Unlike pepitas or sunflower seeds, you wouldn’t want to toss a handful of whole flaxseeds on a salad or into a trail mix. Again, they’re largely indigestible, so you’d not only reap few health benefits from eating them this way, you also might experience stomach upset. Stick to the ground variety for the best results.
As for how much to eat, there’s no perfect target of consumption—and you probably don’t need to worry about putting too much into recipes. “Dietary consumption of flaxseeds is hard to overdo, so I wouldn’t be too concerned about an upper limit,” says Gross. The only caveat here is that, again, those who don’t usually get a lot of dietary fiber will want to take it a tablespoon at a time.
If you’re new to flaxseeds, there are tons of simple ways to include them in meals and snacks, such as:
