the good fat" is an important part of your daily diet. Approximately 73% of the fat in flax is polyunsaturated fat or essential fatty acids. More than half of the fat in flax seed is alpha-linolenic acid or omega-3 essential fats. These good fats are termed essential because the human body can not make it on its own and must get them from our daily diet. Flax is one of the best ways to incorporate these essential fats into our diet.
Essential Fatty Acids Recommendations
Currently, no dietary reference intakes (DRIs) for flax have been established in Canada or the United States. However, the adequate intake of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), serves as the basis for the suggested flax intakes. For optimal health, the National Academy of Science Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends an acceptable level of ALA intake to be 1.6 g/d for men and 1.1 g/d for women. The Flax Council of Canada recommends 1-2 tablespoons a day of ground flax to achieve adequate intakes of ALA and for optimal health.
References
Institute of Medicine. 2002. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids, National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., pp.8-1—8-97.
Morris, D.H. 2003. Flax: A Health and Nutrition Primer. (3rd ed.) Flax Council of Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada: p.10-14, 28-33.
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How Our Flax Is Produced
