I know that the news today can be overwhelming and even just mentioning the word facts can trigger all sorts of reactions.

I'm Dr. Michael Greger and I happen to really like facts. So I devoted my life to learning all there is to know about the latest nutrition research so that you and your family can lead healthier or productive lives.

On today's show we examined the power of flax. And no I didn't say facts although I do put a great deal of effort into making sure my work is powered by facts as well.

Today I'm tucking a fax on flax little seeds that aren't just nutritional powerhouses but may have medicinal benefits.

Ground flax seed consumption may decrease breast cancer risk by slowing one's menstrual cycle.

May also help control prostate enlargement as effectively as the leading prescription drug.

Flax seed is one of the original health foods.

Tresured for its healing properties throughout the Roman Empire and one of the original medicines used by Hippocrates, Mahatma Gandhi himself was right when he said,

quote, wherever flax seeds become a regular food item among the people that will be better health unquote.

Dr. Andrew Wile, one of the more reputable alternative medicine physicians says that if we can only make a single dietary change it should be to add flax seeds to our diet.

Okay but where do we find them and how should we eat them?

Flax seeds are almost always in the bulk section of any natural food store and about a dollar a pound you've got like a two month supply.

There are brown ones and golden ones they're the same nutritionally so pick your favorite color I guess.

They come with nature's own finest packaging a hard natural hole that keeps them fresh for up to a year in an airtight container.

Unfortunately nature's packaging is actually little too good if we eat flax seeds whole they're likely to pass right through us.

Not the other end and not do us much good so chew them really well or grind them up in a coffee or spice grinder a mini food processor or a good blender.

After their ground store them in the refrigerator in the last a few months an easy way to get our daily intake is with a morning smoothie just put two tablespoons of flax seeds in a blender.

Grind them to powder throw in some frozen berries maybe half a frozen banana some soy milk or almond milk any of the so called motherless milk.

Flax seeds have this binding quality that makes for these thick rich kind of milk shaky type smoothies.

In fact you can use ground flax seed to replace eggs in baking just blend one tablespoon of ground flax with three tablespoons of water until it gets all kind of gooey for each egg in the recipe.

And ground flax is better than the flax seed oil the seeds are little nutrition powerhouses and we lose much of the nutrition when we just press out the oil.

Not only are flax seeds the richest source of lignans they're a great source of iron zinc copper calcium protein potassium magnesium folate.

...