Successful slimming isn’t only about dropping your calories.
The actual ingredients you eat can make a big difference too.
If you’re serious about losing weight, adding a little extra spice to your meals can make a great contribution to your diet’s effectiveness, as well as adding taste and interest to your food.
Here are five spices to include in your weight loss program, no matter which particular diet plan you’re following:
#1 Cayenne Pepper and Chili
Super-spicy peppers are filled with a compound called capsaicin. This chemical is responsible for the familiar fiery heat sensation in the mouth, but it also works as an effective appetite suppressant making you eat less in one sitting.
Also, it gives a small but useful boost to your metabolic rate, so that you burn up more calories just getting through your day.
Finally, a hit of cayenne heat perks you up with energy, keeping you more active and boosting your stamina and performance during exercise.
#2 Ginger
Warm and spicy ginger eases the digestive system to even out your blood sugar levels after eating.
This helps reduce sudden irresistible hunger pangs and keeps you feeling fuller for longer.
Ginger also has a potent thermogenic effect which raises your resting metabolic rate when you eat it regularly.
#3 Ginseng
Ginseng is known to kick your metabolism up a gear, meaning more of the calories you consume are converted directly into energy rather than being laid down as fat.
This also has a powerful secondary benefit..
When you have more energy, you can work out for longer, and your exercise will be more effective at clearing your fat reserves.
#4 Cardamom
Cardamom is a rich source of melatonin, another nutrient responsible for boosting your metabolism to burn energy more quickly. However, cardamom has several other weight-busting properties too.
First, it’s an excellent way of reducing water retention through its natural diuretic properties.
Second, it also reduces bloating thanks to its nourishment of healthy gut flora.
Lastly, it also helps give your body a thorough detox, giving your system the energy to fight excess weight in peak condition.
#5 Turmeric Curcumin
Turmeric curcumin has been credited with health benefits covering the whole spectrum from cancer prevention to improved brain function.
But no matter how wild some of these online claims become, there’s much less argument about its usefulness for slimming.
Turmeric has strong anti-inflammatory effects.
These soothe troubled digestive systems and reduce the blood sugar fluctuations that lead to hunger pangs.
However, another interesting effect has been found. These anti-inflammatory agents also make your body less efficient at clinging on to fatty cells. The result is that dietary fat isn’t turned into flab quite so easily.
Simply upping your spice intake won’t work miracles for weight loss, no matter what some of the more enthusiastic websites may try and tell you.
But there’s no doubt that pepping up your diet with these five spices will give your slimming efforts a boost. And when it comes to dropping those stubborn pounds, every little helps.
