Category: Plant Central

From the January 1999 newsletter:

The little flax plant that returns each year in our Medicinal Garden is an ornamental, grown for looks, not usefulness. It is probably Linum perenne or L. narbonense or L. lewisii. These are all carefree perennials.

The real workhorses – the herb that is a “useful plant” is an annual, Linum usitatissimum or “the most useful kind of flax.”

And over the centuries useful it has been.

The Egyptians cultivated flax and used the fibers for everything from diapers to mummy wrappings. Flax seed is a food staple in Ethiopia and other parts of North Africa. Medicinally powdered flax seed was mixed with honey and water and given to expectant mothers “for an easy birth.” Flaxseed does indeed contain prostaglandin – which eases labor.

Less easy to prove are the folk notions that flax was a blessed plant associated with good fortune and as a protection against witch craft. Have a homely grandchild under seven? Have the kid dance in a flax field during his/her seventh year and beauty is assured.

Remember the oilcloth of your childhood? Invented by the Chinese at the start of the first millennium oilcloth is canvas treated with flaxseed oil. Linoleum, invented in 1863, is boiled linseed oil mixed with cork and applied to a burlap backing which was then pressured into sheets. We have vinyl floors now, but linoleum lead the way.

The American settlers brought seeds of the “most useful kind of flax” with them and carried the seeds West with them.

Flaxseed oil was used for all sorts of poultices and skin softeners. Flaxseed tea was used for coughs, urinary infections and as a laxative. The tradition goes all the way back to Hippocrates.

Linseed oil is still used to finish furniture, to protect boots and as a paint base for people who don’t mind cleaning up.

Growing flax is easy. Processing is awful. If the grower waits for the seed heads to ripen the fiber in the stem is past it’s prime, so a given crop is grown for flaxseeds or fiber. For the home gardener thinking about harvesting seeds the following advice is given. “Slide a pillowcase over the top end of a bundle of pods, tie the case securely then put it down on a paved driveway… Beat with a block of wood, roll them with a rolling pin, jump on the bag, drive back and forth over it with a car.” This is step one. Processing the fibers is even worse, requiring “special tools, a lot of physical work, and a sense of timing and judgment that comes only from long experience.”

Modern Snake Oil?

Internet sites and publications such as Environmental Nutrition (which has an impressive editorial panel of medics and nutritionists ) sing the praises of seed and oil until one wonders if it is the spiel of an old time medicine man!

Flaxseed is:

• Rich in Protein
• Contains the omega-3 fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) which may protect against arthritis, some kinds of stroke and heart disease.
• Is a good source of fiber
• Lowers cholesterol
• Contains lignans – “phytoestrogens that may act as cancer-blockers for hormone-dependent cancers such as the breast, endometrium and prostate.”
• Help with attention deficit disorder (ADHD)

Flaxseed oil is:

• all of the above except no fiber.

If you are interested

Flaxseed oil is available at grocery stores, but it is a bit tricky. Never use in baking. Good in salad dressings and the like. Must be refrigerated and kept in a dark bottle. Use within 30 days.

Flaxseed is available by the pound at health food stores and grocery outlets likes Krogers. A little goes a long way. (A tablespoon a day is currently recommended.) Because the hulls are extremely tough it is a good idea to invest in a coffee mill dedicated to flaxseed alone. After milling, seed can be refrigerated in a ziplock bag for several days. Unmilled seed keeps up to a year at room temperature.

Flaxseed has a pleasant nutty flavor and can be used as a topper on cereal, fruit etc. and in baking replacing oils.

Best website: www.flaxcouncil.ca.