Lignans Are Important To Staying Healthy

You may never have heard of them, but lignans play an important role in your health.

Lignans are a type of nutrient, especially high in flaxseed and found in smaller amounts in unrefined grains, legumes and certain vegetables. Flax is the richest source of lignans, providing up to 800 times more lignans than most other plant sources. These lignans support cardiovascular function, prostate health, bone health, healthy cell replication and hormone balance.

Northern Europeans, who often consume flax in their diet, have a lower incidence of certain cancers than other Western diets.

Flax has been valued for centuries for its good flavor and nutritional properties. Today, health-conscious consumers are increasing the demand for dietary supplements enriched with flax due to their many different health benefits. For instance, studies suggest the dietary fiber and certain fatty acids in flax can help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Lignans are another constituent found in flax. Lignans are categorized as phytoestrogens, hormone-like molecules from plants. Phytoestrogens, however, do not increase human estrogen. Rather, they may mimic some of the estrogen's effects in bone growth and cardiovascular protection. They have other, beneficial effects. One flax lignan known to yield health-promoting qualities is scientifically called secoisolariciresinol diglycoside

or SDG.

SDG is actually not the active molecule in human health. In the intestines, certain bacteria convert SDG to enterolactone, the molecule that has been identified as being the active form. The flax lignan SDG has been found to reduce cholesterol deposits, plaque buildup and other substances on artery walls by as much as 73 percent. These results suggest that the heart benefits of SDG may be due to its antioxidant activity and lipid-lowering effect.

A Los Angeles-based dietary supplement company manufactures and markets a product called Flax Essence, containing up to 30 times more SDG lignan than other flaxseed products.

Because people are unlikely to eat flax daily, supplementation makes sense. Also, whole flax contains certain anti-nutritional factors that have been purified out of the Jarrow Formulas extract.

Flax Essence contains 40 milligrams SDG lignans per capsule from an extract with a minimum of 20 percent lignans, the highest concentration available, but still an amount obtainable from consuming flax. It is the first standardized and highly concentrated lignan supplement available. Jarrow Formulas also uses its SDG lignan in a flaxseed oil formula and in a special formulation for prostate health.

By: Richard Lewis