A healthy diet, in my opinion is extremely important. If you eat rubbish, you will more than likely look, and feel like rubbish - I don't want to look or feel rubbish, so I don't eat rubbish - simples. Although I do eat meat on occasions, I am not a lover of meat and instead eat a primarily vegeterian diet and I also incorporate multiple supplements into my diet in order to look and feel healthy. I first heard about flax seed oil around a year ago via a health magazine and thought "oh my god I have to try it" and then forgot about it, however just before Christmas 2011 when I and my boyfriend were browsing the shelves of our local Holland and Barrett, I came across this - liquid flax seed oil.

The price put me off as I wasn't sure if it would live up to the hype and I didn't know if i'd like the taste or smell, however I decided to take a risk and purchased one bottle, although it's worth noting that Holland and Barrett do have a current 'buy one get one half price' offer on. I paid £10.65 for the 473ml bottle which does sound a lot but to be fair, you only need a small amount - I personally have two teaspoons per day, which is the reccomended amount. Flax seed oil isn't only available from Holland and Barrett and it can be purchased from a variety of places - including Amazon. Prices vary but on average it's £10+ for a decent sized bottle.

So.. what exactly is flax seed oil? Flaxseed oil, also known as linseed oil, is oil obtained from the dried, ripe seeds of the flax plant. Now, I have no idea what a flax plant is, but I do know that this stuff has many advantages - it's an antioxiant, contains a high level of the healthy, fatty acid omega 3 and can (apparently) help prevent various diseases including Cancer and heart disease. The oil is edible and can be used for cooking, and it can withstand temperatures of upto 350 degrees. The oil does have a minor downside, which is that it does go off quite quickly; it lasts for a month at the most so I always make sure that I have my two teaspoons a day so none goes to waste.

Flaxseed oil is completely natural. It does not contain lactose, soya, gluten, wheat, starch, milk or yeast. There are no age guidelines (although it does state on the bottle to keep out of reach of children) or any noted side effects but Holland and Barrett do state that if you have any negative reactions to it (which I haven't) to contact your doctor. They also state that if you are pregnant or breastfeeding to discuss it with your doctor before taking it. I am currently breastfeeding and took flax seed oil during my late pregnancy and my doctor didn't, and still hasn't advised me against it. There are some people that think that flaxseed oil is harmful to unborn babies, however there is no proof of this and there are many more people who believe that it has many advantages and health effects and does not pose a threat at all.

The flax seed comes packaged in quite a basic bottle with a screw-on lid. There's a green label wrapped around the middle of it with all the information needed. It's quite heavy so pouring out the right amount can be a little awkward but apart from this, the packaging is practical and not too basic - it stands out in the cupboard too due to the eye catching colour scheme of the label. The only downside of the packaging is that as it's quite large I struggle to fit it into my small fridge, however if laid on its side it fits in so I have to obviously ensure the cap is screwed on properly. The oil itself is quite a bright yellow colour, in fact it looks a little like melted butter. It's wattery in consitency but with a slightly thicker texture than water has, but only slightly.

The oil smells quite unpleasant if i'm honest; it has an almost cleaning fluid smell. This is a huge disadvantage. I purchased this intending to use it as a salad dressing (mixed with garlic etc) but the smell really ruins a meal so it's out of the question and instead I can only use it in smoothies. I have never tasted it on its own as i'm too scared due to how bad it smells! However as I don't consume this on its own the smell isn't a problem. I mix this into smoothies and the smell of the fresh fruit masks any unpleasant scents from the oil and the taste of the oil is undetectable. I've been taking this oil for a couple of months now, twice daily and although I have not noticed a change in my body, skin, hair etc I feel good that my body is getting extra nutrients. Although I do like this product due to the health benefits, it does have quite a lot of disadvantages including the smell, use-by date and slightly over the top pricing, and I do overall reccomend this if you are willing to pay the price as it is a good, nutritious product. I give it 3/5 stars overall as the few disadvantages do let it down substantially