September 10, 2007 – Researchers at the prestigious Mayo Clinic in the United States believe that consuming flax seeds may relieve hot flashes associated with menopause.
They conducted a pilot test1 in 28 postmenopausal women who suffered from hot flashes and who preferred not to use hormone replacement therapy. Breast cancer is thought to be higher in women who take hormones during menopause.
According to the researchers, the consumption of 40 g per day of ground flax seeds, during six weeks, would have had the effect of reducing by half the hot flashes from which the participants were suffering. These results justify that we are now conducting a clinical trial with placebo on a larger number of subjects, they believe.
Different results
In 2005, a team from the Center hospitalier universitaire de Québec (Université Laval), under the direction of the DD Sylvie Dodin, published the results of a placebo-controlled clinical trial on 199 postmenopausal women2. The participants consumed 40 g per day of ground flax seeds or a placebo (wheat germ) for a year.
Compared to placebo, flaxseeds had the effect of lowering blood cholesterol levels. However, there was no difference in hot flashes which decreased by about 30% in the two groups.
Placebo effect is still around 30% in hot flash clinical trials, says Dr.D Dodin. Flaxseed intake may reduce the number and intensity of hot flashes during menopause, she says. However, it is difficult to measure the magnitude of this effect, she adds. “Our results might have been more convincing,” she notes, “if the trial had focused on women whose hot flashes were more frequent and intense. “
“Such a dietary intervention is of definite interest,” she emphasizes, “since flax seeds have, moreover, interesting effects on women’s health, in particular on the lipid profile. “
Researchers attribute the effects of flaxseed to the lignans it contains, phytoestrogens that are believed to have antiestrogenic action and that are thought to protect against breast cancer.
Pierre Lefrançois – PasseportSanté.net
According to Nutraingredients.com and Mayo Clinic.
1. Pruthi S, Thompson SL, et al. Pilot evaluation of flaxseed for the management of hot flashes. J Soc Integr Oncol. 2007 Summer; 5 (3): 106-12.
2. Dodin S, Lemay A, et al. The effects of flaxseed dietary supplement on lipid profile, bone mineral density, and symptoms in menopausal women: a randomized, double-blind, wheat germ placebo-controlled clinical trial. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005 Mar; 90 (3): 1390-7. Full text: http://jcem.endojournals.org
