The Testing of Dietary Flaxseed in Order to Lower Blood Pressure in Hypertensive Populations

There is a significant amount of evidence supporting the inclusion of ground flaxseedFlaxseed into the dietDiet as having a healthy, cardioprotective effect. These data are found in both animal modelsAnimal model of cardiovascular diseaseCardiovascular diseases and in tightly controlled, extensive clinical trials in both healthy and symptomatic populations. The cardiovascular diseaseCardiovascular diseases conditions that have demonstrated sensitivity to the effects of dietary flaxseedDietary flaxseed include atherosclerotic heart disease, arrhythmiasArrhythmia, vascular dysfunction, myocardial infarctionsMyocardial infarction and hypertensionHypertension. Despite this valuable research data, much remains to be understood. The results of a 6 month interventional trial involving mildly hypertensive participants who ingested flaxseed or a placebo food, the Hyperflax TrialHyperflax trial, are reported here. The results show the various limitations of ingesting flaxseedFlaxseed on blood pressureBlood pressure when the subjects are only mildly hypertensive. In summary, this manuscript identifies the significant need for further research in a variety of fields to help us understand more completely the potential for including ground flaxseedFlaxseed into the daily diet of both asymptomatic individuals and those with clinical evidence of cardiovascular diseaseCardiovascular diseases.