Flaxseed Oil and Diabetes: A Systemic Review

Abstract

Preventing the occurrence of diabetes with nutritional interventions is a therapeutic strategy that may warrant greater research attention. Recent studies suggest that for the vegetarians other than the fish oil adding flaxseed oil to the diet may decrease insulin resistance in diabetics and pre-diabetics and help in reducing the risk of developing type 2 as well as type 1 diabetes. Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are an essential source of energy found in animal and vegetable fats and oils. The general consensus is that eating the right proportion of omega-3 and omega-6 reduces inflammation in the body, the association between omega-3 Fatty Acids (FAs), type 1 and type 2 diabetes is not fully understood yet. Studies in the past suggest that omega-3 and omega-6 FA may affect the development of diabetes by modulation of insulin sensitivity in phospholipids membranes. Evidence suggests omega-6 FAs are generally protective for diabetes risk, whereas the evidence for omega-3 FAs is mixed. Based on the results of clinical trials, epidemiological investigations and experimental studies, ingestion of flaxseed oil has been suggested to have a positive impact on diabetics as well as pre diabetics. The purpose of the present review is to identify the protective effects of flaxseed oil and Alpha Linolenic Acid (ALA) on diabetes.

Full text

Narsingh Verma
Department of Physiology,
King George Medical University,
Lucknow, 226003, India
J. Med. Sci.,
2015
DOI: 10.3923/jms.2015.
Flaxseed Oil and Diabetes: A Systemic Review
1
Kshitij Bhardwaj,
2
Narsingh Verma,
1
R.K. Trivedi and
2
Shipra Bhardwaj
Preventing the occurrence of diabetes with nutritional interventions is a therapeutic
strategy that may warrant greater research attention. Recent studies suggest that for the
vegetarians other than the fish oil adding flaxseed oil to the diet may decrease insulin
resistance in diabetics and pre-diabetics and help in reducing the risk of developing type
2 as well as type 1 diabetes. Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are an essential source
of energy found in animal and vegetable fats and oils. The general consensus is that
eating the right proportion of omega-3 and omega-6 reduces inflammation in the body,
the association between omega-3 Fatty Acids (FAs), type 1 and type 2 diabetes is not
fully understood yet. Studies in the past suggest that omega-3 and omega-6 FA may
affect the development of diabetes by modulation of insulin sensitivity in phospholipids
membranes. Evidence suggests omega-6 FAs are generally protective for diabetes risk,
whereas the evidence for omega-3 FAs is mixed. Based on the results of clinical trials,
epidemiological investigations and experimental studies, ingestion of flaxseed oil has
been suggested to have a positive impact on diabetics as well as pre diabetics. The
purpose of the present review is to identify the protective effects of flaxseed oil and
Alpha Linolenic Acid (ALA) on diabetes.
Key words: Omega-3, diabetes, flaxseed oil, ALA
1
Department of Chemical Technology, Harcourt Butler Technological Institute, Kanpur,
India
2
Department of Physiology, King George Medical University, Lucknow, 226003, India
1

J. Med. Sci., 2015
INTRODUCTION
According to the researchers, India is home to nearly
62 million diabetics and by 2030 nearly 9% of the total
population of India is likely to be affected by the disease, with
many of them classed as overweight or obese. This puts them
at three time’s higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes than
normal weight people (Jeppesen et al., 2013). There is some
evidence that flaxseed can lower blood sugar levels and might
increase the blood sugar-lowering effects of some medicines
used for diabetes. There is a concern that blood sugar could
drop too low. If you have diabetes and use flaxseed, monitor
your blood sugar levels closely (Taylor et al., 2010). These
days, sources of omega-3 fatty acids are hard to find, while the
consumption of omega-6 fatty acids has increased. This
imbalance is thought to contribute to the inflammation that
increases the risk of developing diseases like type 2 diabetes
and heart disease. It's not that omega-6 fatty acids are bad and
omega-3 is good. It's the balance of both that keeps us healthy.
Finding healthier sources of omega-6 is as important as adding
more omega-3 to our diets. Omega-3 supplementation is
unaffected on hypertension, diabetes and microvascular
complications. Most studies involved mainly patients with type
2 diabetes and future research needs to focus on the type 1
diabetic patient. Also, the mechanism and role of omega 3,
omega-6 fatty acids on diabetes is remain largely unknown. A
low dose of flaxseed (13 g dayG
1
) for 12 weeks was associated
with a significant reduction in insulin resistance, assessed
using the homeostasis model (HOMA-IR), in overweight or
obese men and postmenopausal women (Hutchins et al., 2013).
However, no such benefits were observed for the high dose
group (26 g dayG
1
), report researchers from the University of
Colorado Springs, the University of Montana and the
University of Sherbrook (Canada).
It is known that omega-3 and omega-6 FAs may affect the
development of diabetes by modulation of insulin sensitivity
in phospholipids membranes (Borkman et al., 1993).
Evidence suggests omega-6 FAs are generally protective for
diabetes risk (Salmeron et al., 2001; Hu et al., 2001;
Lichtenstein and Schwab, 2000; Vessby et al., 1994). whereas,
the evidence for omega-3 FAs is mixed. Animal studies have
provided a biological model of decreased insulin resistance
with increased intake (Storlien et al., 1987, 1991), whereas
there are mixed results in prospective population-based studies
(Feskens et al., 1995; Kaushik et al., 2009; Wang et al., 2003;
Van Dam et al., 2002; Van Woudenbergh et al., 2009;
Egert et al., 2008; Djousse et al., 2011) and similar mixed or
null findings in clinical trials (Fasching et al., 1991;
Giacco et al., 2007; Toft et al., 1995).
FLAXSEED OIL FOR PRE-DIABETICS
Adding flaxseed to the diet may decrease insulin
resistance in pre-diabetics and help reduce the risk of
developing type-2 diabetes, suggests new data from the US
and Canada. The researchers noted that flaxseed contains
soluble fiber and lignans, both of which have reported benefits
for pre- and type-2 diabetics. The seeds also contain the
omega-3 ALA (alpha-linolenic acid). No changes were
observed in inflammatory markers for any of the study
participants, however, which led the researchers to reject the
notion that ALA was responsible for the benefits.
In a study conducted by Hutchins et al. (2013), the
researchers recruited 25 overweight or obese men and
postmenopausal women with pre-diabetes to participate in
their randomized, cross-over study. The participants consumed
0, 13, or 26 g ground flaxseed for 12 weeks. Interventions
were followed by two week washout periods before crossing
to a different intervention. Results showed that the low dose
(13 g dayG
1
) flaxseed group experienced decreases in glucose,
insulin and HOMA-IR measures, but such decreases were not
observed in the other two groups. There was no significant
changes were observed in any of the groups for
fructosamine, high sensitivity C-reactive protein, adiponectin
and high-sensitivity interleukin-6 (Hutchins et al., 2013).
Research workers could not explain why only the low dose
group experienced improvements, while the high dose group
did not. Which is investigated further by research publish at
journal of oleo science by Barre et al. (2008). Flaxseed oil
had no impact on fasting blood serum glucose, insulin or
HbA1c levels. It is concluded that high doses of flaxseed oil
have no effect on glycemic control in type 2 diabetics
(Brostow et al., 2011).
FLAXSEED OIL FOR TYPE 2 DIABETICS
Flaxseed oil is of particular interest in the nutritional
therapy for diabetes, given their potential role in several
pathophysiological processes related to cardiovascular disease
(Jeppesen et al., 2013). Both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty
acids are beneficial for improving lipid profiles in healthy
individuals and among type 2 diabetic patients:
Supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids lowers triglycerides
and VLDL-cholesterol. Type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is
known for disruption in fatty acid metabolism leading to
dyslipidemia (Barre et al., 2008). In a study published in
Journal of American College of Nutrition in Feb 2010. Dietary
milled flaxseed and flaxseed oil improve N-3 fatty acid status
but do not affect glycemic control in individuals with
well-controlled type 2 diabetes (Taylor et al., 2010). The
flaxseed cake and flaxseed oil groups had increases in
plasma phospholipid n-3 fatty acids (ALA), eicosapentaenoic
acid (EPA), or docosapentaenoic acid (DPA), but not
docosahexaenoic acid and the flaxseed oil group had more
EPA and DPA in plasma phospholipids compared to the group
having flaxseed cake. In 2007 "Public Library of Science One"
found that type 2 diabetics who consumed flax seed-derived
lignin supplements for 12 weeks had lower average blood
sugar levels as determined by the A1C test, a measurement of
blood glucose control based on the percentage of hemoglobin
2

J. Med. Sci., 2015
in the blood that contains glucose molecules. A low score on
the Hb A1C test indicates good blood glucose control over the
past two to three months, while a high score indicates poor
blood glucose control (Pan et al., 2007).
In the Singapore, Chinese Health Study conducted by
Brostow et al. (2011) examined the association between
total omega-3 FAs, marine omega-3 (EPA, DHA), nonmarine
omega-3 (ALA) and omega-6 (n-6) FAs and omega-6:
omega-3 ratio on risk of type 2 diabetes in a Chinese
population of Singapore. The analysis included 43,176
Chinese men and women free of chronic disease, aged
45-74 year. Baseline data collection occurred between 1993
and 1998, with follow-up interviews between 1999 and 2004.
Cox regression models were used to examine the associations
between FA intakes at baseline and risk of developing
diabetes. Increased intakes of total omega-3 FAs were
inversely associated with diabetes incidence (Hazard Ratio
(HR) for the fifth compared with the first quintile: 0.78; 95%
CI: 0.65, 0.94; p for trend = 0.02). Omega-3 FAs from marine
sources were not associated with diabetes risk, whereas
nonmarine omega-3 FA intake was strongly associated (HR for
the fifth compared with the first quintile: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.67,
0.93; p for trend = 0.004). Omega-6 and omega-6: omega-3
ratio was not associated with incidence of type 2 diabetes.
Consumption of nonmarine sources (ALA) of omega-3 FAs is
associated with a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes in Chinese
Singaporeans (Brostow et al., 2011). Flaxseed oil
supplementation may also be useful in the treatment of brain
dysfunction in diabetes (Badawy et al., 2015).
In other study conducted by Taylor et al. (2010) and
coworkers determine that milled the flaxseed (FXS) and
flaxseed oil (FXO) intake does not affect glycemic control in
adults with well-controlled type 2 diabetes.
They find the effects of dietary consumption of milled
flaxseed or flaxseed oil on glycemic control, n-3 fatty acid
status, anthropometrics and adipokines in individuals with type
2 diabetes. The flaxseed (FXS) and flaxseed oil (FXO) groups
had increases in plasma phospholipids n-3 fatty acids (ALA,
eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), or docosapentaenoic acid (DPA),
but not docosahexaenoic acid) and the FXO group had more
EPA and DPA in plasma phospholipids compared to the FXS
group. All groups had similar caloric intakes; however, the
CTL group experienced a 4% weight gain compared to
baseline (p<0.05), while both flax groups had constant body
weights during the study period. All other parameters,
including glycemic control, were unchanged by dietary
treatment.
FLAXSEED OIL FOR TYPE 1 DIABETES
As know that there are numerous solutions for type 2
diabetes, such as alteration diet and exercising, but what about
type 1 diabetes? In the latest of the studies on type 1 diabetes
solutions, researchers found that a compound in flax seed has
a wide range of benefits in animals with type 1 diabetes.
Among those benefits an improved utilization of glucose in the
liver, normalized glucose forming activity in the liver and
muscle tissues and “reduced pancreatic and intestinal
glycosidase inhibitory activity, which translates into lower
post-meal blood sugar elevations”. The key in these natural
solutions seems to be beta cell regeneration. In a healthy
pancreas, beta cells produce insulin. In someone with type 1
diabetes, these cells are either destroyed or impaired to the
point of failure. The research was published in the Canadian
Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology. In addition to the
flax seed study, numerous other bodies of research have found
natural compounds that show significant promise in the
regeneration of healthy beta cells. These include studies on:
type 1 is often referred to as juvenile diabetes because it is
most diagnosed in children. It is a lifelong disease
characterized by the body’s inability to produce insulin,
whereas type 2 diabetes is where the body becomes resistant
to its own insulin. It is not caused by a child’s diet or lifestyle
choices. In other words, it can’t be solved by reducing
carbohydrate or sugar intake. Most people with type 1 diabetes
are insulin-dependent. They must take injections to make up
for the fact that the beta cells of their pancreas are not
producing the hormone so crucial to the metabolism of
glucose.
While, millions of dollars have been funneled into
researching for a cure to type 1 diabetes, no such solution has
been revealed (Renter, 2013; Dusane and Joshi, 2013).
CONCLUSION
The role of omega-6 fatty acids remains largely unknown.
While, some studies have shown promise for the use of flax
seeds as a treatment for diabetes and cardiovascular disease,
others have yielded mixed results. More studies are needed to
definitively state that flax seed is effective for this use and to
determine the precise dose needed. To date, no studies have
reported flaxseed's affect on controlling blood glucose in
people with pre-diabetes. Therefore, more research is needed
to determine if flaxseed is an effective means of controlling
glucose levels in people with pre-diabetes. Clinicians are
recognizing that glucose control, through diet, exercise and if
necessary, medications, is as important for people with
pre-diabetes as it is for people with type 2 diabetes. Standard
treatments for pre-diabetes are glucose control through diet,
exercise and drugs. A possible treatment that could be added
to the standard treatments is intake of flaxseed. Few studies
have looked at the effect of flaxseed intake on glucose control
and those that have enrolled people with type 2 diabetes.
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