Funny thing about headlines, they take a snippet out of context and turn it into an attention-grabbing conclusion. Unfortunately we are so overloaded with information, few of us have time to read any further.
What we've seen lately is that "Flaxseed Doesn't Help Hot Flashes." What we don't see is that the study focused on drug-induced hot flashes. "In both groups, a little over a third of the women experienced a 50% reduction in their hot flash scores." Pretty good.
The original article on this study in is well written and thorough. Of the participants, 50% were on aromatase inhibitors, and 25% were receiving tamoxifen, both of which have the common side effect of hot flashes.
Another important factor is that they ate a flax seed bar, not ground flax seed as done in previous studies. According to the Mayo Clinic, in its whole form, flax seed is not readily broken down and acts more as a fiber source. This would contribute to the reason so many women in the study complained of gas and bloating.
Attempting to relieve drug-induced side effects with a natural resource may be doomed to failure, but that's one of the things they were trying to learn. In the 2007 pilot study, "the number of daily hot flashes were halved in the women taking flaxseed. In addition, the intensity of the hot flashes dropped by 57%.
In that study, the women ate 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed twice daily, mixed into their cereal, juice, fruit, or yogurt."
There was a difference in the delivery of the flaxseed, and these women were not on antiestrogen meds.
While headlines can be misleading, and more studies need to be done, don't give up hope for relief. If you have concerns about extra fiber, flaxseed oil can be another option.
However, do not use flaxseed if you are pregnant, breast feeding or planning to become pregnant. Consult with your doctor if you are taking medications, have allergies to medicines or foods, or if you have history of gastrointestinal problems such as intestinal blockage, ileus, swelling or stricture of the esophagus, appendicitis, inflammatory bowel disease, IBS or Crohn's.
Here are some cooling tips that can be worth a try if flaxseed is OK for you:
• 2 tablespoons of organic flaxseed oil on daily salads and/or veggies, or in a smoothie
• 2 tablespoons of freshly ground seed twice a day mixed into cereal, juice, fruit, yogurt or a smoothie.
• Keep flaxseed products refrigerated after opening.
• Purchase products in a sealed container, not in bulk, as flaxseed can go rancid quickly.
• Don't cook with it, as it burns quickly, breaking down the omega 3.
• If you have a grinder, grind enough to use for a couple of days & keep it tightly sealed & refrigerated.
Have you tried flaxseed for hot flashes? What were the results?
Laurie, thanks for posting this. I'm sure many women would love to read the article, but it requires registration at MedScape... Here's the opening paragraph, for those inerested:
"In what the lead investigator called a 'surprising' result because it contradicts preliminary research, the dietary supplement flaxseed did not significantly reduce hot flashes in postmenopausal women with or without breast cancer in a phase 3 trial."
So, sounds like the trial didn't prove flaxseed's benefits. I'm interested in your take on this. PJH
Thanks for letting me know, PJ - I didn't remember it required registration.
My take on it is that with the majority of women in the study being on antiestrogen meds, they were also investigating whether flaxseed would have any impact on the side effects.
What was also brought to light in the article is that "Finding a treatment for hot flashes induced by aromatase inhibitors might be a tall order.
The severity and array of menopause symptoms, including hot flashes, caused by aromatase inhibitors led one expert at a 2010 cancer prevention meeting to say that "it appears to be a much worse profile" than originally thought.
'This is like menopause plus,' said Judy Garber, MD, MPH, from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute."
Maybe they are fighting an uphill battle by attempting to use food vs drugs, but I am excited that the topic is being studied. I don't think the study disproved that there could be benefit to flaxseed, nor that it contradicted the earlier study. Each study used different forms of flaxseed delivery, and on different populations.
The first study used ground flaxseed in food, and none of the women were on antiestrogen meds. Their hot flashes were due to menopause.
The second study used a flaxseed bar, and 75% of the women were on antiestrogen meds, with hot flashes as a side effect.
The findings in both studies can't be directly compared to each other because of so many varying factors. However, both offer valuable information.
In the recent study, the results were calculated on the subjective reports of how the hot flashes were changing, but I'd also like to see some objective studies. What happens to their estrogen levels while on the different foods? Are there any effects on the biomarkers (CA 27-29)? Does the gut biology affect this?
What if - the population in the 2nd study used pure flaxseed oil? How would that compare to the same population taking ground flaxseed? How would the results of both of these compare to the current study?
I look forward to more studies on the topic.
Did you feel the study made a clear conclusion that flaxseed is not effective? What's your take?
My take is that the article concludes the earlier study, showing a 50% reduction in hot flashes from use of flaxseed, is considered flawed because it didn't include a placebo group. Like Phyllis, I'd hesitate to take anything that might raise my estrogen levels - even if it's supposedly safe plant lignans doing it. And since this phase 3 trial concludes the benefit of flax just isn't there (at least as far as quelling hot flashes), then I'd be even less likely to try it.
Still, 2 tablespoons of ground flax a day is supposed to be very good for you - full of antioxidants. So it might be worth delving deeper into how safe it is for breast cancer survivors, not because it reduces hot flashes, but because it's the new darling of nutritonists, and it's no doubt going to tstart turning up as an additive in all kinds of foods.
Thanks again for posting this, and for the thoughtful discussion. PJH
Thanks for your input!
PJ, you are right about flaxseed turning up in other foods. I recently brought a new brand of instant oatmeal and discovered when I got it home that it had flaxseed in it. I'm eating the oatmeal because the amount of flaxseed is pretty small, but I probably won't buy that brand again. People who want to avoid it are probably going to need to read labels pretty carefully until it goes out of fashion.