Flax (plant): description, useful properties and application

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

In our article we want to talk about what linen is. This plant, in addition to economic purposes, is widely used for medicinal purposes. Let's look at its properties.

What is linen?

The plant has long been used to make cloth and dietary oil. It should be noted that linen clothing is characterized by great strength and durability, not to mention high hygroscopic properties, thermal conductivity and environmental safety. Flax seeds have long been used in medicine for the treatment of many diseases. Flaxseed oil is a dietary product. It is a source of fatty acids for the body, which are not synthesized by the body itself.

Description of the plant

Flax is a type of plant that is annual. It is very interesting and has been used by people for a long time. If we talk about which plant flax belongs to, then this is the Flax family. This genus contains more than a hundred species. For example, alpine, white, capitate, large-flowered, veiny and thin-leaved.

Of course, the most common linen is ordinary. It is also called spinning. So what is so special about flax? Plant height reaches 60 centimeters. leafletssmall and narrow, and the flowers are usually blue, occasionally pink, folded into inflorescences called a false umbrella. The fruits of the plant are boxes containing no more than ten seeds.

Flax is a plant that blooms from June to August. The fruits ripen in September. Biologists believe that the plant was once brought from India, because it was there that the first linen fabrics appeared. However, this fact is highly debatable. In fact, there are no exact facts about the origin of the plant. Flax as a plant has been known for a long time, and it grows in Canada, the USA, Northern Europe, Turkey, India, Transcaucasia.

Forty varieties of flax are grown in Russia alone. But the most common fiber flax and curly flax. The first species is grown exclusively for fabrics, and the second for oil.

Useful properties of the plant

Flax (the plant we described earlier) has a number of very useful properties. It contains nutrients and dietary fiber, which contains fatty acids. Flax is a source of protein of natural vegetable origin, vitamins and microelements. That is why it has a healing effect on the human body. Here is such an interesting culture of flax. What other plant can boast such a wide range of uses in everyday life?

Where is flax used?

The plant is, in fact, unique. It is widely used for medical purposes. It is also actively used by the food and textile industries and cosmetology. For example, you can use linen masks to restore facial skin.

In addition, it should be noted that flax is also used in cooking. This enriches the dishes with useful organic substances and vitamins. An oil is made from grass seeds, which is recommended for use in hypertension and heart and vascular diseases. The oil is also used for atherosclerosis and is included in various diets.

Decoctions of the seeds are used to treat rheumatism and gout. To prepare it, two tablespoons of seeds are poured into a glass of water, heated for ten minutes. Then filter, and then take a spoon (table) five times a day.

In chronic constipation, it is recommended to drink a glass of infusion, prepared at the rate of a spoonful of seeds per cup of boiling water. The drink is prepared just before drinking.

For ulcers and gastritis, the mucus of mature seeds is taken. It has an anti-inflammatory and enveloping effect.

In addition, decoctions are used for urinary disorders and inflammation of the bladder. To do this, three tablespoons of seeds are poured with half a liter of boiling water. For a quarter of an hour, the mixture is heated on fire, and then, having cooled and filtered, it is taken.

Flaxseed oil is used for violations of fat metabolism, constipation, as well as for the treatment of wounds. Crushed flax seed helps with boils.

Flax contraindications

Of course, flax is a wonderful useful plant. But are there any contraindications for its use? Let's look into this matter.

Naturally, flax, like many other medicinal plants, has its owncontraindications. It is not recommended to use it for inflammation of the eye cornea, liver cirrhosis, hepatitis and acute intestinal disorders.

There are cases when you can not use raw seeds and oil, but you can use kissels, decoctions. This applies to deviations in the work of the vascular and cardiac systems. For example, with high cholesterol.

It should be noted that flax has a pronounced choleretic effect, which means that it cannot be used in acute cholecystitis. In addition, having a laxative effect, it is strictly prohibited for diarrhea.

Are seeds harmful?

Flax seeds are considered harmless. But at the same time, the sale of linseed oil is prohibited in many countries.

It is the leader in the content of Omega-3 acids. These fatty acids are extremely useful for the human body, because they fight atherosclerosis, lower cholesterol levels, are a building material for cell membranes, and are also very necessary for the synthesis of prostaglandins. However, under the influence of solar heat and light, acids are rapidly oxidized. At this point, peroxides are formed, which, on the contrary, are extremely harmful to humans, having a carcinogenic effect.

It is necessary to store oil in a cool place, and transport it in opaque containers. Seeds last much longer than oil. After all, fatty acids are under a protective shell in them. Nevertheless, before using them, you need to check their taste.

Sometimes you can find flaxseed flour on sale. It is crushed seeds. It already, of course, does not contain the necessary fatty acids, but it does not deteriorate if stored improperly. However, it is already deprived of most of its useful properties, but products made from it still have a beneficial effect on the body due to fiber, which is great for intestinal disorders.

How to store and grind seeds?

Grounded seeds are convenient to use in recipes, it reduces the time of making infusions and herbs. Ground seeds are good to add to different dishes and salads, this increases the value of food. Sometimes golden flax is put into flour for baking. This prevents rapid staleness. In Canada, for example, this has long been standard procedure.

Ground grains that are sold in stores do not have any useful properties, because they are packaged in transparent packaging and exposed to light. For he alth, grains that you grind yourself at home, for example, using a blender, combine, or coffee grinder, will be more beneficial. Best of all, of course, an electric mill will cope with such a task, it will quickly prepare the right portion. Or you can grind the seeds the old way in a mortar.

Whole seeds keep their properties up to 12 months. Ground ones will not be stored for so long, they need to be prepared anew each time. Therefore, if you have prepared and did not calculate the right amount, then the extra portion should be stored in a dark jar in a cool place or frozen.condition.

Kukushkin flax

What is this cuckoo flax plant? We all heard about it, but few remember what it is. It is logical to assume that it belongs to the flax family. But in fact, this is a deep delusion.

The name itself is confusing. Kukushkin flax is a genus of green mosses. At the moment, more than a hundred species are known, which are distributed throughout the world. In the form of pillows, flax is found in forests, mountains, tundra, and swamps. Plants of this genus take part in the formation of peat.

Official pharmacology does not use this plant, but in folk medicine it is used as a laxative, diuretic, enveloping, anti-inflammatory agent.

Name history

This, perhaps, is the end of its similarity with flax. And the plant received such an interesting name for the following reasons. Its stems are indeed somewhat similar to the famous fiber flax. And the bright speckled boxes look like cuckoo wings. So it turned out an unusual name.