Avoid Drugs And Surgery For Prostate Issues With Flaxseed

Millions of men face prostate issues, with treatment with drugs and surgery often making their problems worse. A new study reveals that simply eating flaxseed may be the best way to improve your symptoms, and take back control of your health.

A study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food titled, “Efficacy and Safety of a Flaxseed Hull Extract in the Symptomatic Management of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: A Parallel, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Pilot Study,” reveals that men who consumed an extract of flaxseed for swollen prostate (i.e. benign prostatic hyperplasia) saw significant improvement.

According to the study, The American Urology Association (AUA) Guideline, 2010, defines benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) as proliferation of smooth muscles and epithelial cells within the prostatic transition zone. The typical symptoms include:

• Urinary frequency


• Urgency


• Nocturia (abnormal frequency of night time urination)


• Decreased and intermittent force of stream


• Sensation of incomplete bladder emptying.

BPH is one of the most widespread health conditions faced by men today, with the incidence rising to nearly 50% of the male population by the eighth decade of their lives. Moreover, countries like China and India are now seeing an exponential increase in BPH diagnoses as they increasingly adopt the Western diet, lifestyle, and medical system.

Current approaches include side effect heavy pharmaceuticals such as alpha adrenergic blockers and 5a-reductase inhibitors, as well “gold standard” surgical procedures such as transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), which so consistently produces surgery related impairments that there is an entire syndrome named after these side effects, namely, Transurethral Resection of the Prostate (TURP) Syndrome.

The human cost in both financial and existential terms is immense. This is why interest in safe, natural, affordable and effective alternatives is growing, and why the researchers felt compelled to test the hypothesis that eating flaxseed might provide an ideal alternative approach.

In the randomized, double-blinded, and placebo-controlled study, three groups of men, aged 45-75, with newly diagnosed BPH and an American Urological Association Symptom Index (AUASI) score of ‡ 13 , were given either a placebo, or a low or high dose of a lignin-rich flaxseed hull extract. More specifically:

“Study treatment consisted of 500 or 1000 mg of extract containing 100 mg (low-dose active [LDA] group, n = 26) or 200 mg (high-dose active [HDA] group, n = 26) of secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG), respec- tively. The placebo (P) group (n = 28) received matching maltodextrin capsules. Sixty subjects (LDA [n = 19], HDA [n = 20], and P [n = 21]) completed the study as per the protocol requirements. Change in the AUASI score within a period of 8 weeks, from baseline to end of treatment, was assessed.”

The promising results were reported as follows:

“In this study, supplementation with the flaxseed hull extract provided greater relief than placebo in obstructive symptoms of BPH, such as sensation of incomplete bladder emptying, ”stopping and starting” while urinating, weak urinary stream, and ”straining while urinating.” Low and high doses of the flaxseed extract provided statistically significant improvements in the scores of these obstructive symptoms at week 8 as compared with baseline. In contrast to this, the placebo group did not show a statistically significant improvement with respect to these obstructive symptoms.”

The treatment group did not see any sign of increased side effects relative to the placebo group, indicating how remarkably safe flaxseed is versus conventional treatment. Also, because the placebo group also saw a significant improvement, it is possible that the strong placebo effect may have overshadowed the real power of the intervention.   We hope that in the future a non-pharmaceutical industry funded study compares flaxseed to both pharmaceutical and surgical intervention to assess its true power.

Another important observation is that the flaxseed groups saw an increase in free testosterone, as well as a decrease in the testosterone metabolite DHT, which is known to contribute to prostate growth both benign and malignant. The placebo group, on the other hand, saw both an increase in testosterone and DHT.  This also means that aging men, whose testosterone levels often plunge in relation to their estrogen levels, might experience additional hormonal benefits from eating flaxseed that could contribute to their overall state of well-being.

Concluding Remarks

This study is highly promising for a number of reasons. First, flaxseed is a safe, time-tested, and highly nutritious food that has been researched for a wide range of health benefits. You can view over 70 health benefits we have identified here: Flaxseed research database. Anything that can be used as a nourishing food while at the same time significantly relieving human suffering from a common disease, is highly compelling.

But there is a deeper reason why flaxseed may work so well. Our bodies co-evolved with certain foods for hundreds of thousands of years. Certain foods contains phytocompounds which our bodies have become dependent upon for self-regulation and homeostasis It is possible that lignins are vitally important, as essential as vitamins for maintaining optimal health. Obviously BPH is not caused by a lack of surgery or synthetic chemicals, but it might be true to say that BPH is caused by the lack of an ideal diet which would include lignin rich foods like flaxseed. Cleary, therefore, flaxseed could be considered part of a root cause resolution approach to BPH, versus looking it as just a palliative “disease management” tool like most of the approaches within the conventional armamentarium.

Finally, BPH falls within the category of a condition that involves the abnormal growth of the very same epithelial tissue that cancer emerges within. Since flaxseed has been found to prevent and even regress cancerous epithelial growths, such as breast cancer, it is highly likely that flaxseed consumption may also be the best insurance policy out there to prevent prostate cancer from developing.

For more information on natural ways to address BPH, or prostate cancer, check out our two databases on the topic here:

• Benign prostatic hyperplasia.


• Prostate Cancer

© January 5, 2018  GreenMedInfo LLC. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of GreenMedInfo LLC. Want to learn more from GreenMedInfo? Sign up for the newsletter here http://www.greenmedinfo.com/greenmed/newsletter.

The post Avoid Drugs And Surgery For Prostate Issues With Flaxseed appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.

Flaxseed: Just An Ounce A Day May Extend Your Life

A new study shows flaxseed positively impacts age-associated changes in inflammation, adding to an already extensive list of beneficial health effects linked to its consumption. 

A new study published in Experimental Gerontology indicates that consuming about an ounce a day of flaxseed (30 grams) may profoundly benefit elderly subjects, possibly neutralizing age-associated increases in inflammation, by modulating levels of a class of fat derived biomolecules known as oxylipins.

Titled, “Elevated levels of pro-inflammatory oxylipins in older subjects are normalized by flaxseed consumption,” Canadian researchers looked at the effects that flaxseed have on oxylipins, a category of physiologically bioactive molecules produced in the body from the oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids (also known as eicosanoids).

Oxylipin derivatives are believed to play a critical role in chronic disease progression as well as the aging process by modulating both inflammatory and anti-inflammatory pathways in the body, making dietary sources and/or deficiencies of their substrates particularly relevant. For instance, oxylipins derived from long chain omega 3 fatty acids (e.g. resolvins, protectins) can down-regulate inflammatory processes by preventing the activation of certain immune cells (e.g. polymorphonuclear neutrophils). On the other hand, those derived from omega 6 fatty acids like linoleic acid or its derivative arachadonic acid have been linked to the promotion of inflammation.[1] Since the typical Western diet contains a ratio of omega 3 to 6 fatty acids unprecedented in its overemphasis on omega 6 fats, and since flaxseed contains a uniquely high ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 (4 times more omega 3), it is logical to assume it would contribute to bringing our dietary and therefore physiological ratios back into greater balance.

In the new study, researchers tested the hypothesis that flaxseed may positively modulate oxylipin concentrations. They also sought to determine whether or not oxylipin levels differ with age, as has been previously observed for other fats in the plasma of human subjects of differing ages.

The study design compared younger (19-28 year old) and older subjects (45-64 year old), 10 in each group. Both groups ingested a muffin containing 30 grams of milled flaxseed daily for a period of 4 weeks. This equated to 6,000 mg of the omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid per serving.

At baseline the older group had 13 different oxylipins showing a 2-fold or higher levels in concentrations compared to the younger group. More specifically:

“[P]ro-inflammatory oxylipins 5-hydroxdyeicosatetraenoic acid, 9,10,13-trihydroxyoctadecenoic acid, and 9,12,13-trihydroxyoctadecenoic acid were significantly greater in the older (1.1±0.23nM, 5.6±0.84nM, and 4.5±0.58nM, respectively) versus the younger group (0.34±0.12nM, 3.5±0.33nM, and 3.0±0.24nM, respectively) (p<0.05).

After the 4-week flaxseed intervention the number of oxylipins that were ≥2-fold higher in the older versus the younger group was reduced from 13 to 3. More specifically:

“5-Hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid, 9,10,13-trihydroxyoctadecenoic acid, and 9,12,13-trihydroxyoctadecenoic acid decreased in the older group to concentrations equivalent to the younger group after flaxseed consumption.”

The results lead the authors to conclude:

In conclusion, this is the first study to report differences in plasma oxylipin profiles based upon age and gender. The consumption of milled flaxseed resulted in potentially beneficial alterations in the plasma oxylipin profiles of both the younger and older individuals by reducing oxylipins that induce neutrophil chemotaxis and inflammation. The older groups’ plasma oxylipin profile became similar to that of their younger counterparts as a function of the dietary flaxseed. The findings of this study, therefore, have implications for understanding the biochemical changes associated with aging, the potential mechanisms of action responsible for the beneficial physiological effects of dietary flaxseed, and therapeutic strategies for disturbing inflammatory-related conditions and diseases.”

This is actually not the first time we have reported on a clinical study using flaxseed to modulate oxylipin levels resulting in beneficial health effects. Last year, in an article titled  “Flaxseed Reduces Blood Pressure and Decreases Oxylipin Levels“, our naturopath contributor Case Adams reported:

“Research from Canada’s St Boniface Hospital Research Center and the University of Manitoba has found that taking flaxseed as a supplement can significantly reduce and lower blood pressure – especially among patients with peripheral artery disease, hypertension, and high blood pressure.”

The positive outcome were produced after 110 peripheral artery disease patients were given 30 grams of ground flaxseed daily for six months:

After the six months, the flaxseed group had marked and significantly lower levels of oxylipins.  Oxylipins are known to be linked with artery damage, thrombosis, hypertension and cardiovascular disease in general. Recent research from Philadelphia’s Thomas Jefferson University has linked high oxylipin levels with diabetes as well.”

Flaxseed An Easy, Safe, Affordable Alternative To Drugs

We live in an incredible time.  Science now regularly confirms age-old aphorisms like “food is medicine,” with flaxseed increasingly attracting the attention of medical researchers. Every month or so, a new study appears revealing this humble food’s incredible healing power. Not only does it have a multitude of diverse culinary applications and beneficial health effects (we have indexed 70 benefits here), flaxseed has been found surprisingly capable of profoundly reducing the risk of lethal diseases such as cancer. Recently, for instance, we reported on its amazing ability to reduce breast cancer mortality by up to 70% — a feat that we do not know any drug has yet been demonstrated capable of performing. The implications here are profound. As we have discussed extensively in the past with turmeric, the science-based validation of foods as not only therapeutic but superior to drugs in the prevention and treatment of disease has revolutionary implications for the future of medicine.

Learn more about the author’s unique philosophy of nutrition in “Food as Medicine Rebooted.”

---

[1] Lundstrom, S.L., Yang, J., Kallberg, H.J., Thunberg, S., Gafvelin, G., Haeggstrom, J.Z., Gronneberg, R., Grunewald, J., van Hage, M., Hammock, B.D., Eklund, A., Wheelock, A.M., Wheelock, C.E., 2012. Allergic Asthmatics Show Divergent Lipid Mediator Profiles from Healthy Controls Both at Baseline and following Birch Pollen Provocation

 

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70 Reasons To Eat More Flaxseed

The science has never been clearer: flaxseed deserves to be top of the list of the world’s most powerful medicinal foods. For just pennies a day it may protect against dozens of life-threatening health conditions. 

Many of us have been enculturated to think about the nutritional dimension of our food intake in terms of the government’s recommended daily allowances (RDAs), focusing on getting the “right” amounts of carbohydrate, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals. However, I believe this focus on the quantifiable dimensions of food versus the qualitative elements has profoundly lead us astray. We bear witness to this in the fact that Americans are some of the most overfed yet simultaneously malnourished people on the planet. It is no wonder that we we are dying by the droves, with heart disease and cancer representing the most common (and also most preventable) causes of premature death.

What if there was a nutrient-packed super-food which costs pennies a day that can greatly reduce the risk of dying not only these, but dozens of other life-threatening conditions? Would you take it? The good news is there already is: welcome to the amazing nutritional/medicinal potential of flaxseed!

70 Reasons To Consume Flaxseed Daily

Admittedly, the title of this article is a bit over the top. Wouldn’t five good reasons, or even just one good reason be enough to consume it more regularly? After all, think of the millions of people around the world who take aspirin daily only because it promises to reduce the risk for one condition: namely, prevention of heart attack. A practice, incidentally, that is dubious at best, and for which natural and likely far safer and effective alternatives may exist. If we can establish the preventive value of flaxseed in only one serious condition, perhaps this alone would be compelling enough to convince our readers to start incorporating it into their daily dietary regimen. However, for those nutrition geeks out there who like to read the first-hand research, here’s our flaxseed database page, wherein you will find all the abstracts we have gathered on the topic of this seed’s immense potential in preventing and/or treating up to 70 different health conditions.

7 Flaxseed Healing Highlights

Below you will find our top 7 reports on flaxseed’s immense health benefits, including their role in preventing and/or reversing the #1 and #2 killers, namely, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

1. They Can Heal Your Arteries


2. They Can Contain Beneficial Plant Estrogens


3. They Can Reduce Your Breast Cancer Mortality by 70% 


4. They Can Protect Against Ovarian Cancer


5. They Protect Against Radiation Toxicity


6. They Can Dilate Your Arteries


7. They Can Treat Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

For those who are interested in how best to take advantage of flaxseed’s many health benefits, but are unsure what is the best way to consume it, we address some of the most common questions below.

Should I Eat The Seeds Ground or Whole? 

First, keep in mind that flaxseeds are Nature’s ingenious design for preserving the precious cargo inside: highly therapeutic, though fragile polyunsaturated fatty acids, amino acids, and other fat soluble vitamins. This also means that you don’t have to worry about refrigerating it. Once the seed is ground up and exposed to air, light, ambient fluctuations in temperature, and time, it begins to “go bad,” i.e. oxidize and degrade. This is why many make a daily practice of grinding up their own seeds in a coffee grinder to ensure maximum freshness. While I think this is a great idea, not everyone will have the time or desire to adhere to this daily routine. This is why some purchase pre-ground flaxseed. I am not against the practice. My only stipulation is that the buyer make sure the manufacturer has nitrogen-flushed the container so that oxygen didn’t get into the package at the time of manufacture.

The same rule applies to flaxseed oil. The company manufacturing the oil should maintain optimal freshness via nitrogen flushing the container, which will preferably be in non-chemical leaching glass. Also, opt for a high lignan form of the oil when available because you lose this valuable component of the seed material when you produce oil concentrate.  Flaxseed has one of the highest levels of naturally occurring lignans known, and this is why if you are consuming the oil you may also wish to supplement with whole or ground flaxseed so that you benefit from these highly therapeutic compounds.

As far as whole flaxseed, make sure that you chew it well, if you primary objective is to obtain the beneficial nutrients, lignans, and fiber from them. Also, consider that flaxseed produces a very soothing mucilaginous gel when exposed and/or soaked in water. You can pre-soak a tablespoon in a glass of water overnight to produce a very good concoction for constipation by drinking it in the morning.  Because flaxseed will naturally soak up water, remember not to consume too much dry, whole flaxseed without adequate hydration, as it could be a bit binding – the exact opposite effect that it will naturally have when consumed in the correct manner.

Which is Better? Flaxseed Oil or The Seed? 

Hands down, this is the most common question I have fielded. The truth is that one is not better than the other for general preventive health purposes. For optimal protection I would suggest using both. However, there are some important things to consider when incorporating either of these forms into your diet:

• Never heat flaxseed oil: All oils rich in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids are prone to enhanced oxidation (rancidity) when heated. This means that you would not cook with flaxseed oil, opting for naturally saturated (and therefore more heat stabile) fats like palm, coconut oil or ghee (clarified butter) instead.


• Get creative with flaxseed meal: Flaxseed meal is an excellent addition to smoothies or for sprinkling on foods that have a higher glycemic index, e.g. pasta, cereal. The flaxseed meal will slow the breakdown of the starchy carbohydrates and therefore blunt blood sugar spikes and concomitant elevations in insulin. Also, the fiber is excellent for helping to contribute to regularity (it is useful both for going too much and not enough). The key, of course, is to always stay hydrated when using flaxseed, as it can cause significant binding in a dehydrated individual.


• Flaxseed is full of good fats: Keep in mind that flaxseed is a potent source of omega-3 fatty acids, containing a 4:1 ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 fatty acids. This is a great way to balance out the predominant ratios in the Standard American Diet, which is so heavy in corn, canola, soy, and peanut oils, all of which have several orders of magnitude more omega 6 than omega 3.

How Much Should I Take?

Generally, a tablespoon or two of meal a day is a good dose for ensuring you are getting a physiologically significant amount. The same goes for the oil. I have personally consumed five tablespoons of meal a day without any harm, and have used a good amount of the flaxseed oil in place of olive oil as salad dressing (I happen to like the taste of flaxseed better). Everyone will be different, so go with your intuition if you are just experimenting. If you are sick, consult your health practitioner or dietary coach to obtain specific recommendations. Also, listen to your body. If you aren’t finding flaxseed agrees with you, then back off on the amount or stop it until you find another dietary intervention that does work for you. Another alternative that has many of the same health benefits is chia seed.

For more nutritional data on flaxseed, visit the Nutritiondata.com website.

© September 14, 2017 GreenMedInfo LLC. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of GreenMedInfo LLC. Want to learn more from GreenMedInfo? Sign up for the newsletter here http://www.greenmedinfo.com/greenmed/newsletter.

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A Failing Chemotherapy Paradigm Looks To Flaxseed For Help

When conventional cancer medicine fails to produce positive outcomes, a humble little seed comes to the rescue. 

A new study published in the International Journal of Oncology illustrates an important shift occurring in medical research today, namely, a growing recognition that conventional treatments like chemotherapy, taken alone, are failing to produce positive results and that the use of natural substances may be an indispensable way to improve outcomes.

In the study titled, Combining doxorubicin with a phenolic extract from flaxseed oil: Evaluation of the effect on two breast cancer cell lines, Italian researchers sought to evaluate the possible synergistic role of an extract of flaxseed in combination with the conventional chemo-drug doxorubicin in a number of breast cancer cell lines.

They also noted that a commonly used cancer drug known as doxorubicin is notorious for its many side effects. You can review the primary literature on dozens of doxorubicin’s known side effects on our database. The researchers hypothesized that one way around this problem would be to reduce the amount of doxorubicin used by combining it with a safer, more natural compound.

In a previous study, the researchers showed a phenolic extract of flaxseed oil resulted in a number of chemotherapeutic effects (increase in apoptosis, G0/G1 phase cell cycle, and the activation of signaling and pro‑oxidant pathways). The new study looked at the combined effect of doxorubicin and a phenolic extract of flaxseed oil on two different breast cancer cell lines, focusing on what conditions are ideal for using lower doses doxorubicin. They reported the experiment a success:

“We report the data relating to the ability of this mixture to induce cytotoxicity and apoptosis, cell cycle modification, mitochondrial membrane depolarization and activation of extrinsic and/or intrinsic apoptotic pathway.”

While this only a preliminary investigation, and does not have the gravitas of a human clinical trial, flaxseed has been subject to extensive research on its chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic properties. We’re reported on this in depth in previous articles, such as:

We have also done a lot of advocacy around the topic of conventional treatment failure, including the problems of cancer overdiagnosis, overtreatment, and the failure of modern oncology to address the root causes of cancer and the role that cancer stem cells play in the process of carcinogenesis and treatment failure.

There is a profound shift occurring in the medical research community today. With the growing awareness that food is not just a source of energy and material building blocks for the body, but capable of being a form of medicinal or nutrigenomic information, it is no longer considered far fetched to look at something as commonplace, and benign as flaxseed as having disease-resolving power.

For more information on natural substances that may be of value in the prevention and treatment of cancer. Use our Cancer database on the topic to search thousands of studies.

© June 10, 2017 GreenMedInfo LLC. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of GreenMedInfo LLC. Want to learn more from GreenMedInfo? Sign up for the newsletter here http://www.greenmedinfo.com/greenmed/newsletter.