Flaxseed energy and macronutrients balance

January 1, 2012 Human Health and Nutrition Data 0 Comments

Flaxseed energy and macronutrients balance

Year: 2012
Authors: Goncalves de Oliveira, C. Rodrigues Ferreira Cruz, A.C. Mayumi Nakajima, V. Bressan, J. Goncalves Alfenas, R.C. Mattes, R.D. Brunoro Costa, N.M.
Publication Name: Nutr Hosp
Publication Details: Volume 27; No. 5; Pages 1598 – 1604

Abstract:

Background/objectives: Flaxseed has functional properties in the reduction of the risk of chronic non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. Regardless of its high energy density, the consumption of flaxseed tends to promote body weight maintenance. The purpose of this study was to evaluate energy and macronutrient balance after flaxseed consumption. Subjects/methods: Twenty four healthy volunteers were allocated into 3 experimental groups, when they consumed flaxseed (FS), defatted flaxseed flour (FF), or flaxseed oil (FO). During the control period they were provided a diet without flaxseed products for 7 to 9 days. Following that diets containing 70 g of one of the flaxseed products were consumed for another 7 to 9 day period. Test foods were consumed exclusively in the laboratory and fecal excretion was collected during the study. There was a higher energy excretion (P < 0.05) in the FF and FS groups, compared to their control and FO group.
Results: The excretions of total lipid and the PUFA  linolenic acid were higher in FS group (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The intake of 70 g/day of FS and FF raised lipid and energy excretion, which may mitigated the effect of flaxseed consumption on body weight. (Authors abstract)

The objective of this work was to evaluate energy and macronutrient balance after flaxseed (rich in n3 fatty acids and fiber), flaxseed defatted flour (without n3 fatty acids and rich in fiber) and flaxseed oil (only n3 fatty acids) consumption. Besides, a lower fat bioaccessibility in the FF and FS groups compared to FO group suggests the occurrence of a lower body weight gain than the expected when flaxseed is consumed.  A higher excretion of carbohydrates and proteins was observed in the FF treatment compared to the control session, leading to a higher fecal energy excretion. There was about 4 times more fat in the feces of the FS group compared to the FO group and about 3 times more compared to the FF group. The ingestion of seeds lead to a lower fat bioavailability, due to inefficient chewing and processing in the gastrointestinal tract. The cell wall protects the intracellular fat and consequently decreases their bioaccessibility.

In this study, flaxseed and flaxseed flour caused an increase in fat, and energy fecal excretion.
Although the short duration of the intervention was not designed with the objective of verifying the effect of flaxseed consumption on body weight, the results of this study suggest that despite its high energy density, flaxseed may favor body weight maintenance because it leads to a higher fecal fat and energy excretion. These data should be better investigated in future chronic feeding studies to evaluate the effects of flaxseed on body weight and non-communicable diseases manifestation.



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