Consumption of a flaxseed-rich food is not more effective than a placebo in alleviating the climacteric symptoms of postmenopausal women

Our objective in this work was to test the effects of daily intake of bread produced with partially defatted ground flaxseed on the climacteric symptoms and endometrial thickness of postmenopausal women. A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial was performed with 38 women who ha...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	The Journal of nutrition Vol. 140; no. 2; p. 293
Main Authors:	Simbalista, Renée L, Sauerbronn, Adolfo V, Aldrighi, José M, Arêas, José A G
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States 01-02-2010
Subjects:	Bread Climacteric - drug effects Double-Blind Method Endometrium - anatomy & histology Endometrium - drug effects Female Flax - chemistry Hot Flashes - drug therapy Humans Lignans - pharmacology Lignans - therapeutic use Middle Aged Phytotherapy Plant Preparations - administration & dosage Plant Preparations - pharmacology Plant Preparations - therapeutic use Postmenopause - drug effects Seeds Triticum
Online Access:	Get more information
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Our objective in this work was to test the effects of daily intake of bread produced with partially defatted ground flaxseed on the climacteric symptoms and endometrial thickness of postmenopausal women. A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial was performed with 38 women who had been postmenopausal for 1-10 y and consumed 2 slices of bread containing 25 g of flaxseed (46 mg lignans) or wheat bran (<1 mg lignans; control) every day for 12 consecutive weeks. The outcome variables were the daily number of hot flashes, the Kupperman Menopausal Index (KMI), and endometrial thickness. The plasma lipid profile (total cholesterol and HDL, LDL, and VLDL cholesterol fractions and triglycerides) and the hormones estradiol, follicle-stimulating hormone, thyroid-stimulating hormone, and free thyroxine also were measured. Food intake was evaluated by means of 2 24-h recalls, before and after the treatment. Twenty patients in the study group and 18 in the control group completed the study. The general characteristics did not differ between the 2 groups at the start of the study. Both had significant, but similar, reductions in hot flashes and KMI after 3 mo of treatment. Moreover, endometrial thickness was not affected in either group. Our findings clearly show that although flaxseed is safe, its consumption at this level (46 mg lignans/d) is no more effective than placebo for reducing hot flashes and KMI.
ISSN:	1541-6100
DOI:	10.3945/jn.109.113886