Can Flaxseed Oil help with weight loss?

Udo explains (at the time of righting) that in the modern Western diet the foods commonly consumed “are made up of 58% ‘empty calories’ (white sugar, white fats, ‘white’ (refined) oils, white flour products and alcohol).”^*

“Empty calorie”^* foods are highly processed and refined foods. It is in this refining process that almost all minerals, vitamins and fiber are removed.

“Empty calories”^* cause us to over eat because they are concentrated-calorie, fiber poor foods that are lacking the essential nutrients that are needed to give us the feeling of fullness.

“Because of the lack in fiber and bulk, high-calorie refined foods slow down intestinal activity, and take up to five times as long to pass through the intestinal tract than the natural, unrefined alternatives (75 hours compared to 15), and our bodies absorb calories all this time”.^*

We cannot metabolize our food properly without minerals and vitamin so “the energy that these “empty calorie”^* foods offer becomes unavailable for our body to use and is stored as fat until we get the necessary minerals and vitamins’.^*

Because the minerals, vitamins and essential fatty acids (EFA’s) are removed from foods during refining and processing and our metabolic rate is reduced, we become lethargic which stops us being active. At this stage even if we eat less, we won’t burn up the calories we eat and can even continue gaining weight on a low-calorie diet.

Therefore by eating nutrient rich foods full of vitamin, minerals and essential fatty acids, it will trigger that sense of fullness and improve your metabolic rate.

As Flaxseed Oil is the richest source of the essential fatty acid Omega-3 it provides this support in creating a feeling of fullness, thus reducing food cravings.

Flaxseed meal will also aid in weight loss with it being a natural source of dietary fibre, both soluble and insoluble and mucilage which aids digestion and regular bowel movements helping the body pass toxins and waste.

^* Erasmus, U. Fats That Heal Fats That Kill. Canada, Alive books, 1997.