Safflower oil is an increasingly popular supplement for weight loss these days. With so many positive reviews from health websites, experts and users, it’s considered as one of the best supplements for weight loss nowadays. But what makes it so effective, what is the content and what exactly is safflower oil?

Safflower oil is the extract of safflower seeds, which is a type of flower plant in the sunflower family. This oil contains monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fat, that is rich in Omega-6, which is an essential fatty acid that is really important for human health but cannot be produced naturally in the body. Safflower oil has been the subject of various research, studies, and experiments since decades ago, and experts have found so many health benefits of this substance. That’s why The American Heart Association suggests that we use safflower oil as cooking oils. When used with the right proportion, safflower can definitely offer wonderful health benefits for us.

Background

Being a member of the sunflower family, safflower is an annual crop originated n India, Mediterranean, also in a few parts of Asia and Africa. The health benefits of safflower have been found since 4000 years ago. Nowadays, a lot of places in the United States, especially the southwest areas including Arizona and California have large safflower plantations.

Variations

Mainly there are two varieties of safflower oil, refined and unrefined. The refined safflower oil is already processed so that its impurities have been removed, which will make it less perishable as compared to the unrefined one. Refined safflower oil also has more tolerance towards heat, it will not break down until exposed to extremely high temperature. Even though unrefined safflower oil has a much lower smoke point and more perishable, both types have low saturated fat.

Safflower oil for weight loss

Safflower could be an effective weight loss supplement because basically, it could replace trans fat or saturated fat or any other bad fats with a healthier source of fat. The great thing is you can use it for cooking, so that means you can limit your calories intake by cooking with this healthy oil. Safflower oil has a neutral smell and a mild taste, making it suitable for cooking because it won’t affect the taste and smell of your foods too much. Besides for cooking, you can also use it as salad dressings or marinades.