Best Company
Founded in 1991, Randolph & James Flax Mills is a family-owned business with a thorough commitment to highest quality. Superior to any other brand, the flax seed selected for Northern Edge is tested for quality.
They process only certified organic flaxseed that is grown in this special organic region north of the 53rd parallel for the Northern Edge® brand. This is the highest quality flax seed in the world, containing 44-45% oil, with up to 60% of this oil being the important Essential Fatty Acid, Alpha Linolenic Acid (source of Omega 3). Only the very best of the crop from this unique area is used.
Best Preparation
~ With the careful growing, harvesting, cleaning & storage methods the farmers in this area have perfected, their flax seed is known all over the world for being of thehighest quality. Broken seeds (which would lead to rancidity problems) are avoided.
~ Every batch of flax seed grown for Northern Edge is cleaned to 99.9% purity, and tested twice for bacteria, mold and other contaminants, and for rancidity. One test is done at harvest time, the other right before milling.
Best Content
~ Another test is done in selecting flax seed for Northern Edge® to insure the seeds have 45% oil content and that 60%+ of that is Alpha Linolenic Acid, the needed Essential Fatty Acid source of Omega 3 fats.
~ This flaxseed is also tested to insure high content of lignans, protein and minerals.
~ Northern Edge® Flax is on average: 22% protein, 45% oil, 26% fiber (14% soluble, 12% insoluble), and the remaining 7% is made up of carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, lignans (antioxidants), enzymes and other trace phytonutrients.
~ Only the very best (about 1/3) of what is certainly the best-grown and cared-for flax seed in the world, is selected for milling by Northern Edge®. The remainder of secondary quality is sold for use by others.

~ In two tablespoonsful (the daily recommendation) of organic Northern Edge flax seed there are:
- Calories . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
- Total Fat . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4 grams
- Trans Fat . . . . . . . 0 grams
- Polyunsaturated 4 grams
- Monounsaturated 1 gram
- Cholesterol . . . . . 0 grams
- ALA . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.85 grams
- Carbohydrates . . . . . . 4 grams
- Dietary Fiber . . . . 4 grams
- Soluble . . . . . . . 2 grams
- Insoluble . . . . . 2 grams
- Sugars . . . . . . . . . 0 grams
- Protein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 grams
- Calcium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4% Daily Value
- Iron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4% Daily Value
- Phosphorus . . . . . . . . . . 8% Daily Value
- Magnesium . . . . . . . . . . 15% Daily Value
- Zinc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4% Daily Value
- Copper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10% Daily Value
NOTE: Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Note that although 2 tablespoons of our milled flaxseed contains 80 calories, that 50 of them are from the very desirable, high-quality nutritious oil. The rest is mostly from the protein. The carbohydrate content of flaxseed is virtually all fiber. Flaxseed is the best choice for fiber to help with bowel function. Flaxseed is 26% fiber, and an ideal mix of soluble and insoluble fiber. It is the very best food for the intestine.
Best Milling
~ Northern Edge® flax seed is specially cold-milled to give full benefits. The mill head temperatures are maintained at under 42 degrees Celsius. Milling is a needed process to enhance digestibility and bioavailability.
~ Northern Edge® has developed a unique, patented flaking process that breaks up the seed, yet leaves the oil within the seed. In order to leave as much of the oil as possible within the cell walls (not exposed to oxygen), this flax seed is milled by slicing. It is not ground or crushed.
~ This slicing or flaking process seals the oil & other nutrients into the pieces of the seeds, protecting and preserving them. The oil seals itself into each tiny piece like a self-sealing envelope.
~ Ordinary grinding of flaxseed is too oxidizing. The oils gorancid; as they do when flax oil is extracted. Expelled flaxseed oil is a fractured, dead food, which also lacks the fiber, protein, enzymes and other nutrients, and has far less lignans than the seeds.
~ On the other hand, whole unmilled flaxseeds cannot be broken down well by chewing nor by the digestive juices, so as much as 90% of the value is missed.
~ Northern Edge® Milled Flaxseed is milled directly into a light-proof bag, ONE BAG AT A TIME, and instantly VACUUM-PACKED.
~ The proprietary slicing machinery is thoroughly cleaned after each milling with compressed air. No chemical solvents or soaps are used on the blades which might leave a contaminating residue.
~ Because of these unique procedures, the freshness and purity of Northern Edge Milled® Organic Flaxseed is GUARANTEED.Our flax has been tested as far as 16 months from packing with no detectable deterioration.
Best To Eat
~ This Northern Edge® flax seed product is milled for easy digestion, and is ready-to-eat. It's slightly nutty flavor tastes great with any other food. It can be sprinkled on or mixed into any dish, such as cereals, salads, sauces, sandwiches, eggs, potatoes, rice or other grains; in muffins, bread or casseroles; in juices and blender drinks; in applesauce; on vegetables or fruits; in yogurt or cottage cheese; even on ice cream!
Note About Color: Golden vs. Brown Seeds
The color of flax has no bearing on its nutritional value, despite claims by its growers that golden flax is superior. In tests conducted by the Canadian Grain Commission in the summer of 2001, the "Dakota Gold" flax from South Dakota was shown to have 43-44% oil content, while the Canadian brown flax tested had 44%, virtually the same.
However, the level of ALA (Alpha Linolenic Acid -- source of Omega 3 fatty acids) in the Canadian brown seed was 59% of the oil, compared to 51% in the "Dakota Gold". This difference is due to the colder Canadian climate, and perhaps better soil quality, not the color variety.
Both the Canadian brown and "Dakota Gold" flax are superior in oil content to other flax grown in the U.S. which has far less oil. However, unlike any other North American flax, Northern Edge® Flax seed is free of toxic cadmium; and it is the only flax seed tested to ensure the highest ALA oil level as well as purity from contaminants.
Further, golden flax is a hybrid plant. Hybrids are generally weaker than standard varieties of a plant, and usually do not absorb nutrients from the soil as well. Chemical-based farming is commonly used with hybrid plants, which are more susceptible to pests and blights. Golden flax is rarely if ever organically-grown.
Simply The Best
The growing, harvesting and storage methods of the conscientious organic farmers who raise flax seed for Northern Edge® result in the cleanest, least rancid, and most nutritious flax product on the market.
Their careful procedures eliminate broken seeds which can contaminate a batch with rancidity. Our growers are paid six times as much for their organic flax seed as would be paid for normal flax seed at the grain elevator.
This is one of only two North American flax seed products acceptable under Europe's strict import standards for heavy metal (cadmium) toxicity.
No other flax seed is as high in oil content and ALA (Omega 3 source) content (every batch is tested).
No other flax seed is tested for rancidity.
No other flax seed is tested for bacteria and mold (tested twice).
No other flax seed is milled by a slicing method that seals the oil in the pieces and minimizes its exposure to air and light.
No other flax seed is cold-milled in the dark directly into the light-proof container and instantly vacuum-sealed.
Other producers mill their lesser quality flax into a large hopper where it sits for a length of time, then they fill the containers from there.
Flax oil makes up a large segment of the flax product market. The oil is expelled from the seed leaving behind most of the antioxidant lignans, the protein, the fiber, and the vitamins. minerals and enzymes.
Exposure to light and oxygen begins the spoilage process. Rancidity quickly spreads through an oil-rich medium like an infection. Free radicals create more free radicals (peroxides). So flax oil, oil capsules or other brands of pre-ground flax are NOT the best choices for the consumer.
Northern Edge® Milled Flaxseed combines the benefits obtained from consuming flax seed oil, fiber products, mucilage (soluble fiber), lignans and high quality protein all in one complete wholesome product.
About Grinding Flax At Home
The whole flax seeds available for home grinding, even when organically-grown, are inevitably too high in toxic metals and other contaminants, and too low in oil, Omega 3 source fatty acid and other nutrients. There is no other flax approaching anywhere near the quality of Northern Edge®.
Further, if the blades of a grinder are not cleaned properly each time, rancid oils remain to infect the next batch with free radicals. On the other hand, cleaning with typical dish soap leaves chemical residues on the blades.
Summary
Be wary: whole unmilled flaxseed is NOT digestible by humans. It only acts as a laxative. (In fact it moves so efficiently that after it passes through the digestive tract it can be planted and it will grow.)
Flax seed needs to be milled to allow the digestive tract to absorb the nutrients contained in the seed. However, bulk milled flax seed or flax oil may rapidly go rancid by exposing the oil to light and air, resulting in a poor shelf-life.
Properly prepared and protected, milled flax can be eaten raw, blended into drinks, sprinkled on ice cream or cooked and baked into items without losing much of it's nutritional value.
Flax is the best known source for the two most essential fatty acids: Linoleic [LA, (18:2)] and the less common Linolenic [LNA. (18:3)]; which combat heart attacks, breast and colon cancer, arthritis, severe menstrual cramps -- even depression.
Organic Northern Edge® Milled Flaxseed is for many reasons the best flax product in the world.
No other flax seed is grown, tested, or milled and packed like Northern Edge®.
The freshness and goodness of other flax products is much less than one so carefully grown and prepared. It is free of contaminants and protected from oxidation, yet ready to eat so it can be conveniently used daily.
Northern Edge flax seed is theBEST by far!