Protect Your Health … Add AIM FibreBalance™ to your daily diet
by Janice McColl, B.S.P., M.Sc., M.H.
Flax seed (Linum usitatissimum) is the richest known source of lignans, containing a concentration more than 100 times greater than other lignan-containing foods such as grains, fruits, and vegetables. Lignans are naturally-occurring substances found in plants and are classified as phytoestrogens, plant compounds that can modulate the metabolism and use of estrogen. During the past five decades, more than a thousand studies have examined the role of phytoestrogens in maintaining health and in protecting against or modifying disease.
Lignans have numerous biological effects, including protection against heart disease and osteoporosis, as well as cancer. Women with hormone-dependent breast cancer have been found to have low dietary intake of lignans. Similarly, those men who consume large amounts of lignan-rich plants have a lower incidence of prostate cancer. The potent anti-cancer effects of lignans, especially in hormone sensitive cancers, like breast and prostate cancer, are becoming widely acknowledged and accepted by the scientific community.
There are a number of reasons why we all should be interested in incorporating more lignans into our diet on a daily basis. One of the most compelling is that lignans have potent anti-cancer effects. An impressive number of studies have shown that flax seed lignans are very potent anti-cancer agents for hormone sensitive cancers because of their ability to modulate the production, availability, and action of hormones produced in our bodies. Extensive studies on both breast and colon cancer indicate that flax seed may play an important role in cancer prevention as well as treatments. Dr. Lilian Thompson, professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto, has performed clinical trials with flax seed in breast cancer patients. This work was done in conjunction with Dr. Paul Goss, director of the breast cancer prevention program at the Princess Margaret Hospital and the Toronto Hospital. The study involved 50 women diagnosed with breast cancer. While waiting for surgery, half the women received muffins containing 25 grams of milled flax seed daily, while the other half received ordinary muffins. The women who received the flax seed muffins had slower-growing tumors compared to the other group.
Flax seed has been studied most extensively in hormone-sensitive cancers (breast, prostrate, and colon) because of its known effects on hormone levels. However, flax seed has been found to have broad anti-cancer effects and is able to modify all three stages of cancer development: initiation, tumour development, and growth and metastases (spread of cancer). Lignans may be largely responsible for these anti-cancer effects. Overall flax seed has tremendous potential in the area of cancer prevention and treatment.
The flax seed in AIM FibreBalance™ is supplied by Bioriginal and is trademarked LignaMax™. This flax seed possesses the power of an omega-3 rich milled flax with the advantage of increased stability. LignaMax™ is a partially defatted flax product offering 25% more lignans and fibre, than the regular milled flax seed with 25% fewer calories.
(Janice McColl, B.S.P., M.Sc., M.H. holds a master of science degree in medicinal chemistry, a degree in pharmacy and is also a Master Herbalist.)