News - Foods - Flaxseed

• Flaxseed Phytoestrogens Benefit Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease
• Flaxseed May Prevent Growth of Prostate Cancer.
• Flaxseed Stunts the Growth of Prostate Tumors

Flaxseed Phytoestrogens Benefit Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease
NaturalNews.com, March 3, 2008, by Helmut Beierbeck

Whole flaxseeds are known to lower total and LDL cholesterol levels, reduce postprandial glucose absorption, decrease some markers of inflammation, and raise serum levels of omega-3 fatty acids. This is of obvious benefit to diabetics who not only need help controlling their blood glucose levels, but who are also at much greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease than the general population.

Flaxseed May Prevent Growth of Prostate Cancer.
Medscape Medical News, June 5, 2007, Zosia Chustecka

 (Chicago) — Flaxseed supplementation significantly reduced tumor proliferation rates in prostate cancer patients in a trial reported here at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 43rd Annual Meeting. "These results demonstrate that flaxseed may well protect against prostate cancer growth," said lead researcher Wendy Demark-Wahnefried, PhD, from Duke University Medical Center, in Durham, North Carolina. "But this is just the first study," she added. "We will need to replicate the results before we can make recommendations."

Flaxseed Stunts the Growth of Prostate Tumors
Duke Prostate Center, Durham, N.C., June 2, 2007

Flaxseed, an edible seed that is rich in omega 3-fatty acids and fiber-related compounds known as lignans, is effective in halting prostate tumor growth, according to a study led by Duke University Medical Center researchers. The seed, which is similar to a sesame seed, may be able to interrupt the chain of events that leads cells to divide irregularly and become cancerous.

"Our previous studies in animals and in humans had shown a correlation between flaxseed supplementation and slowed tumor growth, but the participants in those studies had taken flaxseed in conjunction with a low-fat diet," said Wendy Demark-Wahnefried, Ph.D., a researcher in Duke's School of Nursing and lead investigator on the study. "For this study, we demonstrated that it is flaxseed that primarily offers the protective benefit."
 

Comment: This study is an update to one mentioned in my book,  "Your Prostate, Your Libido, Your Life" by the same research group.  It adds more up-to-date evidence that flaxseed (not flax oil) is beneficial for prostate health, and is especially good for helping with prostate cancer. The first link above is to the medscape article and the second the actual press release from Duke university.   

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