What to Do With Flax Seeds?

Grind the Flaxseed

• Elaine Magree, MPH, RD, reports in the WebMD article "The Benefits of Flaxseed" that the body better absorbs flaxseeds' medicinal qualities when the seeds are ground. Whole flaxseeds tend to pass through the body without being fully digested, which means most of the helpful compounds are not absorbed. Flaxseed is available preground; however, you may buy whole seeds and grind them yourself by placing them in a standard coffee bean grinder.

Baking

• The University of Maryland Medical Center states that consuming flaxseed may help reduce high cholesterol, reduce the likelihood of heart disease and ease the discomfort of constipation. Due to the wide array of medicinal uses of flaxseed, finding ways to add this supplement to your diet is nothing but beneficial. Baking with flaxseed allows you to place this helpful seed in your foods without having to taste it. You may substitute a portion of flour in a recipe with flaxseed. For example, if the recipe requires 2 or more cups of flour, substitute half a cup of flour with half a cup of ground flaxseed.

Add to Foods

• Adding ground flaxseed to thick foods is a simple way of ensuring you consume the recommended 2 to 3 tbsp. of flaxseed per day. Mix 1 to 2 tbsp. of ground flaxseed with oatmeal, smoothies, yogurt or soups. The thickness of these foods will cover the earthy taste of the flaxseed while still introducing this medicinal supplement to your system.

Storage

• Like many other natural supplements, how you store flaxseed will determine its shelf life. The shell in whole flaxseeds protects the natural oils from oxidizing; however, once you grind the flaxseed, oxygen reduces the potency of the oils. Thus, it is best to store the ground flaxseeds in a freezer. Pour the ground flaxseed into a freezer-safe plastic bag and squeeze all the air out of the bag before sealing it and placing it in the freezer.