These golden flax seeds are nutrionally close to brown flax seeds.
Flax seed is a vegetarian source of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), a critical nutrient for health which must be gotten from food. Grinding the seeds into meal makes them easier to digest, allowing the body to fully absorb the nutrients from these healthy seeds. When you shop at health food stores and on the Internet for flax seed meal, you will find that there are two kinds: golden and brown. Both of these have the same nutritional profile, so they are interchangeable as dietary supplements, according to North Dakota State University's Agriculture Extension. The differences in golden and brown flax seed meal arise in other areas.
Variety Names
There are several more varieties of brown flax seed that are ground into meal than there are golden. Golden flax seed varieties grown for human consumption include Dakota Gold and Omega. Edible brown flax seed varieties include Pembina, Linton, Flor, Neche and Cathay, according to the University of North Dakota Agricultural Extension.
Color
The coloring of golden flax seed meal is light yellow to dark gold. Meal from ground brown flax seeds has a dark brown to a reddish brown hue. This difference in color can make a difference when adding the meal to baked goods. The darker brown flax seed meal will not be seen in a chocolate recipe, but it will be visible in pale baked goods like sugar cookies or a vanilla cake. Opt for golden flax seed meal in lighter colored foods.
Nutrition
Brown and golden flax seed meals have similar amounts of oil, ranging from 43 to 44 percent of the seed's weight. There is a slight difference in the amount of alpha linolenic acid (ALA) in each of the types of flax seeds. The Canadian Grain Council found that brown flax seeds had a slightly higher percentage of ALA, but this difference was considered negligible since both had more than 50 percent ALA.
Growing Locations
The northern Great Plains between North Dakota and southern Canada are the primary North American growing locations for golden and brown flax seed. Canada is the world's main producer of flax seed for food, industrial and agricultural uses, according to the University of Arizona's Health Center. According to the Canadian Flax Council, most golden flax seed comes from the Dakotas in the United States. Golden flax seed for meal is a more popular crop in the United States than in Canada, where Canadian flax farmers primarily grow brown flax seed varieties.
Tags: flax seed, brown flax, brown flax seed, flax seed meal, seed meal