Shelled Versus Whole Flaxseed – Which Is Better?

I think by now most anyone who is at all interested in healthy eating has at least heard of flaxseed. They are these tiny little powerhouses that we know are a good source of Omega 3’s and fibre, but for many people, that’s about all they know, so when they go to the store and want to buy flaxseed and are faced with choosing between whole flax seeds, shelled flax seeds, ground flaxseed (or flax meal) they have no idea if one is better than the other.

Let’s Talk Fiber

Before we get into which type is best, first let’s talk fiber. There are two main types of fiber, insoluble and soluble.

Insoluble fiber goes through your digestive tract without being digested. In other words – it comes out looking the same as it went in. Soluble fiber breaks down as it is digested and acts like a Swiffer cleaning out the “gunk” as it goes through (which is why flax is a great food for helping to reduce excess cholesterol).

Insoluble fiber comes out looking the same as it went in, it adds bulk to stool and helping speed up the elimination of waste but because it isn’t broken down provides few other health benefits. Soluble fiber helps clean out the junk but doesn’t aid in regularity or stool size, so both types of fiber are important in their own way.

Back to flaxseed…

Whole Flax

Whole flaxseed has a hard outer shell that contains insoluble fibre, so when you eat flax in its original state, it will help with elimination and stool size, but you won’t be getting any of the other nutritional benefits of the seed.

In both the shelled and ground forms, the tough outer shell has been removed or ground up allowing the seed to be both digested and provide additional nourishment (most notably those precious Omega 3 fats).

Ground Flax

Ground flax, because it is simply whole flaxseeds ground up contains both the soluble and insoluble fibre so it provides you with both soluble and insoluble fibre and omega 3’s… but I think it tastes like dirt.

It can be okay mixed in some recipes, but as far as adding it to yogurt or salad or anything where you will actually taste it, it’s yuck city IMO. In fact, one of the things my naturopath had me do was drink a warm glass of lemon water each morning which was fine – until she told me to add a full tablespoon of ground flax to it.

You guys, I couldn’t even look at the glass and I had to down in all in one gulp otherwise I would spit it back out into the sink. It was so bad!!

Shelled Flax

Anyway, you can guess from that little story that my preferred type of flax is shelled. It tastes good (or has no real taste at all if you get the plain shelled) and I can happily put it on most any foods without fearing it’ll make it taste like dirt 😉

For more information on Omega 3 Fatty Acids check out this article: http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/high-omega-3-foods.php