3 Tablespoons of ground flaxseed per day lowers blood pressure 15 mmHg systolic, 7 mmHg diastolic

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Tuesday, April 29, 2014 12:51 pm Email this article

Thirty (30) grams of milled flaxseed per day, the amount found in 3 Tablespoons of flaxseed, lowered systolic blood pressure by 15 mmHg, from an average of 158 mmHg to 143 mmHg, and lowered diastolic blood pressure by 7 mmHg, from an average of 82 mmHg to 75 mmHg, compared to placebo over six (6) months according to a recent study.

Subjects

Subjects: 110 people, 67-years-old, 75% hypertensive

The study involved 110 people.

“After randomization, 58 were allocated to the flaxseed group and 52 to the placebo group,” the paper notes.

“These patients had an average age of 67 years, 90% were current or ex-smokers, 75% were hypertensive, 32% diabetic, and 79% hyperlipidemic [that is, had elevated cholesterol levels].”

“Some of these patients were on blood sugar-lowering, lipid-lowering [cholesterol-lowering], antihypertensive, or antithrombotic medication.”

Food Containing Flaxseed or Placebo

Subject given food containing either flaxseed or placebo

“The patients were fed a variety of foods (bagels, muffins, bars, buns, pasta, tea biscuits) that contained 30 [grams] of milled flaxseed or a placebo.”

“Each product contained 30 [grams] of milled flaxseed, and 1 product was ingested per day over the 6-month period of the study.”

Strokes

Strokes: 2 people in the Placebo group had stokes vs one in the flaxseed group

“Two patients in the placebo group and 1 in the flaxseed group suffered strokes during the trial,” the paper notes.

Heart Attacks

Heart Attacks: 4 people in the Placebo group had heart attacks vs 2 in the flaxseed group

“Four patients in the placebo group and 2 patients in the flaxseed group suffered a myocardial infarction [heart attack],” the paper notes.

“One additional patient in the flaxseed group died from a myocardial infarction [heart attack], but this occurred [less than] 3 weeks of enrolling in the study.”

Neither of these differences regarding the number of heart attacks and strokes were statistically significant, which means the differences could have been due to random chance, but it still suggests the possibility that ground flaxseed could reduce the risk of these events.

Reference

Rodriguez-Leyva D, Weighell W, Edel AL, LaVallee R, Dibrov E, Pinneker R, Maddaford TG, Ramjiawan B, Aliani M, Guzman R, and Pierce GN. Potent antihypertensive action of dietary flaxseed in hypertensive patients. Hypertension, 2013 Dec; 62(6): 1081-1089.

Author’s Contact Info

Grant N. Pierce
St Boniface Hospital Research Centre
351 Tache Ave
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R2H 2A6
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