Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. In a study of 110 subjects with peripheral artery disease, those who were not taking statins found that milled flaxseed supplementation lowered their total and LDL cholesterol by 11 % and 15 % respectively and for those subjects who were taking statins, milled flaxseed supplementation lowered their LDL cholesterol by 8.5%.
Flaxseed has been shown to possess a number of health-promoting properties, including improving blood vessel health (1) which may help slow the progression of atherosclerosis (2) by helping optimize both heart function (3) and cholesterol levels (4). These benefits are thought to be due to flaxseed’s healthy levels of fiber, lignans, and the omega-3 fatty acids (5).
Now a new study (6) suggests flaxseed may benefit people with peripheral artery disease as they are at high risk of heart attack and stroke (7, 8) and often have diabetes, high blood pressure, or heart disease (9).
The study involved 110 subjects with peripheral artery disease (age and gender breakdown were not provided) who were participating in the Flaxseed and Peripheral Artery Disease trial (10). They were given either 30 grams of milled flaxseed (58 subjects) or placebo (30 grams of whole wheat = 52 subjects) for 12 months. Blood samples were taken throughout the study.
Subjects not on medication for their peripheral artery disease saw short-term benefits from flaxseed supplementation. Specifically, one month of flaxseed supplementation produced a 15% reduction in LDL cholesterol levels compared to no change in the placebo group (specific data not provided, p = 0.05). At six months (p = 0.12) and 12 months (p = 0.33), statistical significance was not reached between the flaxseed and placebo groups. The same was seen for total cholesterol levels, where flaxseed supplementation lowered levels by 11% after one month (p = 0.05, actual data not provided) but significance was not reached at six months (p = 0.07) or 12 months (p = 0.24) compared to the placebo group.
What was more significant was the results seen in a group of 36 subjects also taking medication for their peripheral artery disease (90% of the medications taken were statin drugs). After one year, those in the medication group taking flaxseed saw an 8.5% decrease in their LDL cholesterol levels (2.5 to 2.28 millimoles/Liter) compared to a 3% increase in the placebo group taking medication (2.20 to 2.26 mmol/L, p = 0.03).
These results led the researchers to conclude that flaxseed is safe for subjects taking medication for peripheral artery disease (“it clearly does not interfere with the action of cholesterol-lowering medications”) and that “dietary flaxseed may suppress the immediate need for administered statins or other CLMs in newly diagnosed patients.” For the researchers, “milled flaxseed lowers total and LDL cholesterol in patients with peripheral artery disease and has additional LDLcholesterol–lowering capabilities when used in conjunction with cholesterol-lowering medications.”
Source: Edel, Andrea L., et al. “Dietary flaxseed independently lowers circulating cholesterol and lowers it beyond the effects of cholesterol-lowering medications alone in patients with peripheral artery disease.” The Journal of nutrition 145.4 (2015): 749-757.
© 2015 American Society for Nutrition
Posted April 27, 2015.
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:
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- Dupasquier CM, Dibrov E, Kneesh AL, Cheung PK, Lee KG, Alexander HK, Yeganeh BK, Moghadasian MH, Pierce GN. Dietary flaxseed inhibits atherosclerosis in the LDL receptor-deficient mouse in part through antiproliferative and anti-inflamma
- Francis AA, Deniset JF, Austria JA, LaVallee RK, Maddaford GG, Hedley TE, Dibrov E, Pierce GN. The effects of dietary flaxseed on atherosclerotic plaque regression. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 2013;304:H1743–51.
- Ander BP, Weber AR, Rampersad PP, Gilchrist JS, Pierce GN, Lukas A. Dietary flaxseed protects against ventricular fibrillation induced by ischemia-reperfusion in normal and hypercholesterolemic rabbits. J Nutr 2004;134:3250–6
- Cunnane SC, Hamadeh MJ, Liede AC, Thompson LU, Wolever TM, Jenkins DJ. Nutritional attributes of traditional flaxseed in healthy young adults. Am J Clin Nutr 1995;61:62–8
- Edel AL. Dietary Flaxseed Independently Lowers Circulating Cholesterol and Lowers It beyond the Effects of Cholesterol-Lowering Medications Alone in Patientswith PeripheralArtery Disease. J Nutr 2015 Apr;145(4):749-57. doi: 10.3945/jn.114.204594. Epub 2015 Feb 18
- Bainton D, Sweetnam P, Baker I, Elwood P. Peripheral vascular disease: consequence for survival and association with risk factors in the Speedwell Prospective Heart Disease Study. Br Heart J 1994;72:128–32
- Hirsch AT, Criqui MH, Treat-Jacobson D, Regensteiner JG, Creager MA, Olin JW, Krook SH, Hunninghake DB, Comerota AJ, Walsh ME, et al. Peripheral arterial disease detection, awareness, and treatment in primary care. JAMA 2001;286:1317–24
- Diehm C, Schuster A, Allenberg JR, Darius H, Haberl R, Lange S, Pittrow D, von Stritzky B, Tepohl G, Trampisch HJ. High prevalence of peripheral arterial disease and co-morbidity in 6880 primary care patients: cross-sectional study. Atherosclerosis 2004;172:95–105.
- Leyva DR, Zahradka P, Ramjiawan B, Guzman R, Aliani M, Pierce GN. The effect of dietary flaxseed on improving symptoms of cardiovascular disease in patients with peripheral artery disease: rationale and design of the FLAX-PAD randomized controlled trial. Contemp Clin Trials 2011;32:724–30.
