During Jane Austen’s day, linseed tea and other preparations made with linseed were prescribed by doctors and apothecaries to treat a variety of aliments. A simple recipe from Dr. William Buchan’s popular book Domestic Medicine was among those medicines commonly used in 1811: “linseed, an infusion of 1 ounce to a quart of water, may be used at pleasure.”1 This is pretty much the recipe for linseed tea.
By the way, those of you who know that I have been writing for more than 20 years about the health benefits of flaxseed will be surprised to see me use the term “linseed,” rather than the North American terms “flax” or “flaxseed.” I am doing so because linseed was the term used during England’s Regency era.
Whole Linseeds or Flaxseeds (Source: Flax Council of Canada, used with permission)
Linseed and the The Pharmacopoeia
In the early 19th century apothecaries and doctors turned to the latest copy of Dr. Powell’s The Pharmacopoeia of The Royal College of Physicians of London for information about formulating and prescribing medicines, including linseed. Powell’s Pharmocopoeia of 18092 acknowledged two species of linseed: Linum catharticum or purging flax (also called fairy flax) and Linum usitatissimum, the common linseed eaten today. The Pharmacopoeia suggested using linseed as an expressed oil — the seeds to be bruised and the oil expressed without applying heat — or as an infusion, prepared by bruising an ounce of linseed, to which were added 1/2 ounce of sliced licorice root and 2 pints of boiling water; this concoction would be macerated for four hours in a covered vessel near the fire, after which it was strained.2
Medical Uses of Linseed in Jane Austen’s Day
How would these concoctions have been used in medical practice during Austen’s day? The expressed linseed oil was thought to have a more healing and balsamic nature than other such oils and useful for addressing complaints of the lungs, in colics, and for constipation.3
For patients who were having trouble making water — that is, in cases where urinating was difficult — Dr. Buchan suggested using an emollient clyster, often made from an infusion of linseed, to “keep the body open” — in other words, to promote a bowel movement. For small stones in the kidney, he advised a decoction or infusion of mild mucilaginous vegetables such as linseed. When a small stone was stuck in the urinary passages, he recommended mucilaginous liquors,1 which describes linseed tea very well, as anyone who has ever made linseed tea will tell you. A mild mucilaginous linseed drink was thought to help relieve pain and discomfort in these cases.
An infusion of linseed, sometimes heightened with a little added orange or lemon juice, was also recommended for people suffering from coughs and colds. Dr. Buchan strongly advised against trying to cure a cold by getting drunk!1
“The Battle of the Cataplasm” (From: US National Library of Medicine online.4)
Finally, a cataplasm or poultice could be made with linseed. For making a mustard cataplasm, 1/2 pound each of powdered mustard seed and powdered linseed were mixed with boiling vinegar.2 A mustard cataplasm containing linseed might have been used as a discutient — an agent that disperses morbid matter — or to promote suppuration (the discharge of pus).1 As odd as it seems to us today, a satirical print regarding a foul-smelling cataplasm was published in 1773 (see image above) by the artist Henry William Bunbury (1750-1811). The print shows a scene from Laurence Sterne’s novel Tristram Shandy, in which Susannah, the chambermaid, hovers near the infant Tristram, while Dr. Slop, his wig on fire, considers throwing a smelly cataplasm in her face. Although I find its humor rather obscure, readers of the late 18th and early 19th centuries would have been entertained by this little scene.4
How to Make Linseed Tea
Linseed tea is easy to make: simmer whole linseeds in water, let the mixture sit overnight, pour the viscous water through a sieve to capture the seeds, add a little hot water if the “tea” is too viscous, stir in a glop of honey or a sprinkle of cinnamon, and sip away! (Recipes for making linseed tea can be found here and here.)
Linseed Tea Contains Mucilage Gums
Why does the mixture become viscous when whole linseeds are soaked in water? The reason for this is simple. The soluble mucilage gums sit right on the surface of the seed coat. When the seeds are placed in water or some other liquid, the mucilage gums float off, making the solution gummy.
Nutritional Value of Linseed
When you enjoy a cup of linseed tea, you are drinking the mucilage gums, which are a type of soluble dietary fiber that provide health benefits. A recent clinical study, for instance, found that 17 university volunteers who drank a linseed fiber drink 3 times per day for 7 days lowered their total cholesterol by 12% and their LDL-cholesterol (the “bad” cholesterol) by 15% compared with when they drank a control drink without linseed fiber. This improvement in blood cholesterol was slightly better than that achieved when the volunteers ate a linseed fiber bread 3 times daily for 7 days (Kristensen, et al.).5
Does linseed have other health benefits? Dr. William Woodville didn’t think so! Writing in his 1810 book, Medical Botany, he concluded that “linseed appears to afford but little nourishment.”3 He could not know that 200 years later science would prove him wrong.
Today we know that linseed contains dietary fiber, both soluble and insoluble; is rich in the essential omega-3 fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA, for short); and provides lignans, which are powerful antioxidants. If you want to enjoy all of the nutritional goodies in linseed, then eating ground linseed is the way to go. Having said that, there’s nothing wrong with sprinkling whole linseeds on cereal or in a soup; the important thing is to chew thoroughly to shred the seed coat. Shredding the seed coat is the only way of getting to the ALA, insoluble fiber and lignans inside the seed. Studies show that dietary linseed can help prevent or manage heart disease, diabetes, cancer, constipation, and inflammatory conditions like arthritis.6
Sources:
1Buchan W. Domestic Medicine: or a Treatise on the Prevention and Cure of Diseases. (Boston, 1811), pp. 28, 206-207, 232-234, 441.
2Powell R. The Pharmacopoeia of The Royal College of Physicians of London. (London, 1809), pp. 35 (PDF p. 94), 158 (PDF p. 215), 191 (PDF p. 248), 346 (PDF p. 403).
3Woodville W. Medical Botany: Containing Systematic and General Descriptions, with Plates of all the Medicinal Plants, Indigenous and Exotic, Comprehended in the Catalogues of the Materia Medica. Vol. I. (London, 1810), pp. 566-568 (PDF pp. 583-585).
4Bunbury HW (artist), Bretherton J (artist, publisher). The Battle of the Cataplasm. From: Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, by Laurence Sterne. U.S. National Library of Medicine online. Accessed October 8, 2014.
5Kristensen M, Jensen MG, Aarestrup J, et al. Flaxseed dietary fibers lower cholesterol and increase fecal fat excretion, but magnitude of effect depend on food type. Nutr Metab. 2012;9:8.
6Morris DH. Flax: A Health and Nutrition Primer. Winnipeg: Flax Council of Canada, 2007.