Nuts & seeds
Moderate evidenceFlaxseed
19.4 g of omega-3 (ALA) and 23.1 g of fibre per 100 g. But swallowed whole, the hard hull means most of it passes through undigested.
Flaxseed yoghurt bowl
Grind the flaxseed right before eating. Whole seeds pass through undigested, and pre-ground flax goes rancid.
1 servings5 min
Ingredients
- Flaxseed (whole)1 tbsp (10 g)
- Greek yoghurt150 g
- Blueberries50 g
- Walnuts15 g
- Honey1 tsp (optional)
Method
Grind the flaxseed immediately before eating. A coffee grinder or a mortar will do. Left whole, the hull does not digest and nothing inside gets used.
Toast the walnuts in a dry pan for two minutes over low heat, then cool.
Spoon the Greek yoghurt into a bowl.
Stir the ground flaxseed through — do not just sprinkle it on top. Left on the surface it clumps and the texture suffers.
Add the blueberries and walnuts.
A little honey if you want sweetness. The blueberries already cover most of the yoghurt's tang.
Cooking note
There are two reasons to buy flaxseed whole and grind it as you go.
The first is digestion. The hull defeats digestive enzymes, so a whole seed takes its 19.4 g of ALA and its lignans straight through you.
The second is rancidity. Ground flax has far more surface exposed to air, and ALA is vulnerable to heat and oxygen. Pre-ground flax left at room temperature turns bitter within weeks. Keep leftovers sealed in the freezer.
Pairing it with yoghurt also has a reason. Flaxseed's fat-soluble compounds absorb better alongside the yoghurt's fat, and its 2.3 g of fibre needs moisture to do its job.
Ingredients used here
Dairy & eggs
Moderate evidenceGreek yogurt
It has nearly three times the protein of regular yogurt not because of any special ingredient, but because the liquid was removed. Calcium goes down in the same step.
Fruits
Moderate evidenceBlueberry
Anthocyanins — the pigment behind the blue — are the compound that keeps showing up in vascular and cognitive research. A handful a day is the studied dose.
Nuts & seeds
Moderate evidenceWalnut
Walnuts carry 9.1 g of ALA per 100 g, an order of magnitude beyond other nuts. But the rate at which ALA converts to EPA and DHA is very low.