Evening primrose oil

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ssl444
ssl444 Posts: 88 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Has anyone or does anyone take evening primrose oil, sold in health food shops, I read an article saying along with other health benefits they can aid weight loss and activate your brown fat cells apparently we normally burn fat from the white fat cells. Not sure if this is a load of rubbish, so wondered what people's thoughts were, my thinking is there may be truth in it as they are sold in health food shops and not on just random never heard of websites.

What's your thoughts on it.

Thanks.
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Replies

  • susannahsutton1
    susannahsutton1 Posts: 372
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    Just did a bit of googling on the NHS sites and apparently it's not proven to do much of anything when tested for a bunch of things vs a placebo
  • ssl444
    ssl444 Posts: 88 Member
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    Its contains GLA which is suppose to trigger fat burning instead of fat storage.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    dont do it ..

    just eat right and exercise. that definitely works. avoid the stuff that's "supposed" to work
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    With regard to weight loss - no impact.
  • pootle1972
    pootle1972 Posts: 579 Member
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    i use evening primrose and starflower oil for pmt.......not sure about fat burning though
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Its contains GLA which is suppose to trigger fat burning instead of fat storage.

    This has not been proven to impact weight.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6360923

    Evening Primrose Oil (EPO) is a naturally occurring rich source of essential fatty acids, especially linoleic and gamma-linolenic acid. It has been suggested that it has antiobesity properties. This double-blind 12-week study was undertaken in 100 women with substantial obesity: 40 with refractory obesity, and 60 at time of initial referral to a hospital clinic. Seventy-four subjects completed the study. Those treated with EPO were comparable in age and degree of obesity with the placebo-treated group. There was no significant difference in the weight loss achieved by those taking EPO compared with placebo, either in the subjects with refractory obesity or in those treated at time of initial referral. It would appear that any antiobesity property possessed by EPO is clinically insignificant.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    Not sure if this is a load of rubbish

    Not sure? Just think about it.

    Weight loss potions. Have they been invented yet? Do they exist? Yes or No? Is not a resounding no? Don't you think we'd hear about it?
  • ssl444
    ssl444 Posts: 88 Member
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    Ok, so even if it isn't proven to health weight loss I have read that it is a proven good health supplement and has good health benefits because it contains omega 6, an essential fatty acid, which your body needs but can't produce.
  • newmein2013
    newmein2013 Posts: 674 Member
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    I've been taking it for months for pms. It's had no impact whatsoever on my weight loss. There is no replacement for proper nutrition & exercise. Sorry, no shortcuts.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Ok, so even if it isn't proven to health weight loss I have read that it is a proven good health supplement and has good health benefits because it contains omega 6, an essential fatty acid, which your body needs but can't produce.

    You get that from food - just eat a balanced diet.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    Are you sure it's not Omega 3? Omega 6's we generally get "too much of", so people often supplement with Omega 3.
  • ssl444
    ssl444 Posts: 88 Member
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    Not sure if this is a load of rubbish

    Not sure? Just think about it.

    Weight loss potions. Have they been invented yet? Do they exist? Yes or No? Is not a resounding no? Don't you think we'd hear about it?
    Not asking for sarcasm, I'm asking for genuine opinions, I'm not trying to find a weight loss potion I've lost 19lbs, I'm trying to find a good health benefits supplement and have read medical advice that because evening primrose oil contains GLA which activates omega 6 an essential fatty acid, I thought this would be a good choice, and some reviews made reference to weight loss, I was after people's opinions on this.
    I'm not someone who is trying to find a shortcut or fast track for weight loss, but thanks for your opinion.
  • ssl444
    ssl444 Posts: 88 Member
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    I've been taking it for months for pms. It's had no impact whatsoever on my weight loss. There is no replacement for proper nutrition & exercise. Sorry, no shortcuts.
    Again, not trying to replace nutrition and exercise.
  • newmein2013
    newmein2013 Posts: 674 Member
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    Ok, so even if it isn't proven to health weight loss I have read that it is a proven good health supplement and has good health benefits because it contains omega 6, an essential fatty acid, which your body needs but can't produce.

    It does have many health benefits, as do many supplements out there. Unless you have a specific reason for taking it & trying to go natural, why bother? Determine exactly what it is that your body is defcient in (labwork from the doctor) and then do your research. You may be spinning your wheels for nothing here.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    If you're simply itching to take some "health supplements", take the following supplements:

    a Multivitamin
    a Source of Omega 3 (NOT 6)
    protein powder if you can't achieve your protein or calorie targets

    Otherwise, find out what you are deficient in, if anything. You do this by going to the doctor and getting a blood test. And add any supplements as needed or prescribed and/or change your diet to fix the deficiency or problem(s).

    I wasn't being sarcastic.
  • newmein2013
    newmein2013 Posts: 674 Member
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    Not sure if this is a load of rubbish

    Not sure? Just think about it.

    Weight loss potions. Have they been invented yet? Do they exist? Yes or No? Is not a resounding no? Don't you think we'd hear about it?
    Not asking for sarcasm, I'm asking for genuine opinions, I'm not trying to find a weight loss potion I've lost 19lbs, I'm trying to find a good health benefits supplement and have read medical advice that because evening primrose oil contains GLA which activates omega 6 an essential fatty acid, I thought this would be a good choice, and some reviews made reference to weight loss, I was after people's opinions on this.
    I'm not someone who is trying to find a shortcut or fast track for weight loss, but thanks for your opinion.

    I think what you might be looking for is Flaxseed. You can either get it ground in the jar or in the oil in pill form. You're gonna wanna take fish oil as well..
  • kelly101386
    kelly101386 Posts: 389 Member
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    I use Evening Primrose Oil for PMT because I get really sore breasts and it helps a lot, but it has no impact on weight loss. Sounds like a lot of bs to me =/
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
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    You do not need to supplement omega 6 fatty acids. A typical diet contains a very high ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acids, and unless you eat an unusually high proportion of your diet from oily fish and flaxseed, most people could benefit from supplementing omega 3 fatty acids. The ratio of 6:3 is important, and adding more 6 makes the already high ratio worse.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,988 Member
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    Not sure if this is a load of rubbish

    Not sure? Just think about it.

    Weight loss potions. Have they been invented yet? Do they exist? Yes or No? Is not a resounding no? Don't you think we'd hear about it?
    Not asking for sarcasm, I'm asking for genuine opinions, I'm not trying to find a weight loss potion I've lost 19lbs, I'm trying to find a good health benefits supplement and have read medical advice that because evening primrose oil contains GLA which activates omega 6 an essential fatty acid, I thought this would be a good choice, and some reviews made reference to weight loss, I was after people's opinions on this.
    I'm not someone who is trying to find a shortcut or fast track for weight loss, but thanks for your opinion.
    The omega 6 in evening primrose oil is what's called gamma linolenic acid (GLA). The body converts linoleic acid (LA) to GLA and then to arachidonic acid (AA) but the conversion rate of LA to GLA isn't very good, much like the conversion of ALA an omega 3 oil to EPA and then DHA, which is also not very good, so what people do is consume fish oil that have EPA and DHA in them from the get go, no difficult conversion needed by the body. Fish oil is to offset the inflammation that some omega 6 oils promote, them being LA and AA, they are pro inflammatory, the GLA is an anti inflammatory omega 6. Saying that it's better to take fish oil then to try and consume GLA. A reduction in dietary omega 6's if you eat a diet high in omega 6's which are primarily found in grains and grain oil and consuming some fish or take fish oil is probably the better option imo.
  • oleariaicemachine
    oleariaicemachine Posts: 1
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    I originally started taking evening primrose for pms however I'm currently on a healthy eating and exercise plan which was going great until I hit a plateau, since I started taking evening primrose the weight is coming off again also I've always had brittle nails and they are now the best they have ever been, strong and healthy soo although I do agree no substitute for a healthy diet and exercise maybe when taken alongside evening primrose does help weight loss it's the only thing I've changed and it seems to be helping me, still a ***** with the pms though! Lol

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