亚麻籽可以对抗高血压

A new study suggests that using only 4 tablespoons of flaxseed per day for as short as six months can significantly improve high blood pressure in patients with a chronic, progressive arterial disease.

The study published in the journal Hypertension titled, “Potent antihypertensive action of dietary flaxseed in hypertensive patients,” shows that dietary flaxseed may serve as an effective therapy for patients with cardiovascular disease.

Canadian researchers at St. Boniface Hospital Research Centre, Winnipeg, performed the clinical trial to try and see whether flaxseed would help high blood pressure in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). Peripheral artery disease is an atherosclerotic plaque build-up in the arteries. The build-up is one of the reasons that patients have high blood pressure.

The trial involved 110 patients who ate foods with 30 grams (about four tablespoons) of milled flaxseed or placebo each day over a period of six months. The purpose of the study was to see if the dietary intervention would improve systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in peripheral artery disease patients. High blood pressure or hypertension is commonly found in patients with PAD.

After six months of the dietary intervention, researchers found:

=> Serum levels of the omega-3 fatty acid α-linolenic acid and enterolignans increased 2- to 50-fold in the flaxseed group as compared to that in the placebo group.
=> Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was about 10 mm Hg lower in the flaxseed group
=> Diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was about 7 mm Hg lower in the flaxseed group

The lowering of these high blood pressures is significant and clinically meaningful.

Specifically, the researchers correlated the lowering of SBP with the serum level of α-linolenic acid and the lowering of DBP with both α-linolenic acid and lignan levels.

The researchers commented “[F]laxseed induced one of the most potent antihypertensive effects achieved by a dietary intervention.”