Fuel Your Day With Flaxseed

Quick Win 

Sprinkle some mild-tasting flaxseed on your meals for an instant nutrient boost.

Try This Today

• Purchase flaxseed from your grocery store. It’s usually in the baking aisle or near the oatmeal. You can choose whole seeds or ground flaxseed (also called milled flaxseed or flax meal). Ground flaxseed is easier for your body to digest and therefore may provide more nutrients, but it's also more prone to spoiling​.​ (​S​toring it in the fridge or freezer can help prevent this​.​)​
• Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed onto your breakfast; its mild, nutty flavor works well in cereal, oatmeal, smoothies or even omelets.
• Try baking scones or muffins with flaxseed.

Why

Flaxseed offers fiber, plus it’s also a vegetarian source of omega-3 fatty acids, a type of dietary fat linked to healthy brain aging, according to AARP’s Global Council on Brain Health 2018 report “Brain Food.” In a study that followed 40 healthy, cognitively normal adults (average age 76) for two years, higher intake of omega-3s was associated with better memory, processing speed and white matter volume. Participants received cognitive tests, MRIs and blood draws several times during the study, published in 2023 in Brain Sciences.