Is flax making you fat?

Weight loss is a difficult and frustrating process that can be even more difficult for women! 

Today, we discuss the potential benefits of flax, a superfood known for its omega-3s, fiber, and other health benefits. Unfortunately, flax also contains lignins, which act as estrogen mimickers. This can lead to an imbalance of fertility hormones, including estrogen, which can, in turn, lead to no weight loss, added body fat, or a stalled plateaued situation. The speaker hopes that this information will help their clients with their weight loss journeys.
 
Learn about how flax affects female hormones leading to added body fat, and what are some great options to use instead. 

In this mini-episode, I share valuable information that has helped speed up or break through a weight loss plateau for several of my clients. 

0:00:00 Heading: Exploring the Impact of Flax on Weight Loss +
 
 0:01:00 The Impact of Flax on Weight Loss and Replacements for Omega-3s +
 
 0:04:15 Replacing Flax in Your Diet: Tips and Alternatives +
 

Disclaimer:

This podcast is for general informational purposes only. It should not be used to self-diagnose, and it is not a substitute for a medical exam, cure, treatment, diagnosis, prescription, or recommendation. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Transcript

[0:00:00]  A: So weight loss for a lot of people is very challenging, especially as we get older. Getting the the last few pounds or getting any movement sometimes on weight loss is excruciating. And I really like to work with people and help them make this happen. And helping women make this happen has become something I'm very good at. So let's go over something today that I've run into with several clients and see if this can help you as well.

[0:00:26]  A: So flax has long been touted as a superfood, right? It's got high omega three S, got fiber, all these benefits that are supposed to be really helpful. But there is a chemical in it, a plant chemical, and it's called lignin and it actually acts like estrogen. It's an estrogen mimicker, right? And as you may know, estrogen being out of balance or any of the fertility hormones being out of balance can lead to no weight loss, added body fat, or a stalled plateaued situation, right?

[0:01:00]  A: So having something like flax in your diet is usually not helpful with weight loss. Now, it may be something you use to keep yourself regular and you might have to find a replacement for it because it may be keeping your body a little fatter than you want, to be blunt. And it may have other benefits like you're getting omega three S from it and you may need to replace it with another source. And I'll go over that. So it's not to say there aren't benefits from it or things that could be helpful, but it is often outweighed for most people that I've worked with by this aspect of this plant chemical that your body recognizes or thinks to some degree is estrogen. And then this leads to an imbalance in estrogen. And that's a hormone you don't want to mess with, right?

[0:01:48]  A: So for many reasons, we're just looking at body fat right now. So although it's very nutritious and again, I'm not trying to say anything bad about it, estrogen being out of balance, which causes all sorts of problems, but also there's other health issues that can happen. It can lead to problems with bone density, right? So if estrogen is out of balance, your body doesn't support and put on the bone mass you need, can lead to cholesterol issues with women.

[0:02:16]  A: And there are other issues as well. I'm not going to get into all of those because we're looking at weight loss right now. But the long story short, eliminate flax and find another replacement for it because there have been many studies now that back this up. It's not just something I've clinically noticed or had others who are in this area of women's weight loss also mention it to me. The estrogen like properties of these lignins that are found in Flax come up again and again as being something that can lead to added body fat, right?

[0:02:48]  A: So what can you do to replace them? So there are a lot of sources of omega three S. Let's start with that, that you can use. And I always recommend going for foods that don't have any anti nutrients in them. So not plant based foods, but actual meat sources. And so some of them are salmon. Of course, you've probably heard of that high omega three rich food, mackerel and anchovies, grass fed and finished beef. So you may not have known that beef has very high amount of omega three fatty acids. If it's grass fed.

[0:03:22]  A: If it's grain fed, it's not. So don't think that you can go, oh, okay, I'm going to go get a steak from the local restaurant. Unless it's a farm to table type situation where it's actually a grass fed steak that you're getting, you're not doing this. You're getting protein, but you're not getting omega three fatty acids. In fact, you're getting inflammatory omega six fatty acids. If you're not eating grass fed.

[0:03:45]  A: Just saying. There are some nuts, like walnuts that can be used if you're looking for a plant source. Hemp seeds have a lot of omega three S as well. Hemp hearts. So those are some simple sources. With that right there, you could definitely replace your flax in your diet. And if you're going for, okay, well, I need this for my constitution. It keeps me regular. There are plenty of other sources of fiber out there, and you might take a look at adding Psyllium husk, right?

[0:04:15]  A: Or you might just add more healthy mineral salt, redmonds real salt, or pink Himalayan salt to your diet, which makes your body absorb and put liquid into your digestive tract, right? So it's not always just about fiber, something to know. So those two things are pretty easily handled as far as what you can do to replace flax. It's not like if you don't have flax in your diet, it's going to create this critical situation for you. There are plenty of ways to get the omega three S, there are plenty of ways to get fiber, and I would encourage you to try that.

[0:04:48]  A: If you are experiencing any sort of plateau on your weight loss, or if, you know, you get flax muffins every morning, try going for a different type of muffin, right? Try eliminating the muffins altogether, maybe. But the idea is just take a look at your diet. This may be a hidden ingredient that you haven't thought of that could be leading to added body fat or hitting a plateau. Some people are just sticking a scoop of it in their shake every day. We'll stop doing that, add a scoop of something else, Psyllium husk, or do something else that works for you. Okay, great.

[0:05:22]  A: If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me.