Here is some great weight loss news. A Danish study has recently been published suggesting that the fibre found in flax seeds help to suppress appetite. Participants who ate the flax seeds felt more satisfied and full after eating and their body released less insulin.

Remember that insulin is the fat storage hormone – normal levels are good, but if you produce too much insulin from eating too much carbohydrate it drives the conversion of carbohydrate to fat.

What this study doesn’t say is that flax seeds help you lose weight, but you can put 2 and 2 together – if you have better appetite control and lower levels of insulin after eating this can only be good for your body composition.

Another great thing about flax seeds is that they are full of something called lignans. Now these dietary lignans are very powerful anticancer nutrients that may help to protect against breast and prostate cancer. They do this by raising something called sex hormone binding globulin otherwise known as SHBG. They may also play a role in PCOS as SHBG is often out of whack in this condition too.

Flax seeds also contain omega 3 alpha linolenic acid which is an essential omega 3. Although it doesn’t convert well to the other types of omega 3 called EPA and DHA, which are found in fish and fish oils, it’s still an important fat to eat. However I’m not a great fan of flax seed oil so stick with eating 2-3 tablespoons of ground flax seeds daily. You can mix them with cinnamon and xylitol and sprinkle over fresh berries, you can grind them with other seeds and mix into porridge or add to muesli or you can chuck them into a smoothie with some fruit and veg – you are bound by your own imagination.

Buy them whole, store them in the fridge and grind them directly before eating so the fats in the seeds don’t go rancid.