I have been eating whole flax seeds every day now and was wondering the effectiveness of eating the seeds in a whole fashion. I chew them thoroughly and was thinking they get passed almost "whole" as I see from my BM.

Are they more effective whole or processed, I'm thinking whole but have no info to prove this.

Regular Guy,

Flax seeds need to be ground in order for the body to get any nutrition out of them. The outer hulls are too strong for the body to digest to get to the "good" stuff on the inside. I don't know how well chewing would work. I grind enough for about a week's worth, and keep it in the refrigerator. I have an electric coffee grinder that I use only for spices and such -- it never is used for coffee.

--Rheanna