Korean Pine Nut Oil for Weight Loss

Pine nut oil may help reduce food consumption, thereby helping with weight loss, a new study reports.

Researchers from England explained that certain free fatty acids have been shown to have potent effects on food intake and self-reported changes in appetite.

They examined the effects of a Korean pine nut oil product, PinnoThinac, at doses of 2, 4 and 6 grams of triglyceride (TG) and 2 grams of free fatty acid (FFA), on food intake and appetite in 42 overweight female volunteers.

The study found that 2 grams of FFA PinnoThinac, given 30 minutes prior to an ad-libitum buffet test lunch, significantly reduced food intake (gram) by nine percent compared to olive oil control. PinnoThinac did not have a significant effect on macronutrient intake or ratings of appetite were observed.

The researchers suggested that the lack of any effect of the TG form found in this study could be attributed to the timings of the dosing regimen.

The study authors concluded that PinnoThinac may exert satiating effects consistent with its known action on CCK and GLP-1 release and previously observed effects on self-reported appetite ratings.

Comments

[CJ]

The study found that PinnoThinac significantly increased two appetite suppressors: cholecystokinin (CCK) and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP1). CCK increased by 60 percent, while GLP1 increased by 25 percent, and both remained elevated for as long as four hours.

[Sheryl]

Don't most nuts have appetite-suppressing qualities? I've read lots of weight-loss/fitness articles that say a small handful of nuts can help satisfy hunger. I keep those mini bags of smoked almonds in my car for when I'm stuck in traffic and craving a snack.

[Curious]

I wonder if pine nuts would have the same effect on men. Is there any particular reason why researchers only tested women?

[Blake]

Einerhand also reported on another study at the annual scientific meeting Experimental Biology. She conducted a six-month human trial that used another lipid nutrition product called Clarinol, or conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). A total of 118 overweight or obese subjects (with BMIs of 28-32) received either either 3.4 grams of CLA or olive oil placebo daily.

After three months, the subjects taking CLA lost a significant amount of fat, which continued for three months. After six months, subjects lost of average of two kilos of fat, which was about six percent fat loss. At the same time, "overall body weight loss was 'only' 1.5 kilos because there was a gain in muscle mass," she reports. Waist measurements decreased by 2.2 centimeters, and hips decreased by 0.5cm over six months. Waist-hip ratio decreased a significant 0.024. In addition, BMI declined an average of 0.6.

[mo]

I would have thought that any effect on satiety would be because of the macronutrient (fat) content of the pine nut oil. Put simply, eating fat has a more satisfying effect on the appetite than, for example, eating carbohydrates. However, since the pine nut oil seemed to have a greater effect on appetite than the olive oil (and I know of no significant difference regarding fat content between these two), I’m left wondering what compound in the pine nut oil is responsible.

[Barney]

The study had some pretty significant flaws to its exclusion criteria. Like curious pointed out previously, men were not included as well as non-smokers and those with a BMI outside the range of 25-30. Having a BMI cutoff at 30 significantly reduces the true target demographic, the obese. If the treatment is intended to treat obesity, logic would dictate that obese people be included in the study. The study criteria of 25-30 BMI, means that only people who were slightly overweight, not obese, were included. These subjects only needed to shed a few pounds using good diet and exercise techniques, not a drug therapy. I would like to see the effects of the therapy in a truly obese patient.

[Julie]

I agree with Barney. And I would go further and state that we need to educate people better about obesity because Americans, in trying to be more PC, have allowed harmful notions to enter our mainstream beliefs. Being severely overweight is unhealthy, period. No, that doesn't make you a lesser or a bad person, but it DOES increase your risks for several chronic diseases, and it decreases your quality of life. I think we need to be more proactive about promoting active lifestyles and healthier food choices from the beginning so that we don't have to spend money and time researching expensive solutions after-the-fact/reactive technology.

[Kathy]

It looks like the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) from Korean pine nut oil is what actually leads to appetite suppression. Does anyone know what other foods contain PUFAs? I think fish has a type o PUFA, called omega-3 fatty acid.

[Mandy]

Here's an interesting excerpt from the study:

"PinnoThin™ is a natural oil pressed from Korean pine nuts (Pinus Koraiensis) and consists of 92% of PUFAs and MUFAs, mainly pinolenic acid, linoleic acid and oleic acid. Nut consumption is popular worldwide and has been linked with satiety. Pine nuts have long been constituent parts of the diets of many cultures, particularly in the Mediterranean and Asian regions, and they are now also consumed very widely outside these geographical areas. In vitro studies on Korean pine nut fatty acids have shown an increase in the release of CCK-8 from STC-1 cells vs. Fatty acids from Italian stone pine nuts and also several other dietary mono and poly unsaturated fatty acids. It has recently been shown that PinnoThin™ stimulates endogenous CCK and GLP-1 release in overweight women when simultaneously consumed with a fixed load breakfast and thereby has the potential to reduce prospective food intake."

[Laurel]

Has anyone tried hoodia for weight loss? Like Korean pine nut oil, hoodia is supposed to work by suppressing the appetite. Traditionally, natives avoided eating when they went hunting so they could bring the food back and eat with the rest of the community. To suppress their hunger, they used to chew on hoodia plants.

[Skeptic]

Hoodia has shown promise as an effective appetite suppressant, but there are a lot of concerns over the products actually containing any real hoodia. The hoodia species that is thought to contain the appetite-suppressing properties is an endangered species and is protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Unless you are living in Africa and pick the plant yourself, I would question the quality of any product for sale here in the U.S.

[Lacey]

On a related note, did anyone catch 60 Minutes last night? They did a story on gastric bypass surgery. Apparently, a lot of people who are overweight and diabetic experience a resolution in their diabetes before they start to lose weight. Some people stopped taking their diabetes medications before they were even checked out of the hospital. The doctors on the show said they were hopeful that gastric bypass might help cure adult-onset diabetes in the future. However, the research in this area was very preliminary.

[DC]

Omega-3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and are found in many types of fish and nuts. Looking at the three acids “PinnoThin” contains (i.e. pinolenic, linoleic and oleic acid) I don’t believe this product would contain any omega-3 fatty acids. Linoleic acid is primarily metabolized to omega-6 fatty acids, while alpha-linoleic acid is broken down to omega-3 PUFAs (i.e EPA and DHA). Vegetable oil is primarily high in omega-6 fatty acids. The current American needs an increase in omega-3 PUFAs that they will not receive in this product. I have to agree with Barney that a stronger emphasis needs to be placed on lifestyle modifications before any agent should be used.

[LM]

This study shows beneficial results in using Korean pine nut oil, but since it used a small sample size comprised of only females, it is difficult to extrapolate the results to the general population. Also, as others have already discussed, is Korean pine nut oil more effective than other options, such as almonds or hoodia, for satiety?

[Kristy]

I actually saw that 60-minutes episode as well, Lacey. It was very interesting, but I think people might be getting a little too excited about this finding too soon. We don't really know exactly how/why gastric bypass affects diabetes. But now that this research was featured on the news, I'm sure lots of people are going to start asking their doctors about it.

[Larry]

In response to the 60 Minutes comments, it does not surprise me at all a procedure like gastric bypass would result in a resolution of their diabetes. That type of diabetes often can be controlled with just diet and exercise and the only reason why most people are on medications is because our society throws pills at people before taking the “hard” route. Also when you perform a surgery like gastric bypass, then there isn’t a lot of GI tract to absorb those pesky glucose-containing carbs that leads to diabetes. These overweight people receiving the surgery in the episode were the typical fast food/horrible diet lazy Americans, am I right? So when you do that kind of surgery, they aren’t exactly cramming big macs down their throat anymore. If bypass didn’t resolve their diabetes, then I would have been worried that the surgeon didn’t even cut them open.

[Weight Loss]

The weight-loss industry should focus on the way people should feel while doing it in order to achieve better results and stay healthy all the time. Being healthy and thin is not a dream, it should be something that is reasonable and easy to be done.

The modern obsession with a thin body is another problem that women face now a days. Women try everything in order to get extra pounds off - things like pills, patches, diet, exercises and all kind of weight-loss products.

[Jennifer]

Does anyone know if there's a difference between Korean pine nut oil and regular pine nut oil in regard to appetite suppression? I noticed in many vitamin shops I've visited, more have the pine nut oil, and I'd hate to buy that one if it won't help me curb my bad habits.

Any thoughts? Oh and yes, I'm exercising to lose weight too. Just need a little help during that "time of month" when I want to eat the whole house. :)

[Joseph P.]

I have also heard about pine nut oil for weight loss. I used a weight-loss supplement i bought from www.iherb.com. It worked great, and I noticed one of its main ingredients was Korean pine nut oil. This is the URL to the product:

http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c=1&pid=8690543271785118282&at=0

use this code PIZ355 and receive a $5.00 discount. It is made by Life Extension.

[Buy Diet Pills Online]

I also heard of this, but I'm not sure that I know what a pine nut is. Any help there?

[Top rated diet pills]

This is simply brilliant! I didn't know this, but very informative post.

[Sarita]

I have been on diet pills, and I had my stomach stapled twice. I recently tried to get a bypass surgery done, but there was too much scar tissue around my liver to get too the stomach. I am now 250 pounds, and I have had four hip replacements. I also have a friend who had a gastric bypass and a revision and loss weight and regained almost all of her weight again. I feel like a fool trying to get that bypass surgery now I have another scar across my stomach, and I am only 50 years old. I know I must take the weight off of my hips. What do I do?

[weight loss pills]

One thing to keep in mind is that with all the push-ups, you are probably adding a bit of muscle as you are losing fat, so that is probably contributing to the ’small’ weight loss.

And I agree with everyone else, taking three pounds off while traveling is GOOD. It is just about impossible for me to not gain weight while traveling, and I would be more than happy to come home with a three-pound loss. I think weight-loss pills are the best way to loss weight.