Alternative Cures by Bill Gottlieb (2000, Hardcover)

Fats That Can Help You Losem

Fat supplements? For a person who's trying to lose weight, the idea of taking fat in a pill sounds like a cruel joke. But here's what you may not know: A deficiency of certain types of good fats, called essential fatty acids (EFA), that your body requires can lead you to crave and overeat the bad kinds of fats and put on extra pounds.

That's the opinion of Ann Louise Gittleman, a certified nutrition specialist in Bozeman, Montana. "Fat phobia is the cause of so much overweight in this country," she says. "Yes, saturated fats in animal products and trans-fats in processed foods are bad for your health. But not getting enough of the good fats-the essential fatty acids found in foods like fatty fish, certain oils, leafy greens, avocados, and nuts and seeds-is also bad for your health."
The different types of EFA, she believes, actually stimulate fat metabolism so that your body burns more fat, trigger the production of hormones that make you feel full, and balance your body's levels of insulin (the hormone that burns sugars, so you don't crave high-calorie sugars and other fattening carbohydrates.

Most Americans are deficient in various essential fatty acids, such as gamma-linolenic acid, alpha-linolenic acid (LNA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahex-aenoic acid (DHA), Gittleman believes. The best way to make sure that you get enough of all those types of EFA, each of which is crucial in helping you lose weight, is with EFA supplements, Gittleman says. Here's what she recommends:

FLAXSEED OIL: Reset Your Thermostat

The LNA and other omega-2 fatty acids found in flaxseed oil help reset your body's thermostat to a normal level so you burn excess calories, Gittleman says. They also help normalize insulin metabolism, thus reducing sugar cravings. She recommends 1 tablespoon a day with a meal. Flaxseed is a great supplement, Gittleman says, and can be safely taken on a regular basis.

GLA: Activate Brown Fat

GLA helps you lose weight by activating dormant brown fat, the type of fat that helps burn excess calories.

"Brown fat makes it possible to expend ingested fat as energy rather than storing it as excess white fat," Gittleman says. "Many of my clients who had 10 pounds or more to lose have reported dramatically successful results by taking four to eight 500-milligram capsules of GLA-rich evening primrose oil a day."

CLA: Inhibit the Enzyme That Stores Fat

The essential fatty acid conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) may help in your weight-loss efforts, says Gittleman. In a scientific study, people who took 3,000 milligrams of CLA daily lost 20 percent of their body fat in 3 months without dieting, she says.

The theory is that CLA interferes with the production of lipase, an enzyme that affects the way the body metabolizes fat. She recommends taking 1,000 milligrams three times a day before meals. As a bonus, CLA may have breast cancer-fighting properties and general immune-enhancing properties, Gittleman adds.

FISH OIL: Balance Your Overall Fat Intake

Although the fatty acids found in fish oil do not directly help with weight loss, they are crucial for balancing your overall intake of fats and maintaining good health, Gittleman says. She recommends taking 1,000 milligrams of the product SuperMaxEPA two or three times daily.