Safflower for Weight Loss
Answered by: Christine Dennis
Question from: Alicia
Posted on: July 24, 2008

I want to know if Carthamus tinctorious (safflower) is good for weight loss. I saw it advertised as c9t11 conjugated linoleic acid which is supposed to reduce belly fat. Can you tell me more or what’s a really good herb or extract to use, besides good old fashion diet and exercise?

Safflower is a source of essential fatty acids (EFA) including linoleic acid. This EFA has been researched and used to prevent arteriolosclerosis and heart disease. It has been used to repair connective tissue and to reduce inflammation both externally and internally in the body. Essential fatty acids have been used for blood sugar regulation which has been shown to affect cortisol levels that are attributed specifically to an increase in belly fat. As such safflower can be used as part of a weight loss program. However, in order to fully address the belly fat issue, thus cortisol production, stress management is essential.

Herbs that help with stress management such as herbal nervines – chamomile, lavender, skullcap, lemon balm, or passionflower and adaptogenic herbs that help the body cope better with stress – ginseng family plants such as North American ginseng, Siberian ginseng, spikenard or sarsaparilla, as well as ganoderma mushrooms, nettle seed or astragalus can be very helpful.

The weight loss question has been addressed before and can be found at:

http://www.richters.com/qa-search.cgi?search=weight%20loss

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