It promotes hormonal harmony, digestive health, and cardiovascular function — all vital for male performance and long-term vitality. Ryan, 38, experienced mood swings, brain fog, and soft fat gain around his chest and belly — classic signs of estrogen dominance. Men with signs of hormonal imbalance — including low libido, poor sleep, or estrogen dominance — may benefit most. Due to its beneficial features for health, it has been applied in specific diets. Linum usitatissimum is the Latin name of flaxseed, which means very beneficial. For writing this manuscript, we made a list of relevant keywords and phrases, and then we started searching for studies in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. The authors thank ENRECO, Inc., Newton, WI for provision of the flaxseed supplement used in this investigation. The limitations of this case study are clear, in that the data emanate from a sample of only one and from data collected at only two time points (baseline and follow-up). Currently the standard of care treatment for women with PCOS ranges from lifestyle modification to pharmacological interventions. The normal reference range for percentage free testosterone for adult females is 0.9–3.8 You can also cut, wax, pluck, or use chemical depilatories to manage unwanted facial or body hair. These treatments bear some level of risk, and you may need professional medical advice before proceeding. Examples of good fatty fish include herring, Atlantic mackerel, salmon, and sardines. They’re excellent if you’re watching out for your cholesterol levels. Regulation of expression of genes involved in cell cycle arrest and mitochondrial apoptosis, as well as K+ channel opening mechanism, are two main mechanisms that are involved in the effects of flaxseed on GID. Besides this, it was presented that digestive enzyme inhibitors of flaxseed impaired rat growth and reduced intestinal villi. Healthy lifestyle, good bowel habits, and performing cancer screening decrease or inhibit gastrointestinal disorders (36). 1) Flaxseed has a powerful anti-oxidant activity and also it can decrease caloric intake. However, there are conflicting articles against these results, which can be interpreted by animal species, study model, the dose of flaxseed, duration of consumption, and the target studied patients. The prospective, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized trial reported 30 g/day of milled flaxseed for 6 months could reduce blood pressure in patients (32). They illustrated that flaxseed supplementation could change serum levels of only some sex hormones (17) or even influence the metabolism and urinary levels of some estrogen metabolites (18). In a 2001 study of 25 men with prostate cancer, supplementing with flaxseed and decreasing overall fat intake was shown to significantly reduce testosterone levels. Another older study showed that licorice may reduce testosterone levels in women as well, reporting that 3.5 grams of licorice daily decreased testosterone levels by 32% after just one menstrual cycle. The risk of cancer is decreased by flaxseed due to its high anti-oxidant levels such as cysteine and methionine. Lignan also has been found to increase levels of sex hormone binding globulin and thus reduce the amount of free circulating testosterone (Adlercreutz et al, 1987, Martin et al., 1996), though such a reduction has not been observed in all studies (Low et al, 2005). A 2014 study on healthy men found no significant change in testosterone levels after 12 weeks of flaxseed consumption. Some studies suggest lignans can lower testosterone levels by reducing the activity of certain enzymes involved in hormone production. Among its other health benefits, flaxseed supplementation helps balance those levels, which reduces the effects of PCOS. One older rat study from 2001 seemed to show that consuming phytoestrogens significantly decreased testosterone levels and prostate weight. Plus, some studies have found that regularly consuming trans fats from sources like processed foods could decrease testosterone levels. However, more large-scale studies are needed to further evaluate the effects of flaxseed on testosterone levels. Many medical studies show that frequent alcohol consumption has the counterintuitive effect of raising testosterone in women and destroying it in men . Excess alcohol consumption can cause testosterone levels to plummet in males. Several studies conducted on people with type 2 diabetes found a significant reduction of up to 20% in blood sugar levels once they used flaxseed . Γ- tocopherol not only acts as an anti-oxidant but also increases sodium expulsion in urine, which results in a decrease in blood pressure, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s risks (13). Flaxseed is commonly used for its antidiabetic and anticancer activities and also it is beneficial for cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, hepatic, urological, and reproductive disorders, and because of these beneficial effects, it is recognized as a medical plant. A significant decrease in androgen levels was observed, with a 70% decrease in total serum testosterone, an 89% decrease in free serum testosterone, and a 65% decrease in the % free testosterone observed. Cumulative and monthly comparison reports (compared against roughly 40 other CLIA-laboratories) indicated that the Duke laboratory had standard deviation indexes (SDI) which were -.31 for insulin and -.19 for testosterone in the ranges corresponding to the case study’s levels, indicating excellent interlaboratory accuracy. Given that flaxseed is usually not consumed alone but is mixed into various foods, we also provided the patient with a list of foods recommended by previous study participants, such as mixing it into applesauce, yogurt, juices, grits, oatmeal or sprinkling it onto cereal. As a result, women who have lower levels of estrogen may see more of a benefit. If anything, animal studies suggest consumption of flaxseed has a beneficial effect on sexual function. The effects of flaxseed and enterolignans are still being investigated and a lot of the research is still being performed using animals. Enterolignans aren’t estrogen and can take up resources that would otherwise be used to make more of that hormone. While there may be some situations in which flaxseed will lower testosterone, its effects are more complex . There is a common belief that regularly eating soy products like edamame, tofu, and soy milk may cause a drop in testosterone levels.