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Ground Flaxseed & Lemon for Digestion
People going through bouts of poor digestive health are likely to try a range of home treatments to avoid the painful and embarrassing problems digestive disorders bring 1. Eating lots of “roughage,” drinking eight to 10 glasses of room-temperature water each day and walking after meals are classic digestion-boosters. Lemon juice and flaxseeds, either alone or in combination, may also help keep your digestive tract healthy. Talk to your physician about ongoing problems with pain, bloating, constipation, diarrhea or other digestive problems.
If you are experiencing serious medical symptoms, seek emergency treatment immediately.
Digestive Disorders
Problems with digestion run the gamut from occasional discomfort to chronic disease, according to Merck Manual’s online Home Health Handbook 1. Symptoms of digestive problems include:
- nausea
- vomiting
- gas
- constipation
- diarrhea
- as well as burning or pain anywhere along your digestive tract
While home treatments for minor problems may work, chronic or serious symptoms should be checked by a doctor before the condition worsens.
Flaxseeds
How to Eat Ground Flaxseed
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Flaxseeds boast two properties that make them a useful laxative and general digestive aid, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. The seeds' fibrous content adds bulk to waste, allowing you to eliminate more of what you eat. In addition, flaxseeds have a mucilaginous quality, which provides a slippery coating to other foods moving through your digestive tract, also aiding in proper digestion. Flaxseeds, harvested from the flax plant, are sometimes known as linseeds. Use flaxseeds whole in cooked dishes, and unheated flaxseed oil on salads and over vegetables and rice. Flaxseeds make the best digestive aids when they are ground, according to UMMC.
- Flaxseeds boast two properties that make them a useful laxative and general digestive aid, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.
- Flaxseeds make the best digestive aids when they are ground, according to UMMC.
Lemons
One of lemon juice’s useful qualities is that it helps you digest fats more efficiently. Problems digesting fat can lead to diarrhea, the Merck Manual guide notes. Mehmet Oz, the physician hosting the health-centered “Dr. Oz” television program and website, says that lemon juice also aids digestion because it acts as an antibacterial agent. Specifically, the vitamin C content in lemon juice may counteract the affects of the Helicobacter pylori bacteria, which is often responsible for peptic ulcers.
- One of lemon juice’s useful qualities is that it helps you digest fats more efficiently.
- Mehmet Oz, the physician hosting the health-centered “Dr.
- Oz” television program and website, says that lemon juice also aids digestion because it acts as an antibacterial agent.
Method
Can Flaxseeds Make You Sick?
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Oz provides a daily “cocktail” of flaxseed, lemon juice and water that he says may help regulate your digestion 2. Squeeze one-quarter of a lemon into 1 cup of hot water. Add 1 teaspoon of ground flaxseeds, then stir. Drinking it in the morning is the best way for the drink to achieve its balancing digestive action on the day’s meals, he notes. Buy whole flaxseeds and grind them in an herb or coffee bean grinder just before consuming them, UMMC suggests.
- Oz provides a daily “cocktail” of flaxseed, lemon juice and water that he says may help regulate your digestion 2.
- Buy whole flaxseeds and grind them in an herb or coffee bean grinder just before consuming them, UMMC suggests.
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References
- Merck Manual Home Health Handbook: Digestive Disorders - Symptoms
- The Dr. Oz Show: Lemon Juice and Flaxseed Drink
- Mccann SE, Thompson LU, Nie J, et al. Dietary lignan intakes in relation to survival among women with breast cancer: the Western New York Exposures and Breast Cancer (WEB) Study. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2010;122(1):229-35. doi:10.1007/s10549-009-0681-x
- National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, National Institutes of Health. Flaxseed and flaxseed oil. Updated November 30. 2016
- Oncology Nutrition DPG. Flaxseeds and breast cancer. Updated January 2014.
- National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Clinical Trials. Macrobiotic Diet and Flax Seed: Effects on Estrogens, Phytoestrogens, & Fibrinolytic Factors. Completed in August 17, 2006.
- Liu K, Lu C. Gut microbes modulate host response to immune checkpoint cancer immunotherapy. Translational Cancer Research. 2018. 7(Suppl 5):S608-S610. doi:10.21037/tcr.2018.05.37
Writer Bio
Ellen Douglas has written on food, gardening, education and the arts since 1992. Douglas has worked as a staff reporter for the Lakeville Journal newspaper group. Previously, she served as a communication specialist in the nonprofit field. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Connecticut.