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No significant benefit found with flaxseed in hypercholesterolemic children
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In a study that examined the safety and efficacy of dietary flaxseed supplementation in children with hypercholesterolemia, researchers found that flaxseed supplementation was safe but associated with no significant benefits on total cholesterol, LDL or total caloric intake.
Helen Wong, RD, of The Hospital for Sick Children, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues conducted a 4-week, placebo-controlled, masked, randomized trial of 32 children aged 8 to 18 years. All of the children had LDL levels ranging from 135 mg/dL to less than 193 mg/dL.
Participants were assigned daily intake of two muffins and one slice of bread containing 30 g flaxseed or the same food made with whole-wheat flour and no supplemental flaxseed.
Use of dietary flaxseed supplementation was associated with an attributable decrease in HDL (–7.35 mg/dL), an increase in triglycerides (29.23 mg/dL) and an increase in dietary polyunsaturated fat intake (4.88 g per day). No attributable effects were observed in total cholesterol (–8.51 mg/dL), LDL (–6.96 mg/dL), BMI z score (0.002) or total caloric intake (117 kcal).
Researchers noted, however, that results did not exclude a potential benefit of flaxseed supplementation on reduction of LDL.
“In light of the results and limitations of our study, further research seeking longitudinal data from larger samples of patients is warranted to address the current discrepancy between evidence from adult and pediatric trials, as well as further elucidate the possible role of flaxseed in treating pediatric hyperlipidemia,” the researchers wrote. “Until its relevance is clearly understood, flaxseed supplementation remains an unverified strategy for the clinical management of cardiovascular risk factors in youth with hyperlipidemia.”
Disclosure: This study was supported by a research grant from the Labatt Family Innovation Fund. The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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