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The next time you are having a bowl of cereal or a cup of yogurt, consider sprinkling some flaxseed on top. What, you say? Flaxseed! Not strawberries, or blueberries or bananas? Don't get me wrong, those fruits are great and great for you as well, but you would also do your body a great favor by sprinkling some flaxseed and the reasons are many.

The primary health benefit of flaxseed is that flaxseed contains a high concentration of Omega 3 fatty acids. These "good fats" have been proven to lower cholesterol, lower the risk of certain cancers including breast cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer as well as helping reduce dry eyes. Omega 3 fatty acids are the reason everyone is so enamored with eating a lot of fish high in oil, such as Salmon.

Other proven benefits of flaxseed are increased energy and stamina, the ability to handle stress better, lower high blood pressure, alleviate dry skin and psoriasis and flaxseed serves as "nature's laxative".

You can buy flaxseed at most health stores such as GNC and also at some of your finer grocery stores. I like to purchase my flaxseed at Whole Foods. Flaxseed can be bought in seed form, but you can also purchase flaxseed oil, which is better served as a healthy cooking ingredient. Some popular foods you can add some flaxseed oil or ground flaxseed to include cookies, muffins, smoothies, and juices. Of course you can just eat flaxseed by themselves, but the taste, although not bad is much better when absorbed by a tastier substance.

Flaxseed is nothing new, having been around for over 4,000 years. Flaxseed crops are an annual crop most commonly founds in North Dakota in the U.S and also parts of Canada.

Even though flaxseed has been around forever, the popularity of flaxseed as a health benefit is fairly recent. Through careful research by food scientist and doctors we are better able to understand the health benefits of flaxseed and why this food is able to help improve our lives when combined with other factors such as a well maintained balance diet, plenty of exercise and a plethora of drinking water.

The secret to a long and healthy life is often affected by what you eat, and by adding flaxseed, you may just be prolonging your life, making it certainly worthy of consideration. In addition to a healthy diet, you can improve your health through exercise, not smoking and drinking in moderation.

Learn more about this author, Bruce Gilbert.
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