Have you ever had flax oil? Flaxseeds?
If you answered ‘yes’ to either of those questions, good for you! Your cells are jumping for joy and your body is one happy camper.
If your answer was a ‘negative’, then we need to talk.
No words could really express just how important essential fatty acids are for us, such as those provided by flax. The mere fact that they’re called ‘essential’ fatty acids tells us just how ‘essential’ they really are.
An Essential Fatty What?
Essential fatty acids, also known as EFAs, are fatty acids that our bodies cannot make, but are essential for so many body functions, and therefore we must get them from our food. The two EFAs are called omega 3 and omega 6. I trust you’ve heard these names mentioned in commercials, passed around the office, and/or brought up at the spa. We’ll talk about some other food sources another day, but right now it’s all about flax, baby.
Flax oil is approximately 3.5 times richer in omega 3 than omega 6. This is a good thing, as most of us are generally deficient in omega 3, and already get enough omega 6 from our food intake. Omega 3 is anti-inflammatory, anti-pain, skin moisturizing, joint lubricating, brain- and nervous system-nourishing, and mood-lifting. And so much more! Like I said, essential.
Ways to Incorporate Flax
First off, to get the benefits of flaxseeds, they should be ground up. Grinding them yourself in a coffee grinder (a separate one reserved for this purpose) is best, as they will be freshest. However, purchasing them already ground from a health food store is great too. Either way, store them tightly sealed in the freezer once opening or grinding them to prevent rancidity.
Ground flaxseeds can be added to a smoothie or sprinkled on a salad, yogurt/kefir, oatmeal, or quinoa, to name a few. Aim for 1 Tbsp minimum per day.
Flax oil should never be heated, as it quickly becomes rancid when exposed to heat, light, and oxygen. However, it can be added to heated foods, such as soup, stew, chili, steamed veggies, and quinoa or rice dishes. You can also add it to smoothies, use it as a base in your homemade salad dressing (see below), and add it to everything to which you can add ground flaxseeds (see above). You can also pour some into juice and drink it on down. The list goes on, people! Because flax oil is so nutrient-dense and essential, aim for 1 Tbsp per 50 lbs of body weight per day. Say what?? Indeed I said it. Try it; you will feel amazing. Literally every cell membrane in our bodies (and we have trillions of cells) contains EFAs, so we can hardly get enough.
Rather than being stored as fat, this type of oil is used for essential functions in the body, so you needn’t worry about gaining weight with it. In fact, it can help with the opposite: weight loss. If you have dry, dehydrated skin, that’s your body’s way of telling you it needs more good fats, so don’t be afraid to increase the amount above what I’ve listed here.
Start slowly (with 1 Tbsp per day), and work up every couple days. And, spread it throughout the day to give your body time to digest and break it down (after all, it is pure oil, so it needs time to be digested). Store flax oil in the fridge even before opening it, and once open, consume within no more than 8 weeks.
Mud (otherwise known as Balsamic Vinaigrette)
This recipe is for the simplest salad dressing made with flax oil. It’s such an easy and delicious way to increase your EFA status. Why ‘Mud’? Well… it kinda looks like it. My family named it Mud a few years ago, and the name has stuck ever since. So much more fun than plain old ‘Balsamic Vinaigrette’.
1/4 cup flax oil
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped (depending on your desired level of garlicky)
1/2 tsp sea salt or Herbamare (find at a health food store)
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper, or to taste
Sprinkling of herbs of choice, if desired (I love Herbes de Provence)
Pour all ingredients into a glass jar, put the lid on tight, and shake it, baby! Store in the fridge up to 10 days.
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