By Linda Gilmour Kessler
Did you know that eating ground or milled flaxseed can lower your risk of heart disease? High blood cholesterol, and in particular high LDL cholesterol, are major risk factors for developing heart disease. Ground Flaxseed can help lower your risk by lowering your blood cholesterol. Health Canada has even approved a health claim stating that ground whole flaxseed lowers blood cholesterol.
What is a Health Claim?
A health claim is any representation in labelling or advertising that states, suggests, or implies that a relationship exists between the consumption of a food or an ingredient in the food and a person’s health.
Health Canada approves specific health claims when there is strong evidence that there are health benefits of a particular food on a person’s health.
Health claims help you, the consumer, make informed decisions about your food choices by having information that is truthful and not misleading.
You can be confident knowing that health claims are based on a review of scientific studies because Health Canada ensures that there is strong evidence to support the health claims.
There are Two Types of Health Claims
- A disease reduction claim is a statement that links a food to the reduction of the risk of a diet-related disease or condition. Often these claims are related to diseases such as cancer or heart disease.
- A function claim is a statement about to specific beneficial effects a food has on normal functions of the body. This can be things like a food that promotion bowel regularity or a vitamin that is important for good health.
How did Ground Flaxseed get Approved for Health Claims?
Health Canada reviewed the key studies relating the intake of ground flaxseed to its impact on lowering blood cholesterol. The studies showed that consuming ground flaxseed decreases total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (a specific type of cholesterol that is linked to heart disease) enough to reduce the death rate from heart disease by 8.5%.
Health Canada’s Flax Health Claims
Health Canada has approved several health claims for flaxseed based on evidence that linked ground flaxseed with reductions in blood cholesterol.
The main health claim approved for ground flaxseed states that eating 5 Tbsp. (75 ml) of ground flaxseed per day over three meals helps reduce cholesterol.
An example of how you would see this claim on a label is: 16 g (2 tablespoons or 30 ml) of ground flaxseed supplies 40% of the daily amount shown to help lower cholesterol
Other permitted health claims for ground flaxseed include:
- Ground (whole) flaxseed helps reduce/lower cholesterol
- High cholesterol is a risk factor for heart disease
- Ground (whole) flaxseed helps reduce/lower cholesterol, (which is) a risk factor for heart disease
Packaged whole flaxseed can also carry the health claims if the label clearly specifies that the flaxseeds must be ground before eating.
Aim for 5 Tablespoons of Flax per Day
If you want to lower your risk of heart disease, you want to aim to increase your intake to 5 Tbsp or 75 ml of ground flaxseed per day. Start slowly so your body can adjust to the high fibre content. Start with 2 tsp (10 ml) per day and slowly work your way up to 5 Tbsp (75 mL) per day. Make sure to drink plenty of water! Eating more fibre requires more water to keep your bowels moving.
Looking for Some Quick Ways to Add Ground Flaxseed to Your Diet?
- Add ground flaxseed to your oatmeal or breakfast cereal.
- Snack on a granola bar or muffin made with ground flaxseed.
- Mix ground flaxseed into your yogurt.
- Sprinkle ground flaxseed on your fruit salad.
- Power up your smoothie with a spoonful of ground flaxseed
For more information about flaxseed’s health benefits and for more ideas on how to use flax, check out the article Why is Flaxseed Such a Nutritional Powerhouse?
