Whats so great about lignans, and what is a lignan anyway?
Lignans are a type of natural plant chemical. This chemical is located within the cell of the flaxseed. When you eat ground flax, the digestive process works on the lignans to convert them into potent, hormone-like substances. These are known as phytoestrogenic (phyto=plants) compounds. Research has indicated that those people who eat a diet high in lignans have a low incidence of breast, colon and prostrate cancers. Scientists are concluding that the chemical release of these phytoestrogenic compounds are able to block the action of hormone sensitive cancers. Ground flax seed provides up to 800 times more lignans than any other plant! (Note that flaxseed oil contains virtually no lignans, unless added back in.
