Breakthroughs – weight loss

Add milled linseed to your smoothie

Another benefit of linseed: it has the most lignans of any food. These oestrogen-like compounds are being hailed as an emerging new health ingredient. The best bit? Women who eat the most lignans have the lowest body mass indexes. In animal studies, oestrogen reduces appetite and shrinks fat cells, and phytoestrogens may have a similar effect in people, says study co-author Anne-Sophie Morisset from Laval University, Canada. Look for multigrain bread and cereal containing linseed, sprinkle milled linseed on your cereal, add it  to your yoghurt or blend it into smoothies for a quick lignan fix.