NOW Foods Organic Golden Flax Seed Meal

This outstanding source of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids is a delicious source of nutrition, and can be easily added to a variety of your favorite snacks, including cereals, sport shakes, yogurts and more!

Whether brown or golden in color, NOW's Flax seeds are from the same genus and species called Linum usitatissimum. According to the Flax Council of Canada, these northern grown plants are grown in different soil conditions and produce seeds with small differences in nutritional value. The Golden variety may have slightly higher fat as well as higher fiber content. Many customers have also remarked on the milder flavor of the Golden variety, which is usually preferred for bread making and other baked goods.

Of the 38-42% total naturally occurring fat in Flax seed, an average of 18% is Omega 3 in the form of Alpha Linolenic acid. Contrary to what is found in most seeds, Alpha Linolenic acid is the predominant unsaturated fatty acid found in Flax seed. Linoleic acid, which belongs to the Omega 6 family, is the predominant unsaturated fatty acid in most other seeds like safflower, sunflower, corn and sesame.

Flax seed contains between 24-38% total fibers. The Golden variety contains up to 8 grams of fiber per two tablespoon serving. These seeds contain a healthy blend of both crude and soluble fiber. Flax seed are not only a rich source of Omega 3 fatty acids and fiber, but also contain up to 23% protein. These marvelous seeds have also been researched to be the richest source of Plant Lignans known.

Lignans, otherwise known as Secoisolariciresinol diglycoside (SDG), are pharmacologically active plant compounds that have been studied to provide immune support. Flax contains up to 100 times the quantity of lignans as the next richest source, which is wheat bran.

In addition to the tests performed to assure freshness and the nutritional values described in the information above, every batch of NOW’s Certified Organic Flax seeds is tested for microbiological safety. The typical range of analyses includes testing for standard plate count, yeast and molds, E coli, salmonella and heavy metals to ensure that only the best Organic Flax seeds bear the NOW Foods label.

NOW's Mission
The NOW mission is - To provide value in products and services that empower people to lead healthier lives. NOW Foods is an award-winning and highly respected manufacturer of vitamins, minerals, dietary supplements and natural foods.

In 1948, with the natural food and supplement industry in its infancy, entrepreneur Paul Richard paid $900 for the purchase of Fearn Soya Foods—a Chicago based manufacturer of grain and legume-based products. This began a six-decade legacy of providing health-seeking consumers with high-quality, affordable nutrition products.

History of NOW
In 1968, NOW Foods was founded under the belief that good health was not a luxury available only to the wealthy. For the past forty years, NOW has made it their life's work to offer health food and nutritional supplements of the highest quality, at prices that are fair and affordable to all those who seek them. Today, NOW Foods is one of the top-selling brands in health foods stores, an award-winning manufacturer, a respected advocate of the natural product industry, and a leader in the fields of nutritional science and methods development. And while NOW has grown considerably over the past four decades, one thing has never changed – NOW's commitment to providing products and services that empower people to lead healthier lives.

NOW Commitments

• Customer Focused and Information Driven - NOW believes that their products, services, and the decisions they make should be primarily influenced by the desires and needs of NOW customers. The decisions that NOW makes should be based on accurate information and therefore NOW places a high value on knowledge and learning within their organization.
• Quality and Value Oriented - Acting in the best interest of NOW customers, NOW endeavors to produce the highest quality products at competitive prices. NOW's first priority is to maintain quality where it counts the most – in the products. NOW's exceptional cost-conscious team of employees then focuses their energies on driving costs down. Nurturing this competency of value drives NOW's ability to provide high quality products at the very best prices.
• Natural is Better - NOW is convinced that natural products are better than their synthetic counterparts and produce better results in human health. Therefore, wherever possible, NOW strives to provide products that contain natural ingredients because they are better for their customers.

NOW Science
NOW's experienced professional and technical staff formulates their products to be of the highest quality. NOW has a group of biochemists, chemists, nutritionists, and food technologists who review current science and nutritional parameters, and formulate our products to be effective for the intended use. NOW's structure/function claims are based on science for active ingredients, and on nutritional science for nutritional content. Serving sizes are based on doses from clinical studies and other published data. NOW's contemporary formulas are designed to meet the health and wellness needs of today’s consumers. NOW uses ingredients that have been tested for effectiveness in clinical trials and laboratory studies. The heart of NOW science is third party independent research. NOW investigates and review clinical studies and other lab studies conducted on their ingredients and their formulas. Best science is used to support best formulations which lead to best quality. NOW products are constantly being tested in clinical trials conducted at top universities and research centers around the country and in various parts of the world. NOW products are being tested to determine such things as effectiveness for joint support, quality of life for cancer patients, cardiovascular support, and athletic endurance. Effective products mean health and wellness benefits, which mean quality.

GMP Quality Assured
NOW’s GMP certification covers standard operating procedures, employee training, product specifications, expiration dating, vendor certifications and much more. Standard operating procedures include sampling and testing incoming materials according to NOW Foods specifications, inspecting manufacturing processes, and testing finished products to specifications. Tests include organoleptic evaluation (human senses such as sight, taste, smell), physical testing of tablets and capsules, chemical identity of ingredients, potency and contamination testing by the company’s in-house state-of-the-art analytical testing lab, as well as microbiological testing by NOW Foods’ in-house rapid analysis microbiological lab.