Flax seeds and Weight Loss – Can it Help?
The simple answer is YES!
Flaxseed contains a wide array of healthy components excellent for human consumption, But two of the three main components for flaxseeds are also important factors in helping with weight loss:
The Three Main Components of Flaxseed
- Omega-3 essential fatty acids, These are the good fats that your body needs
- Fiber. Flaxseed contains both the soluble and insoluble types.
- Lignans
(Omega-3 fatty acids and Fiber are the 2 that can assist with weight loss in a proper diet)
So How Can Flax Seed Help with Weight Loss?
In general, along with being an extremely healthy part of a daily diet, flaxseed swells when combined with liquid in the stomach to give you that “full” or “satisfied” feeling that will not only require you to eat less, but will carry you through until your next meal.
Let’s break it down a little so it makes sense how these 2 healthy components of flax seed, as a part of your daily diet plan can also help with shedding unwanted extra pounds.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids – (The “GOOD” Fat)
Despite the hype in the 80′s and 90′s, research now shows that fat IS an important part of everyone’s diet, but paying attention to what type of fat you intake is of utmost importance.
Saturated Fat and Trans Fat are the unhealthy fats that lead to weight gain.
PolyUnsaturated Fat (such as in flaxseed) are the kind your body needs and can help with weight loss.
Fat in general is slow to digest so it makes you feel full, and thus you eat less. But…depending on the “type” of fat you take in, leads to the results you’ll get.
Fat also helps in proper digestion by breaking down carbohydrates and proteins; without it your body cannot process food efficiently.
Foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as flaxseeds are the types of “Good” fat that your body needs.
Unfortunately according to nutritionists, the amount of Omega-3 fatty acids derived from a normal daily diet no longer meets our body’s needs, requiring that we supplement.
Fiber
Fiber in any form is much slower to be processed by our bodies and it is a big component that leads to the “full” feeling we touched on originally.
Flax seed in particular contains both soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber can lower blood cholesterol levels. Insoluble fiber moves the stool through the colon more quickly, helping bowel movements. Flaxseed is not only low in carbohydrates, but also very low in calories in comparison to its weight, which further helps in weight loss by not adding unnecessary and unwanted pounds from calories.
So Much More To Flaxseed – Additional Health Benefits
As if helping with weight loss wasn’t enough, flaxseeds keep on giving in so many ways.
Some of the other benefits associated with flaxseed as a part of your daily diet include:
- Lower Risk of Heart Disease
- Prevention of Some Forms of Cancer
- Treatment of Immune Disorders
- Help with Diabetes
- Relief from Constipation
More detailed information on additional Health Benefits from Flaxseed Here
How Can Flax Seed be Added Into A Daily Diet?
In general, flax seed can be added to just about anything.
You can sprinkle it on your oatmeal in the morning or even add it to a glass of juice with your meal, the sky really is the limit.
We’ve included recipes right here on our website to get you started.
Recipes
You will want to take a look at our pages about recommended usage amounts as well so that you get a good feel for how much to use.
You can also find a whole slew of flax seed recipes here.
There really is no limit to the uses of flax seed as part of a daily diet. Once you see the way we use it in some of our recipes I’m sure your imagination will take you from there. Just remember to keep in mind the amount of flax seed you should be using on a daily basis so as not to overdo it.
Enjoy our delicious Golden Flax Seeds and feel free to send us your creative recipes so that we can add them here for others to enjoy as well.
Join the growing number of people that are using flax seed for weight loss.