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Wild Evening Primrose Oil for Weight Loss

Tess Thompson

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In its search for how to naturally lose weight fast, mankind has tried its best to unearth the hidden weight loss properties of practically every natural substance. This has been done mainly to arrive at the ever-evading miracle weight loss pill or weight loss supplement. From shrubs to trees, flowers to woody stems, and from seeds to oils, all naturally-occurring herbs and plants have been tried and tested. From among the various natural weight loss remedies, wild evening primrose oil is considered to be fairly popular.

The name primrose is misleading, since wild evening primrose does not actually belong to the primrose family. The similarity in naming occurs due to the resemblance between its yellow flowers and those of the real primrose. The word "evening" is added because the flowers of the wild primrose open up in the evening and fade in bright sunshine.

Wild primrose was grown in the Americas before the Europeans moved in and was used to treat inflammation. After its entry into Europe in the 17th century, the plant became a popular herbal remedy for numerous diseases. It soon earned its nickname of ‘king’s cure-all’. The promoters of health foods and supplements claim that other than aiding in weight loss, the wild evening primrose oil also aids in slowing the aging process and preventing cancer.

Much of the popularity of primrose oil comes from the isolation of an essential fatty acid known as gamma-Linolenic acid (GLA) obtained from the seeds of the flower.

The GLA is considered to be the primary element responsible for the curative properties because the same acid (GLA) is also found in mother’s milk. Even though all properties of mother’s milk are not known, the benefits of breast milk cannot be denied. It is also not known whether the essential fatty acid GLA works on its own or in conjunction with other components of mother’s milk.

There are other dietary sources of GLA, which include blackcurrant oil and hemp seed oil. Photosynthetic prokaryotic organisms that contain a blue pigment in addition to chlorophyll are also great sources of GLA. While the amount of GLA varies in each food, borage oil contains the highest concentrated of GLA. In addition, the human body produces GLA from linolenic acid, which is abundantly available from cooking oils and meat.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma-linolenic_acid
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breast_Milk
http://ezinearticles.com/?Is-Evening-Primrose-Oil-a-Slimming-Aid?&id=848786
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FKA/is_n12_v59/ai_20086182