Flaxseed is the richest source of the lignan secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG). After ingestion, SDG is converted to secoisolariciresinol, which is further metabolised to the mammalian lignans enterodiol and enterolactone. A growing body of evidence suggests that SDG metabolites may provide health benefits due to their weak oestrogenic or anti-oestrogenic effects, antioxidant activity, ability to induce phase 2 proteins and/or inhibit the activity of certain enzymes, or by mechanisms yet unidentified. Human and animal studies identify the benefits of SDG consumption. SDG metabolites may protect against CVD and the metabolic syndrome by reducing lipid and glucose concentrations, lowering blood pressure, and decreasing oxidative stress and inflammation. Flax lignans may also reduce cancer risk by preventing pre-cancerous cellular changes and by reducing angiogenesis and metastasis. Thus, dietary SDG has the potential to decrease the incidence of several chronic diseases that result in significant morbidity and mortality in industrialised countries. The available literature, though, makes it difficult to clearly identify SDG health effects because of the wide variability in study methods. However, the current evidence suggests that a dose of at least 500 mg SDG/d for approximately 8 weeks is needed to observe positive effects on cardiovascular risk factors in human patients. Flaxseed and its lignan extracts appear to be safe for most adult populations, though animal studies suggest that pregnant women should limit their exposure. The present review discusses the potential health benefits of SDG in humans, with supporting evidence from animal studies, and offers suggestions for future research. Secoisolariciresinol diglucoside: Flax lignans: Health benefitsInvestigations into the health effects of whole flaxseed or flaxseed products (for example, defatted flaxseed meal, flaxseed extracts) in human clinical trials and animal models have shown beneficial changes in blood lipid profiles (1,2) and protection against some types of cancer (3,4) . However, such studies cannot reveal to which flaxseed component(s) the benefits can be attributed, as flaxseed contains at least three components that are of health interest: soluble fibres or mucilage (about 6 % of dry weight) (5) ; high amounts of a-linolenic acid, an n-3 PUFA (about 20 % of dry weight) (6) ; and the plant lignan secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG, about 1 % of dry weight) (7) . Flaxseed also contains small amounts of other lignans, namely pinoresinol, lariciresinol and matairesinol (8) , and although SDG is the predominant lignan, the others may also contribute to health effects.Flaxseed is the richest source of SDG (9) ; however, the amount of SDG in flaxseed varies between different cultivars and in most studies that examined the health effects of flaxseed or its products, the concentration of lignans was not determined. With the development of HPLC technology, SDG can be extracted from flaxseed and its SDG content determined (7) . Subsequent studies...

People who avoid eating animals tend to share their homes with animal companions, and moral dilemma may arise when they are faced with feeding animal products to their omnivorous dogs and carnivorous cats. One option to alleviate this conflict is to feed pets a diet devoid of animal ingredients—a ‘plant-based’ or ‘vegan’ diet. The number of pet owners who avoid animal products, either in their own or in their pets’ diet, is not currently known. The objective of this study was to estimate the number of meat-avoiding pet owners, identify concerns regarding conventional animal- and plant-based pet food, and estimate the number of pets fed a plant-based diet. A questionnaire was disseminated online to English-speaking pet owners (n = 3,673) to collect data regarding pet owner demographics, diet, pet type, pet diet, and concerns regarding pet foods. Results found that pet owners were more likely to be vegetarian (6.2%; 229/3,673) or vegan (5.8%; 212/3,673) than previously reported for members of the general population. With the exception of one dog owned by a vegetarian, vegans were the only pet owners who fed plant-based diets to their pets (1.6%; 59/3,673). Of the pet owners who did not currently feed plant-based diets but expressed interest in doing so, a large proportion (45%; 269/599) desired more information demonstrating the nutritional adequacy of plant-based diets. Amongst all pet owners, the concern most commonly reported regarding meat-based pet foods was for the welfare of farm animals (39%; 1,275/3,231). The most common concern regarding strictly plant-based pet foods was regarding the nutritional completeness of the diet (74%; 2,439/3,318). Amongst vegans, factors which predicted the feeding of plant-based diets to their pets were concern regarding the cost of plant-based diets, a lack of concern regarding plant-based diets being unnatural, and reporting no concern at all regarding plant-based diets for pets. Given these findings, further research is warranted to investigate plant-based nutrition for domestic dogs and cats.

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The time course of metabolic and cardiovascular changes with weight gain and subsequent weight loss has not been elucidated. The goal of the present study was to determine how weight gain, weight loss and altered body fat distribution affected metabolic and cardiovascular changes in an obese dog model. Testing was performed when the dogs were lean (scores 4 -5 on a nine-point scale), after ad libitum feeding for 12 and 32 weeks to promote obesity (.5 score), and after weight loss. Measurements included serum glucose and insulin, plasma leptin, adiponectin and C-reactive protein, echocardiography, flow-mediated dilation and blood pressure. Body fat distribution was assessed by computed tomography. Fasting serum glucose concentrations increased significantly with obesity (P,0·05). Heart rate increased by 22 (SE 5) bpm after 12 weeks of obesity (P¼0·003). Systolic left ventricular free wall thickness increased after 12 weeks of obesity (P¼ 0·002), but decreased after weight loss compared with that observed in the lean phase (P¼ 0·03). Ventricular free wall thickness was more strongly correlated with visceral fat (r 0·6, P¼0·001) than with total body fat (r 0·4, P¼ 0·03) and was not significantly correlated with subcutaneous body fat (r 0·3, P¼ 0·1). The present study provides evidence that metabolic and cardiovascular alterations occur within only 12 weeks of obesity in an obese dog model and are strongly predicted by visceral fat. These results emphasise the importance of obesity prevention, as weight loss did not result in the return of all metabolic indicators to their normal levels. Moreover, systolic cardiac muscle thickness was reduced after weight loss compared with the pre-obesity levels, suggesting possible acute adverse cardiovascular effects.

BackgroundPet owners have many feeding options, some may be considered unconventional by veterinary practitioners. Provision of appropriate nutrition is a basic requirement, with adverse health outcomes possible when a pet diet is inadequate.ObjectiveTo capture dog and cat feeding practices, with a special focus on countries with large English-speaking populations, and to compare with data published over the previous 10 years.MethodsAn electronic questionnaire was provided for dog and cat owners online. Responses were analysed using descriptive statistics, and comparisons made with data from nine peer-reviewed articles published over the previous 10 years.ResultsResponses from 3673 English-speaking dog and cat owners in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the USA were included. In previous publications, conventional (commercial, heat-processed) products were the predominant method of feeding. In recent publications, feeding unconventional (raw, homemade, vegetarian) diets appeared more prevalent. In the present study, most (79 per cent dogs, 90 per cent cats) pets were offered conventional food. However a few (13 per cent dogs, 32 per cent cats) pets were fed conventional foods exclusively. Many pets were offered homemade (64 per cent dogs, 46 per cent cats) and/or raw (66 per cent dogs, 53 per cent cats) foods. Different feeding practices were associated with geographical location.ConclusionAs an increased risk of nutrient insufficiency and associated conditions have been attributed to unconventional feeding practices, veterinarians must be aware of pet feeding trends and educate clients about the nutritional needs of companion animals.