Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Consuming 30 grams a day of flaxseed led to a 5.1% decrease in systolic blood pressure.
High blood pressure is a growing health risk in the United States and most other countries (1) and has been recently identified as the number one burden of death today (2). High blood pressure increases dramatically with age. With the number of people age 65 and over continuing to increase, we face a potential economic burden of high blood pressure far greater than the $76 billion it currently costs the American healthcare system (3).
Now a new study (4) suggests that flaxseed may be an effective and affordable way to help manage blood pressure. The study involved 110 patients aged 59 to 75 with an average blood pressure of 143/77 mmHg. They were instructed to add certain high-fiber foods to their normal daily diet (from a list of bagels, muffins, bars, biscuits, and pasta) that provided 30 grams of milled flaxseed per day or placebo for 6 months. Blood pressure and blood samples were taken before and after the study.
At the end of 6 months, those in the flaxseed group saw a 60.5% increase in the blood levels of an omega-3 fat called alpha linoleic acid (0.019 to 0.0305 milligrams/milliliter) compared to a 5.5% increase in the placebo group (0.018 to 0.019 mg/mL, p = 0.003). This produced a significant benefit on blood pressure compared to the placebo group. Specifically, those consuming 30 grams per day of flaxseed had a 5.1% decrease in their systolic blood pressure (the top number = 143.3 to 136 mmHg) compared to a 2.5% increase in the placebo group (142.4 to 146 mmHg, p = 0.04). For diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number), those in the flaxseed group saw a 6.5% decrease (77 to 72 mmHg) compared to no change in the placebo group (79 to 79 mmHg, p = 0.004).
The researchers classified flaxseed’s effect on high blood pressure as “potent” and “represents a major advance in the treatment of hypertension from a number of perspectives”. They added that “it is the first demonstration of the effects of dietary flaxseed on a population [with high blood pressure]” and “the present study was done in a placebo controlled, double-blinded, randomized manner.”
Finally, there was no increase in blood levels of DHA, the fish form of omega-3 fats, suggesting that “marine omega-3 fats were not a confounding factor” in the blood pressure improvements but instead were due to flaxseed consumption.
For the researchers, “flaxseed induced one of the most potent antihypertensive effects achieved by a dietary intervention” and that “a nutritional strategy like flaxseed, which compliments [high blood pressure] medication and can be delivered in a relatively inexpensive manner, should be particularly appealing in economically disadvantaged populations.”
Source: Rodriguez-Leyva, Delfin, et al. “Potent Antihypertensive Action of Dietary Flaxseed in Hypertensive PatientsNovelty and Significance.” Hypertension 62.6 (2013): 1081-1089.
© 2013 American Heart Association, Inc.
Posted May 15, 2014.
Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com
References:
- Cutler JA, Sorlie PD, Wolz M, Thom T, Fields LE, Roccella EJ. Trends in hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control rates in United States adults between 1988-1994 and 1999-2004. Hypertension. 2008;52:818–827.
- Lim SS, Vos T, Flaxman AD, et al. A comparative risk assessment of burden of disease and injury attributable to 67 risk factors and risk factor clusters in 21 regions, 1990-2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet. 2012;380:2224–2260
- Lloyd-Jones D, Adams RJ, Brown TM, et al; Writing Group Members; American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. Heart disease and stroke statistics–2010 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2010;121:e46–e215
- Rodriguez-Leyva D. Potent Antihypertensive Action of Dietary Flaxseed in Hypertensive Patients. Hypertension 2013 Dec;62(6):1081-9. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.113.02094. Epub 2013 Oct 14.
