Q. Has anyone investigated the use of flaxseed oil to ease symptoms of prostate enlargement?
When I was 35 I had a near fatal stroke caused by a neck injury. Although I recovered fairly well, I began to experience typical stroke related after effects such as weakness and fatigue. My primary care physician prescribed testosterone. A gradual side effect of this treatment was prostate enlargement and difficult urination.
A few years ago I began taking fish oil but ran out while I was on an extended business trip. The local store was out of fish oil but had flaxseed oil so I purchased it and began taking them.
About one week later while urinating it was like a dam broke and I was urinating as forceful a stream as I had before the hormone treatment. The effect wears off within a few days if I forget to take the flax oil but returns quickly when I resume.
A. We could find no research on flaxseed oil for prostate problems. We did, however, discover one study suggesting that flaxseed extract could ease the urinary symptoms of an enlarged prostate (Journal of Medicinal Food, Jun. 2008). The improvement on the flaxseed was comparable to that seen with prescription drugs.
