Flaxseeds

Flaxseeds occur in two basic varieties/colors: brown or yellow (golden linseeds). Most types of these basic varieties have similar nutritional characteristics and equal numbers of short-chain omega-3 fatty acids. An exception is a type of yellow flax called solin (trade name “Linola”), which has a completely different oil profile and is very low in omega-3s ).

Flaxseeds produce a vegetable oil known as flaxseed oil, which is one of the oldest commercial oils. It is an edible oil obtained by expeller pressing and sometimes followed by solvent extraction. Solvent-processed flaxseed oil has been used for many centuries as a drying oil in painting and varnishing.

Although brown flaxseed varieties may be consumed as readily as the yellow ones, and have been for thousands of years, its better-known uses are in paints, for fiber, and for cattle feed.