You may have heard how rosehips—which are popular in herbal teas, jams, and juices—are a potent natural source of vitamin C and other nutrients.
Maybe you’ve also heard how this fruit of the rose plant is traditionally used as a diuretic and laxative. And as a natural remedy for gout and rheumatism.
But rosehips have another health benefit that most people aren’t aware of…
New research shows rosehips can actually help you lose that stubborn belly fat that’s so dangerous for your health. Without cutting calories or exercising more.
And without the dangerous side effects of traditional stimulant weight-loss products that leave you jittery, make your heart race…and may even kill you (as I reported in the October 2015 issue of Insiders’ Cures).
The natural way to lose abdominal fat
More than any other type of fat, abdominal fat has been linked to increased risk of metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and heart disease.
So how do rosehips help you shed this deadly fat? Well, as I mentioned above, along with vitamin C, these fragrant fruits contain an abundance of biologically active polyphenols.
Rosehips’ most powerful polyphenol is called tiliroside. Studies have reported that tiliroside has antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral properties.
And, as it turns out, it also has anti-obesity capabilities. Let’s take a closer look at the evidence.
How rosehips help you lose different kinds of fat…and why that’s important
In one study, a rosehip extract prevented weight gain and body fat accumulation in non-obese mice—without any changes in their diets or the number of calories they consumed.1
Other studies have shown that rosehips inhibit accumulation of lipids in fat cells.2 So in essence, rosehips can help prevent your fat cells from getting fatter.
Another study showed that rosehip juice also reduced blood lipids in obese people—and lowered their blood pressure as well.3
The latest study involved 152 people who were divided into two groups. One group was given 100 mg of rosehip extract daily for 12 weeks, and the other group received a placebo.4
All of the participants were asked to maintain their regular diet and lifestyle patterns.
Indeed, throughout the study, the researchers observed that both groups had almost identical food-intake rates.
But at the end of the study, the researchers observed that total abdominal fat, visceral fat (fat around the organs), body weight, and body mass index (BMI) all decreased significantly in the rosehip group.
Even though they ate just as much as the placebo group.
Another key thing to note about this study is the type of fat the people lost. Why does this matter? Because just looking at weight or BMI is a poor way of assessing body fat and composition in terms of health.
When I worked as a senior research investigator at the National Institutes of Health, I tried to get researchers to look beyond these simple, inaccurate measures of body fat when it came to their multimillion-dollar studies on health.
Measuring only body weight or BMI just doesn’t tell doctors or patients what they really need to know about health status.
I didn’t learn this truth in medical school—nor did I learn about diet and nutrition. Instead, I discovered it as part of my human biology training for my PhD in anthropology.
Sadly, medical doctors simply aren’t taught in school what they really need to know about nutrition or assessment of the human body.
Why rosehips are safer than other weight-loss products
While rosehips stimulate the nervous system to burn fat, they’re different than the typical “upper” type of weight-loss products.
These products hype up your adrenalin—which can make you jittery and increase your heart rate and blood sugar levels.
That’s not only unpleasant (for you, and those around you), but dangerous for your health.
In fact, some of these products have even been associated with sudden deaths.
In contrast, rosehips appear to accomplish fat burning without increasing adrenalin.
Researchers believe the tiliroside in rosehips helps us lose body fat through its affect on the autonomic nervous system—which controls basic body functions like breathing, heartbeat, and digestion.
Tiliroside is thought to stimulate the autonomic nervous system to increase fat burning both at rest and during exercise.
Even better, rosehips appear to target abdominal fat burning, rather than the subcutaneous fat that lies just under the skin throughout your body. This allows you to lose unhealthy belly fat without shrinking your skin and ending up with the gaunt look of someone hooked on stimulants.
Having some healthy subcutaneous fat also appears to actually lower the risk of many chronic diseases.
And it helps you maintain a more youthful appearance—in contrast to looking like emaciated old crows (feet and all).
As I mentioned earlier, you can find rosehips in some herbal teas. There are also rosehip supplements. Look for pills, extracts, or powders that contain at least 0.1% tilirosides. I recommend 100 mg of rosehips a day.
So now you are hip to the healthy body-fat benefits of rosehips. Lose some fat off those hips. Don’t be fooled by other weight-loss supplements—a rosehip by another name is not the same.
Sources:
1“Potent anti-obese principle from Rosa canina: structural requirements and mode of action of trans-tiliroside.” Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2007;17:3059–3064.
2“Rosehip extract inhibits lipid accumulation in white adipose tissue by suppressing the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma.” Prev Nutr Food Sci. 2013;18:85–91.
3“Effects of rose hip intake on risk markers of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease: a randomized, double-blind, cross-over investigation in obese persons.” Eur J Clin Nutr. 2012;66:585–590.
4“Daily intake of rosehip extract decreases abdominal visceral fat in preobese subjects: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.” Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes. 2015; 8: 147–156.