Flaxseeds: An essential food for the 21st century?

Flax seeds are not a popular food item in North America. But the demand for flaxseed could grow exponentially in the 21st century as the health benefits become more widely known.

Flaxseeds are the richest food source of omega 3 fatty acids. These fats are crucial to human health. The vast majority of people are now deficient in this nutrient. Omega 3 has been prescribed as a treatment (and prevention ) for several serious and increasingly common illnesses including:

• depression or bipolar disorder (click for more info)
• alzheimer's disease
• cancer
• diabetes
• migraine headaches
  
• eczema
• high blood pressure
• obesity
• osteoporosis
• rheumatoid arthritis
• cardiovascular disease
• attention deficit disorder

Unless people eat large quantities of fish, walnuts and green vegetables they are likely to be deficient in omega 3 fats. It is difficult to meet the recommended daily allowance for omega 3. This is where flaxseeds come in. They are the easiest and cheapest choice of omega 3's to add to one's daily diet.

It's recommended that people get at least four grams of omega 3 fats on a daily basis. Here is a list of some of the foods highest in omega 3 as outlined at the World's Healthiest Foods website:

• Flax seeds (2 tbs) = 3.1 grams
  
• Walnuts ( 0.25 cup) = 2.27 grams
  
• Chinook Salmon baked or broiled (4 oz) = 2.09 grams
  
• Scallops, baked or broiled (4 oz) = 1.1 grams
  
• Soybeans cooked (1 cup) = 1.03 grams
  
• Halibut baked or broiled (4 oz) = 0.62 grams
• Cod fillet, baked or broiled (4 oz) = 0.32 grams
  
• broccoli pieces steamed (1 cup) = 0.20 grams
• Brussel sprouts boiled (1 cup) = 0.26 grams
• Tofu raw (4 oz) = 0.36 grams

Eating fish several times a week is not a viable option for people with a limited food budget. Flaxseed, on the other hand, costs less than two dollars per pound. And as the world's fish stocks continue to decline and suffer from contamination, the demand for flax seeds will undoubtedly surge over the next couple of decades.

This website has been created to discuss the various health benefits of flaxseed and to investigate into the dynamics of the flaxseed industry. I hope you enjoy your visit here.

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The above image is "Flax fields across the Saskatchewan Plain" by Michael Lewis

The Flaxseed Industry: Who Benefits from Exponential Growth?

Let's assume that demand for flax seeds is about to rise exponentially, as people discover it is the most viable and cheapest source of omega 3 essential fatty acids, and as world fish stocks (the other major omega 3 fats) are depleted and polluted.

We'd also need to assume that the industrial demand (non-dietary) for flaxseed will also increase, or at least stay constant. (The industrial use of flaxseed is by far the larger of the two markets at this time).

Is there a good potential to profit from this trend by buying the stock of flaxseed companies?

The majority of flaxseed is now being produced in Canada. According to the Flax Council of Canada, the main suppliers of flaxseed are the following companies. Many of them are U.S. companies:


Agricore United
Alfred C. Toepfer (Canada) Ltd.
Argosy International Inc
Bioriginal Food & Science Corp.
Bi-pro Marketing Ltd.
Brian McElroy Seed Farm
CanMar Grain Products Ltd.
Cargill Ltd.
Cloutier Agra Seeds Inc.
ConAgra Grain, Canada
Country Lane Organic Grain & Milling
G.H.Schweitzer Enterprises Limited
Horizon Agro
InfraReady Products Limited
Johnson Seeds
Klagenberg Farms Ltd.
Larsen Seeds
Loyns Seed Farm
Midlake Specialty Food Products
Northern Lights Flax
Northern Quinoa Corp
Parent Seed Farms Ltd.
PizzeyÂ’s Milling & Baking Co.
Port Royal Mills
Prairie Flax Products, Inc.
Randolph & James Flax Mills Ltd.
Sabourin Seed Service Ltd.
Saskatchewan Wheat Pool
Triple S Seeds Ltd.
Wiebe Ventures Inc.

Over the next few weeks, we'll look more closely at these companies, and try to determine if any of them would make excellent stock portfolio investments based on the assumption that demand for flaxseed is about to witness exponential growth over the next couple of decades.

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The above image is "Flax and canola fields, Saskatchewan, Canada" by Michael Lewis