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Evidence-Based Supplement Research
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Flax and Reduced Waist Circumference

Research synthesisLow evidenceSmall effect3 studies · 1 beneficial · 2 neutral · 0 harmful

Across 3 studies, 1 reported a small beneficial effect of flaxseed oil on waist circumference, while 2 found neutral results. The sole beneficial finding came from a 49-day RCT in 60 adults with metabolic syndrome using 25 mL/day of flaxseed oil, but the meta-analysis and review did not support a significant effect. The evidence base is too small to draw firm conclusions, and effects are predominantly small or absent.

  • Effective dose range: 25 mL/day (from the single beneficial RCT); no convergence from other studies
  • Studied populations: clinical populations (hemodialysis patients, metabolic syndrome patients)

Caveats: Evidence base is small (only 3 studies) — conclusions should be considered preliminary. Many of the included studies did not reach statistical significance — effect may be smaller than the predominant direction suggests. The sole beneficial study used a specific dose (25 mL/day) in a metabolic syndrome population for 7 weeks; the meta-analysis found no significant effect on anthropometric measures in hemodialysis patients.

Generated Jul 12, 2026
Doses used in studies
  • Ground Flaxseed Oil · g/day: 10 (median 10, IQR 10–10) — 1 study
  • mL/day: 25 (median 25, IQR 25–25) — 1 study
Time to effect
Median: 7 weeks · IQR 7 weeks–7 weeks · Range 7 weeks–7 weeks — Reported in 1 of 3 studies
3 of 3 papers
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