Dear Living Well Daily Reader,
If you’re carrying some extra weight around your belly, you know that it’s more than a cosmetic problem.
It’s a genuine threat to your health… and, long term, even your life.
In fact, if you have excess weight around your midsection, high triglycerides, and elevated blood sugar, you may have developed a condition known as metabolic syndrome.
That means you’re at serious risk for developing full-blown type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and other serious medical issues.
Fortunately, if you have metabolic syndrome, there’s still time to turn the situation around and reclaim your health.
And one easy way to do it is to start incorporating flaxseed into your diet.
Flaxseeds are an excellent source of fiber and those heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids (like the kind you get in fish oil). And alternative doctors have been recommending flaxseed for years to help lower cholesterol.
But flaxseed is also a powerful weapon in the war against metabolic syndrome.
In one study out of the Middle East, researchers divided adults with metabolic syndrome into two groups — one group got just lifestyle advice, and the other got the advice plus 30g. a day of flaxseed.
More than 80 percent of the folks who added flaxseed to their diet got rid of their metabolic syndrome completely.
They were completely cured.
They lost more weight, shrunk their waistlines, and even reduced their insulin resistance, a key marker for diabetes.
Better still, flaxseed is dirt cheap. You can pick up a bag for less than $10 (look for the ground varieties, or grind it yourself), and you can incorporate flaxseed into lots of recipes, like muffins or other baked goods.
Flaxseed will add a little bit of a nutty taste, which most people enjoy.
The easiest way to get more flaxseed is to add it to oatmeal, yogurt, or smoothies. You can store it in your freezer and it practically lasts forever. You’re more likely to run out of it then see it go bad.
Live well,
Natalie Moore
Managing editor, Living Well Daily
Ed. Note: Please send your feedback: nmoore@lfb.org – and click here to like us on Facebook.
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