If you suffer from colitis, bloating, constipation but also fatty liver then a good choice is not to miss flaxseeds. In fact, these seeds act as prebiotics, support the health of the intestinal microbiota and counteract intestinal inflammation and fatty liver disease. This emerges from three very recent scientific studies that we are discussing today.
Flaxseeds against colitis
The first scientific research was published in the International Journal of Clinical Practice by Iranian scientists and analyzed the role of flaxseeds in case of intestinal inflammation (Morshedzadeh et al, Int J Clin Pract, 2021). The scientists recruited 90 volunteers, all diagnosed with colitis. The study participants were divided into three groups. For 12 weeks the first group took 30 grams of flaxseed a day, the second group 10 grams of flaxseed oil a day and the third group a placebo. After this time, those who had taken flaxseed and flaxseed oil had a significant decrease in colitis symptoms and a significant improvement in quality of life. It is noteworthy that the greatest results were observed in those who had a more severe form of colitis.
Flaxseeds relieve constipation
The second study was published in the Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare by a group of Chinese researchers (Ma et al, J Multidiscip Healthc, 2022). The study demonstrated the prebiotic action of flaxseeds on a sample of 60 volunteers, average age 68 and with constipation problems. Volunteers were asked to consume 50 grams of flaxseed per day for a month. Well, at the end of the experiment, based on analysis, it emerged that flaxseeds were able to support the intestinal microbiota, increasing its diversity and favoring good bacteria. Not only that, flaxseeds have also been able to counteract constipation and have improved intestinal motility.
Flaxseeds and fatty liver
The third study, published in the International Journal of Molecular Science, investigated the effects deriving from the intake of flaxseeds in the case of fatty liver not caused by alcohol abuse but by a high fat diet (Yang et al, Int J Mol Sci, 2021). Fatty liver itself does not cause symptoms but in some cases it can evolve into steatohepatitis, characterized by inflammation and scarring of the liver tissues, and cirrhosis of the liver. For this reason it is necessary to counteract inflammation of the liver, just as flaxseed has been shown to do, but let's try to understand better. The research was carried out in the laboratory on a population of mice, all with fatty liver resulting from a high-fat diet. After a month of taking flaxseed it emerged that these seeds were able to counteract inflammation in the liver and prevent fatty liver from turning into steatohepatitis. This property is traced back to the ability of flaxseed to act on the microbiota, supporting it and promoting the growth of good bacteria with an anti-inflammatory action.
Conclusions
Today we saw three scientific studies that demonstrate how important it is to introduce flaxseed into your diet to protect microbiota, gut and liver. The doses of flaxseed used in research are high, up to 50 grams, to obtain the greatest number of results in a short time. In fact, the safe and recommended dose of flaxseed is one to two tablespoons of seeds per day. The seeds can be ground with a coffee grinder and added to yogurt or salads. Alternatively, you can add a tablespoon of flaxseed to a glass of water and let it sit overnight. The next morning you can drink the water and use the flaxseeds, which in the meantime will have formed a mucilage, in yogurt or smoothies.
