In summary, ingestion of flax oil and milled flaxseed delivered significant levels of ALA to the plasma whereas whole flaxseed did not. Whole seed and oil preparations induced adverse gastrointestinal effects within 4 weeks and these were severe enough to induce the withdrawal of some subjects from these two groups. No one withdrew from the group that ingested milled flaxseed and, therefore, may represent a good form of flaxseed to avoid serious side-effects and still provide significant increases in ALA to the body.

Background: Dietary flaxseed may have beneficial cardiovascular effects. An aged population has a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease, but they may react differently to flaxseed in the diet. Objective: To investigate the response, over a period of 4 weeks, of subjects aged 18-29 or 45-69 years to a diet containing the same amount of a-linolenic acid (ALA) (6 g) introduced in the form of ground flaxseed (30 g) or flaxseed oil. Results: All subjects who received flaxseed oil showed a significant increase in plasma ALA and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) concentrations over the course of this study. Subjects who received ground flaxseed in the 18-29-year-old group showed a statistically significant increase in their plasma ALA levels, and although there was a trend in the same direction for the 45-69-year-old subjects, this did not achieve statistical significance. The diets induced no major changes in platelet aggregation, plasma total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in any of the groups. Younger subjects showed a decrease in triglyceride (TG) values compared with older subjects. There were no significant side effects that caused compliancy issues. Conclusion: Subject age does not seem to be a major determining factor in influencing ALA absorption from a flaxseedsupplemented diet nor in the metabolism of ALA to EPA in the groups fed flaxseed oil. Concerns about side effects in older subjects administered a higher fiber load in a flaxseed-supplemented diet are not justified. However, younger but not older subjects showed a beneficial decrease in circulating TGs due to flaxseed supplementation.

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BackgroundFour oscillometric devices, including the Omron M6 Comfort, Omron HEM-7420, Withings BP-800, and Polygreen KP-7670, designed for self-blood pressure measurement (SBPM) were evaluated according to the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) International Protocol Revision 2010 in four separate studies.MethodsThe four devices measure brachial blood pressure (BP) using the oscillometric method. The Withings BP-800 has to be connected to an Apple® iOS device such as an iPhone®, iPad®, or iPod®. The ESH International Protocol Revision 2010 includes a total number of 33 subjects. The difference between observer and device BP values was calculated for each measure. Ninety-nine pairs of BP differences were classified into three categories (≤5 mmHg, ≤10 mmHg, ≤15 mmHg). The protocol procedures were followed precisely in each of the four studies.ResultsAll four tested devices passed the validation process. The mean differences between the device and mercury readings were: −1.8±5.1 mmHg and −0.4±2.8 mmHg for systolic and diastolic BP, respectively, using the Omron M6 Comfort device; 2.5±4.6 mmHg and −1.2±4.3 mmHg for the Omron HEM-7420 device; −0.2±5.0 mmHg and 0.4±4.2 mmHg for the Withings BP-800 device; and 3.0±5.3 mmHg and 0.3±5.2 mmHg for the Polygreen KP-7670 device.ConclusionOmron M6 Comfort, Omron HEM-7420, Withings BP-800, and Polygreen KP-7670 readings differing by less than 5 mmHg, 10 mmHg, and 15 mmHg fulfill the ESH International Protocol Revision 2010 requirements, and therefore are suitable for use by patients for SBPM, if used correctly.