Flax Seeds and the Stress Response

by Michael Greger, M.D.

A study was just published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition on the effects of flax seed consumption on cardiovascular responses to mental and psychological stress.[JACN 22(6):494] How your body reacts to stress--like how much your blood pressure goes up when you're anxious--is an important predictor of heart disease risk. So Canadian researchers had people sprinkle 3 tablespoons of ground flax seed onto whatever they were eating every day for a few months. Then the researchers exposed the research subjects to a variety of stressors and measured their stress response. And those eating flax had significantly healthier physiological reactions to stressful conditions. Their blood pressure, for example, stayed much more stable.

The researchers attribute the heart healthy attributes of flax not only to their omega 3 content, but their unique concentration of these anti-tumor antioxidant phytoestrogens called lignans. So, if anyone's stressed that they've been feeding their family toxic fish, switching over to flax might help in more ways than one.