Flaxseed is recommended as a dietary supplement because some studies indicate it helps lower cholesterol (especially in women), reduce blood pressure and promote healthy bacterial growth in the digestive tract. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine notes that studies demonstrating those benefits are promising but inconclusive. Most of the benefits to the digestive tract are derived from ground flaxseed or flaxseed supplements, though flaxseed oil shows promising results in studies of patients with high cholesterol.
Constipation
Flaxseed is 30 percent fiber, which remains undigested and does not pass into the blood stream. Two thirds of the fiber is insoluble, meaning it remains largely intact as it passes through the digestive tract. The insoluble fiber in flaxseed supplements, flaxseed flour or ground flaxseed powder adds bulk to the stool, easing it through the colon to combat constipation. Flaxseed oil is not a good source of the fiber.
Diverticulitis
The fiber in flaxseed also prevents waste from building up in pouches in the digestive tract. These buildups can lead to unwanted bacteria growth. These pouches form in patients suffering from diverticular disorders. Clearing the beds of infection helps encourage the "good bacteria" in the gut.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Increasing the movement of waste through the colon and preventing the buildup of bacteria-rich pouches will improve the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, but flaxseed offers another benefit as well. More than half of the fat in flaxseed oil is derived from alpha-linolenic acid, a biological precursor to omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 acids have a demonstrated ability to reduce inflammation, so painful symptoms from digestive conditions like Crohn's disease and irritable bowel syndrome, which inflame the digestive tract, are reduced.
Healthy Diet
A healthy diet consists of two to four times more omega-3 fats than omega-6 fats, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Due to advances in food production and changes in dietary choices over the years, Americans consume between 14 to 25 times more omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3s. Supplementing with flaxseed oil and flaxseed supplements can help restore a healthy balance.
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