Slimming Benefits of Flax Seeds: How to Lose Weight Faster Using Ground Flaxseed

(Plus, 10 More Flax Seed Benefits for Your Health)

When you’re on a weight loss track, you simply can’t ignore the slimming benefits of flax seeds!  Yes, they help you shed those extra pounds big time 🙂 In fact, flaxseed is one of the most valuable functional foods that help you get (and keep) the pounds off.

What are functional foods, you ask?

Well, functional foods have additional health-promoting or disease-prevention benefits over and above their basic nutritional value.

That’s why ground flaxseed is included in many weight loss recipes, especially those that call for wheat flour.

Here you’ll find how these nutty-flavored, tiny flax (lin) seeds support your weight loss efforts, cardiovascular health and much more, so read on!

Let’s see the most relevant flax seed benefits:

Weight Loss Benefits of Flax Seeds

To a great extent, the slimming benefits of flaxseed are due to the flaxseeds’ low carbohydrates and high omega 3 fatty acid content (33 times higher than wheat germ!)…

…hence the many health benefits of flaxseed oil.

The oil in flaxseeds protects the lining of your digestive tract, so flax oil is perfect if you have a sensitive stomach.

Taken with any meal, ground flaxseed makes you feel full and satisfied longer – simply sprinkle it on your salads, soups, yogurt and use it in many, many delicious ways, as you’ll see in a moment.

But Always Remember to…

…consume ground flaxseed – NOT the whole seeds, as they pass through your digestive system without being digested.

Also, grind flax seeds in your coffee grinder just before consuming them, as the flax oil contained in the seeds starts to oxidize immediately after getting in contact with the air.

When it comes to weight loss, you’ve certainly heard about the importance of fiber in your diet and how fiber rich foods stabilize your blood sugar levels, right?

Well, you should know that flaxseeds contain a very large amount of fiber, both soluble and insoluble: a total of about 25%, including 12% mucilage – a known blood cholesterol-lowering substance.

The truth is that flax’s high fiber content makes ground flaxseed a very gentle, natural laxative, which cleans your colon of toxic metabolic waste and promotes friendly bacteria.

Once your bowel health is optimal, you’re able to drop the extra pounds a lot easier 🙂

But that’s not all.

To fully realize the flax seeds benefits related to weight loss, you should understand one more thing.

The lecithin content in flaxseed dissolves the unhealthy fats from food in your digestive tract, then the fiber and mucilage content trap these nasty fats taken to be eliminated from your body – rather than being stored as body fat.

Amazing, isn’t it?

The Many Health Benefits of Flax Seeds…

…make them an incredibly valuable functional food due to the many vital nutrients they supply to our body.

For example:

• highly-absorbable proteins (25% of flax’s content), with a complete aminoacid profile
  
• B vitamins, potassium, magnesium zinc – all essential in weight loss
  
• flaxseed oil (about 50% of flax’s content), which has is high in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) – an essential fatty acid that is partially converted in EPA and DHA omega 3 fatty acids in your body.

And there are even more flax seed benefits!

Flaxseeds are gluten-free – so if you are allergic to wheat or suffer from celiac disease, ground flaxseed is one of your best alternatives to wheat.

Plus, flaxseeds are the richest source of lignans.

What are lignans, you ask?

A type of phytoestrogens with powerful antioxidant, anti-tumor, anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial properties, lignans are 100 times more powerful than the next best source – wheat bran.

Remarkable, since lignans in flax seeds are also responsible for improving your memory and brain health.

And, just when you thought we’re done, here are…

10 More Health Benefits of Flax Seeds

 The mighty flaxseeds:

1. Improve your cardiovascular health, lowering your blood pressure, the “bad” cholesterol (LDL) and blood triglyceride values;
   
2. Prevent arterial clots that may result in strokes, heart attacks and thromboses;
   
3. Boost your immune system, reduce inflammation in your body, alleviate some allergies and any asthma symptoms;
   
4. Improve your eyesight and the perception of colors offering you good protection against macular degeneration when aging;
   
5. Support your healthy joints and improve the absorption of calcium;
   
6. Help heal any sprains and bruises faster and shorten the recovery time of exhausted muscles;
   
7. Soothe ulcers, irritable bowel disorders and improve your colon health, lowering the risk of colon cancer;
   
8. Improve your mood significantly and help certain cases of depression;
   
9. Strengthen brittle nails and help with dry/flaky skin, eczema, psoriasis, alopecia and dandruff;
   
10. Reduce the pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) and help cool down hot flashes – an invaluable benefit if you’re a menopausal woman;

To fully enjoy all the benefits of flax seeds, learn how to buy, store, grind and use flax seeds making the most of flaxseed health benefits.

As you can see, eating flaxseeds regularly and replacing wheat flour with freshly ground flaxseed is one of the healthiest and easiest lifestyle changes you can make. Check the flaxseed oil side effects too to make sure you are not among the people who should avoid it.