Lignans: Benefits For Both Men and Women as Antioxidant, Phytoestrogen
The Flax About Lignans Lignans can be beneficial for both men and women. Lignans can act as antioxidants. Lignans are phytoestrogens. By Jocelyn Mathern, R.D.
Flaxseed has been around for centuries but its popularity with consumers has increased greatly over the past few years — and for good reason. Flax is a healthy food containing a mix of beneficial nutrients. It is high in omega-3 fatty acids and contains fair amounts of fiber, both soluble and insoluble. Flax is also one of the richest sources of lignans1 — compounds that are increasingly being studied for their potential benefits to health. This article will discuss flax lignans in more detail and hopefully answer your questions about what lignans are and how they can be beneficial for both men and women.
Lignans are phytoestrogens, or naturally occurring plant estrogens that can have a balancing effect on hormones. Lignans can also act as antioxidants. The main lignan in flaxseed is secoisolariciresinol diglycoside or SDG. When flaxseed is eaten, SDG is converted by bacteria in the colon to mammalian lignans: enterolactone and enterodiol. This is important because the mammalian lignans are the forms of SDG that exert health effects in the body. The amount of enterolactone and enterodiol found in the blood and urine of humans and animals is related to the amount of plant lignans eaten. Large intakes of flaxseed (and SDG) will result in large amounts of enterodiol and enterolactone excretion.
Lignans for Men’s Health
Lignans have many potential benefits for men, specifically in areas related to prostate health. A great deal of attention is being focused on benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) because it is a growing public health problem. The American Urological Association estimates that BPH affects 50 percent of men aged 50 to 60 and up to 90 percent of men over the age of 80. Simply stated, BPH is a non-cancerous condition where the prostate becomes enlarged. This can be a problem because the urethra, the tube carrying urine from the bladder to outside the body, runs through the prostate (see illustrations). A growing prostate can pinch off the urethra and cause uncomfortable symptoms, like a frequent and overwhelming urge to urinate, and painful urination. The exact cause of BPH is unknown, but male hormones seem to play a role. Hormones also play a role in another prostate condition
Melatonin Reduces Blood Pressure
Melatonin May Help Blood Pressure January 20, 2004
Melatonin supplements are currently taken in the US to reduce the effects of jet lag. But this ability to help regulate the body’s biological clock may be linked to melatonin’s effect on blood pressure, says Dr Frank A.J.L. Scheer, a neuroscientist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and at Harvard Medical School’s division of sleep medicine. “”It has been reported that people with high blood pressure often have suppressed night-time melatonin levels. We have recently found that people with high blood pressure have actual anatomical disturbances of their biological clocks. This finding might open the door for a new approach for treating hypertension,”" he said.
In a study conducted at the Netherlands Institute for Brain Research in Amsterdam, Scheer and colleagues evaluated melatonin’s effect after a single dose versus after a longer regimen. For three weeks, researchers gave 16 men with untreated essential hypertension (high blood pressure with no known cause) either placebo or 2.5mg oral melatonin one hour before they went to sleep. They compared the effect of the three-week course to taking melatonin only on one day.
The researchers found that patients taking repeated melatonin had lower night-time systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading) by 6 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) and diastolic blood pressure (bottom number) by 4 mm Hg. The single dose of melatonin had no effect on blood pressure. Patients taking melatonin also reported improved sleep, but Scheer said that effect was unrelated to blood pressure reduction in this study.
While this small study suggests the biological clock might be a mechanism involved in the blood pressure reduction, Scheer and colleagues do not exclude that improved sleep over a long time might help reduce blood pressure as well.
Scheer added: “”This is just a start. Large-scale studies need to be done, as well as studies of potential interactions between melatonin and traditional antihypertensive treatments.”"
Last year UK scientists from the Cochrane Collaboration called for funding to back proper testing of melatonin in supplement form so that it can be widely used by the public. There are currently no purity standards for the supplement, or enough clinical evidence to support its safety, despite the fact that it is very popular in many countries, they said.
Click Here to Access <a href=”"bpreduction.html”"SupplementSpot’s Guide to Lowering Cholesterol Without Drugs
Soy Isoflavone Relieves PMS Symptoms
Study: Soy Eases Menopause
Study: Soy Eases Menopause Reuters, Sao Paulo, Brazil, August 28, 2000
A hormone found in soybeans may be able to ease menopausal symptoms without the negative side-effects caused by standard estrogen treatments, and lower cholesterol levels at the same time, Brazilian scientists said on Wednesday.
Gynecologists from the Federal University of Sao Paulo (Unifesp) working with the Agriculture Ministry’s research arm Embrapa conducted tests over six months on 80 menopausal women to assess the possible benefits of isoflavin, a hormone present in soybeans. “”Of the women taking isoflavin, 85 percent reported amarked improvement in their (menopausal) symptoms because isoflavin is a phyto-estrogen, which is an estrogen of vegetable origin,”" said Gynecologist Kyung Koo Han of Unifesp. “”Isoflavin does everything estrogen does. It is only slightly less effective than conventional estrogen to which about 90 to 95 percent of women respond positively,”" said Koo Han. From the onset of menopause, the woman’s body produces only a fraction of the natural estrogen that it once did. This can sometimes lead to a deterioration in quality of life brought on by insomnia, depression, loss of bone mass and hot flashes. Unlike some women treated with conventional estrogens, the test patients taking isoflavin showed no swelling of the mammary glands or endometrium, the lining of the uterus, Koo Han’s study showed. Mercedes Panizzi, an Embrapa doctor and co-worker on the study, said her research suggested that soy products did not carry the same health risks as the prolonged use of estrogen that increases the risk of uterine and breast cancer. “”Soy is among the most complete and versatile foods known to man. Beyond its nutritional values, it has great potential as a cure and preventative for disease such as cancer and osteoporosis,”" she said. Isoflavin is sold in homeopathic pharmacies in Brazil as an alternative to hormone replacement therapy. It is also marketed in the United States and other countries. Koo Han said he also found that 75 percent of the women showed lower cholesterol levels after they started taking isoflavin. He will present the study’s findings on Sept. 3, in Washington D.C. at the International Congress of Gynecology. Isoflavin might also prove effective against osteoporosis — a degenerative bone disease often caused by the lack of estrogen in women after the onset of menopause, Panizzi said. Unifesp is currently conducting a one-year study on the hormone’s effects on bone mass in menopausal women.
Zananivir May Be Reason for Shortage of Flu Vaccine!
THERE IS a shortage of influenza vaccine in the United States this flu season. But the researchers caution in this week
Consumer Labs
FTC Urged to Investigate Purported Consumer Watchdog
January 13, 2005 Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) Trade Association Petitions Agency to Stop ConsumerLab.com
Harvard Scientists: Resveratrol Unlocks Secret to Aging
Harvard Scientists Unravel the Secret of Aging
As we get older, our health becomes our worst enemy. What
Calcium Supplements Prevent Kidney Stones
A prospective study of dietary calcium and other nutrients and the risk of symptomatic kidney stones. Curhan GC, Willett WC, Rimm EB, Stampfer MJ.
Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115. <p<BACKGROUND. A high dietary calcium intake is strongly suspected of increasing the risk of kidney stones. However, a high intake of calcium can reduce the urinary excretion of oxalate, which is thought to lower the risk. The concept that a higher dietary calcium intake increases the risk of kidney stones therefore requires examination. METHODS. We conducted a prospective study of the relation between dietary calcium intake and the risk of symptomatic kidney stones in a cohort of 45,619 men, 40 to 75 years of age, who had no history of kidney stones. Dietary calcium was measured by means of a semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire in 1986. During four years of follow-up, 505 cases of kidney stones were documented. RESULTS. After adjustment for age, dietary calcium intake was inversely associated with the risk of kidney stones; the relative risk of kidney stones for men in the highest as compared with the lowest quintile group for calcium intake was 0.56 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.43 to 0.73; P for trend, < 0.001). This reduction in risk decreased only slightly (relative risk, 0.66; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.49 to 0.90) after further adjustment for other potential risk factors, including alcohol consumption and dietary intake of animal protein, potassium, and fluid. Intake of animal protein was directly associated with the risk of stone formation (relative risk for men with the highest intake as compared with those with the lowest, 1.33; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.00 to 1.77); potassium intake (relative risk, 0.49; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.35 to 0.68) and fluid intake (relative risk, 0.71; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.52 to 0.97) were inversely related to the risk of kidney stones. CONCLUSIONS. A high dietary calcium intake decreases the risk of symptomatic kidney stones. PMID: 8441427 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] Risk factors for kidney stones in older women in the southern United States. Hall WD, Pettinger M, Oberman A, Watts NB, Johnson KC, Paskett ED, Limacher MC, Hays J.
Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. whall@emory.edu
BACKGROUND: The occurrence of kidney stones is disproportionate in the southern region of the United States. Risk factors for the occurrence of kidney stones in this geographic area have not been reported previously. METHODS: The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) is an ongoing multicenter clinical investigation of strategies for the prevention of common causes of morbidity and mortality among postmenopausal women. A case-control ancillary study was conducted on 27,410 (white or black) women enrolled in the 9 southern WHI clinical centers. There were 1,179 cases (4.3%) of kidney stones at the baseline evaluation. Risk factors for stone formation were assessed in cases versus age- and race-matched control subjects. RESULTS: Risk factors (univariate) included low dietary potassium (2,404 versus 2,500 mg/day, P = 0.006), magnesium (243 versus 253 mg/day, P = 0.003) and oxalate (330 versus 345 mg/day, P = 0.02) intake, as well as increased body mass index (28.5 versus 27.7 kg/m2, P = 0.001) and a history of hypertension (42% versus 34%, P = 0.001). A slightly lower dietary calcium intake (683 versus 711 mg/day, P = 0.04) was noted in case subjects versus control subjects, but interpretation was confounded by the study of prevalent rather than incident cases. Supplemental calcium intake >500 mg/day was inversely associated with stone occurrence. CONCLUSION: Multivariate risk factors for the occurrence of kidney stones in postmenopausal women include a history of hypertension, a low dietary intake of magnesium, and low use of calcium supplements. PMID: 11465241 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Fish Oils Ease Aggression and Hyperactivity
Fish Oils Ease Aggression January 26, 2004
The study is part of a growing body of evidence to suggest that polyunsaturated essential fatty acids may play a role in mental health.
Hostility has been shown to predict both the development and manifestation of coronary disease, writes a US team in this month’s European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (vol 58, no1, pp 24-31).
They examined the association of dietary omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, as well as fish, with the level of hostility in a sample of 3581 urban white and black young adults living in California.
Both intake of fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids and docosahexaenoic acid intake were independently associated with lower odds of high hostility, they report. This relationship could offer further insight into the cardioprotective effect of dietary fish and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
“”The association between dietary omega-3 fatty acids and hostile personality merits further research,”" write the researchers.
The relationship between behaviour and diet has also been studied by scientists in the UK, particularly in regard to children. An ongoing study is examining whether fatty acid supplements can help improve the behaviour of hyperactive and disruptive children.
University of Surrey researchers have also studied the impact of vitamin supplements on a group of prisoners. The vitamin group was found to commit a quarter fewer offences compared with the placebo group.
Mediterranean DIet Good for Arthritis
Mediterranean Diet Soothes Aching Joints
Foods rich in antioxidants help people with rheumatoid arthritis
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 19 (HealthScoutNews) — A Mediterranean diet high in olive oil, cooked vegetables, and fish appears to ease symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.
A small Swedish study in the March issue of the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases has found that people who followed this eating regimen had less inflammation and were more active at the end of three months.
Outside experts, however, say this study is far from the final word on the subject.
“”The design is flawed and the results are, at best, modest,”" says Dr. Clifton Bingham, director of the Seligman Center for Advanced Therapeutics at the Hospital For Joint Diseases in New York City. “”The results they find are statistically significant, but it’s not clear that any of the results are clinically significant.”"
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder that involves inflammation to the lining of the joints and possibly other organs.
Previous research has shown a link between fish oil — which has anti-inflammatory properties — and the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, Bingham says. However, the amounts required are so high that they have little relevance to a person’s daily diet.
This study looked specifically at the Cretan Mediterranean Diet, which includes copious amounts of fruit, vegetables, cereals, legumes, poultry, and fish. Red meat and high-fat dairy products are kept to a minimum and olive and canola oils are the primary source of fat.
Fifty-one people with stable though active rheumatoid arthritis were randomly assigned to either the Cretan diet or to a “”typical”" Western diet for three months.
For the first three weeks, participants ate lunch and dinner at the clinic’s cafeteria. They were then provided with instructions and recipes and left to their own devices. Clinical examinations looking at physical function, quality of life, joint pain and other measures were performed at the beginning and then at the third, sixth and 12th weeks of the study.
Little progress was seen before the six-week mark. By the end of the 12-week period, physical function, vitality, and various other measures had improved in the Mediterranean-diet group but not in the control group. People in the treatment group also lost an average of three kilograms (6.6 pounds).
The diet had the advantage of being relatively easy to follow and the majority of participants liked it.
“”A general idea of mine is that the Mediterranean diet is palatable and should be easy for most patients to accept, even lifelong,”" says Dr. Lars Skoldstam, lead author of the study.
The researchers speculate that olive oil can be metabolized into agents with anti-inflammatory effects and that olive oil also has antioxidant properties. Vegetables are also rich in natural antioxidants, which help control inflammation, Skoldstam says.
Because obesity is a risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis, Skoldstam believes the weight loss may also have had a salutary effect.
“”A hypothesis of mine is that the weight reduction induced metabolic regulatory mechanisms which, in their turn, down-regulated the arthritis of the patients,”" he says. “”A considerable proportion of our patients were overweight.”"
The diet may still make sense for rheumatoid arthritis sufferers, because this group of people has a higher cardiac risk than people without the condition.
“”Treatments such as dietary modification that would lower other cardiac risk factors such as elevated cholesterol may certainly modify long-term cardiac outcome for patients with [rheumatoid arthritis],”" Bingham says. “”Patients lost weight in the treatment group, and that would be something that may benefit patients.”"
Bingham does not give patients with rheumatoid arthritis any specific dietary advice, just to eat a balanced diet that is low in fat and cholesterol and contains sufficient quantities of vitamins and minerals.
And one more bit of advice: “”The effect sizes that are seen [in this study] are nowhere near the results obtained with currently available medications to treat rheumatoid arthritis,”" Bingham says. “”Diet should never be seen as the sole therapy for this disease but, rather, at best adjunctive.”"
SOURCES: Clifton Bingham, M.D., director, Seligman Center for Advanced Therapeutics, Hospital For Joint Diseases, New York City; Lars Skoldstam, M.D., Ph.D., department of medicine, Kalmar County Hospital, Kalmar, Sweden; March 2003 Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
Cause of Aging Revealed in New Study
Cause of Aging Confirmed Mitochondrial DNA findings suggest that reversing damage in cellular power plants could increase longevity June 10, 2004 Source: US National Institutes of Health, Betterhumans Stopping the clock: Genetic mutations in cell power plants appear to speed aging, suggesting that reversing the damage could increase longevity
Genetic mutations that accumulate in the DNA of mitochondria