Cooking Flax Seeds - JP Fitness Forums

Lost Dog · 05-12-2006, 08:35 AM

I understand that you either have to grind, crack, germinate, or cook flax seeds so that they can be digested.

Does cooking them with your oatmeal cook them enough? 5 minute oats, by the way.

At this point, they are chewy still, but no longer crunchy and hard.

Mountain_marc · 05-12-2006, 08:48 AM

I think they still have to be ground in order for the nutrients to be absorbed by the body regardless of cooked or not.

I grind some every week or two and keep them in the freezer and add the ground seeds to my, oatmeal, shakes, etc. Easier than chewing each seed for maximum nutrients.

Ogedei · 05-12-2006, 08:49 AM

Why not just buy flaxmeal?

Mountain_marc · 05-12-2006, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ogedei

Why not just buy flaxmeal?

Doesn't last as long than an unground seed. Or so i've read somewhere...

Lost Dog · 05-12-2006, 09:01 AM

I usually buy flaxmeal because I'm too lazy to grind my own. I bought whole seeds in a pinch.

my 2nd grinder broke, so cleaning the coffee grinder is a pain in the rear.

milkman21 · 05-12-2006, 03:21 PM

Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats oxidize rather easily (not good), and cooking is a quick way to do it. Cooking the flaxseeds will likely degrade the PUFAs. Instead of cooking, grind them, and add them once the oats have been cooked. Similar steps should be taken with olive oil--add it after cooking instead of using it for cooking.

In addition, flaxmeal will go rancid more quickly than whole flaxseeds, again due to oxidation. When the seeds are whole, they are relatively impervious to oxidation, but when you crack that "shell" the oils are exposed to the air and they become susceptible to oxidation again.

Lost Dog · 05-12-2006, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkman21

Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats oxidize rather easily (not good), and cooking is a quick way to do it. Cooking the flaxseeds will likely degrade the PUFAs. Instead of cooking, grind them, and add them once the oats have been cooked. Similar steps should be taken with olive oil--add it after cooking instead of using it for cooking.

In addition, flaxmeal will go rancid more quickly than whole flaxseeds, again due to oxidation. When the seeds are whole, they are relatively impervious to oxidation, but when you crack that "shell" the oils are exposed to the air and they become susceptible to oxidation again.

Oh! Hadn't thought of that.

Back to griinding...

Thanks for the heads' up!