Flaxseed supplementation and prostate cancer:
A pilot study in prostate cancer patients suggests that a low-fat, flaxseed-supplemented diet decreases prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and cholesterol levels as well as benign prostatic epithelial cell proliferation. Fifteen men who were scheduled to undergo repeat prostate biopsy were instructed to follow a low-fat (less than 20% kcal), flaxseed-supplemented (30 g/day) diet for 6-months. At the end of the study period, significant decreases in PSA (8.47 to 5.72 ng/mL; P = 0.0002) and cholesterol (241.1 to 213.3 mg/dL; P = 0.012) were seen. Significant change was not observed in total testosterone. A significant decrease in proliferation rates in the benign epithelium from 0.022 to 0.007 (P = 0.0168) was observed. (13)