Holistic Medicine, Linseed for the whole body and mind

Holistic Medicine and Linseed

Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine,  Born c 460. Ancient Greece. Died c 370 BC.was ahead of his time: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”

When I first discovered linseed (flaxseed) it quickly taught me the meaning of holistic and how a food with so many nutritional benefits as linseed (flax) can work naturally with the body to improve health in many ways. At about the same time I realised wheat caused me many problems, I found having linseed as an ingredient in my fridge a help on a gluten-free diet, you can make so much with it and I really noticed improvements in my health when I started to use it.  A daily helping of ground linseed and a little cold-pressed linseed oil was a boost for my health and wellbeing; it did all the things it was meant to do as well as improvements I hadn’t expected that even included weight-loss.

Linseed – Omega-3 Important for the whole body

To quote Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health: “What makes omega-3 fats special? They are an integral part of cell membranes throughout the body and affect the function of the cell receptors in these membranes. They provide the starting point for making hormones that regulate blood clotting, contraction and relaxation of artery walls, and inflammation.” It is essential throughout the whole body.  The brain has a great demand for omega-3 as it develops in the womb, in the developing child; sufficient omega-3 helps to ensure older children’s and adults’ brains function correctly for both brainpower and mood. Other parts of the body with greatest requirement for omega-3 include the retina(eye) and testes for making sperm cells.

Linseed can give you good “side effects”

Merriam Webster.  Essential Meaning of holistic: adjective. ho·​lis·​tic | \ hō-ˈli-stik \. Relating to or concerned with complete systems rather than with individual parts. Holistic medicine attempts to treat both the mind and the body.

Put it another way, instead of suppressing unwanted individual symptoms holistic medicine works by getting the whole body to work better enabling it to overcome problems. This means the only “side effect” is clearing up additional health issues as well as the original problem. A holistic medicine that helps the brain feel better can also make the body feel better.  There is no point in trying to work out whether the brain influences the body or the other way round, as long as you feel good and your blood test results show your body is working like it should that’s all you need to know. Give linseed a try, start off with the oil and ground linseed or what’s been recommended to you by a health professional or a friend.

Getting cold-pressed linseed oil for omega-3 into children is great for their development and mood, ground linseed is a gentle aid to young digestions, best of all they enjoy it!

Skin, joints, digestion

Linseed is often “prescribed” by naturopaths and enlightened medical professionals.  Unlike drugs which often have side effects, most people find adding linseed to their diet positively beneficial.

For instance, you may have been recommended Flax Farm cold-pressed linseed oil for omega-3 by your optician and find it makes your skin smoother.  Or, start using Flax Farm ground linseed because you need a low carb, low sugar diet and then you find your digestion has become more regular.

Linseed adds lots of nutritional benefits

To get the best from linseed, depending on whether you need omega-3, lignans or more fibre in your diet the linseed should be cold-pressed to produce a mild creamy linseed/flaxseed oil or cold-milled to produce “ground” linseed which has a similar consistency to ground almonds.

I realised that linseed could be used therapeutically but as soon as I started having a linseed stall at farmers’ markets I found lots of people didn’t know how to incorporate it into their diet  or just didn’t have time. So when I created the Flax Farm products I made sure even the Flaxjacks, Linseed Porridge and muesli would all provide enough linseed that you could start to experience the health benefits of linseed. These products have now become popular, partly, because they are delicious and people just enjoy them but we know it’s also because people love the health benefits. 

Special nutritional needs

Many people find their holistic medicine is avoiding certain food groups, reducing sugar or saturated fats, Flax Farm products have been created with this in mind.  In our pages of products, you can find saturated-fat-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, carb-free, low-carb, high omega-3, high fibre and lignans. Whether you are trying to add nutrients or reduce/cut out others you will find our linseed foods have options for you. We aim all our products give you enough cold-milled linseed or linseed oil to help you get those linseed benefits.

https://www.flaxfarm.co.uk/product-category/linseed-flax-oil/

Weight control

Another bonus for eating linseed was how much easier it made it for me to lose and control my weight (even living with access to a bakery full of Flaxjacks!) and, plus I found it great for weight control.