As we know, Food is one of the basic necessities of life and the source of essential nutrients (Protein, Fat, Carbohydrates, Vitamins, Minerals and water), which is vital for the growth and development of the body. Food is any edible substance we take orally; it gets digested in the alimentary canal and provide energy for each and every life sustaining activity of human beings. Food is fun, food is love, food is pleasure and food are everything for the foodies. Food is so much important right? then why do we need to pay so much attention on what to eat and what not? Answer lies in the fact we all are living a sedentary lifestyle; we just store everything inside and don’t give our body chance to utilize that as a result we grow fat and looks absurd, our confidence just vanishes in no time and we just become the sorry figure in front of everyone.
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10 Ayurvedic Herbs that are found effective in weight loss
Maintaining a healthy body weight is a dream that many of us watch with our eyes open, we have such a busy life nowadays but still we try to fulfill this big dream in every possible way. We just do it at full swing in the beginning but after a while we become less passionate and start ignoring the plans or activities for losing weight, thinking that Grapes our sour, let’s just leave it and invest our precious time in something productive. We want quicker a result which is common coz hastiness is infused in our veins. We have a greater number of tasks in hands to perform one after the other, doing something for our body seems to be the side thing sometimes.
In this article we are going to put light on some herbs that will help you to distract from the food and snacks by keeping you fuller for a long time. You will feel less hungry and the result will be less calorie intake and lesser fat accumulation. This is not the only idea to rely upon; you can try these remedies with some light exercise if you are unable to perform extensive ones, but all tips and tricks works more readily with a physically active body.
Britt Burton-Freeman, Ph.D. said “For years, fats have been targeted as the main cause of obesity, and now carbohydrates have come under scrutiny for their role in appetite regulation and weight control.”
Hunger and appetite are not the same, they are different. Hunger is a bodily reaction; we need food to function our body just like fuel for any machine. Appetite on the other hand is a psychological or sensory stimulus that gives us satisfaction and satiety after eating the desired food product. We can thus say hunger will cause us just to eat and appetite may cause us to overeat.
The combination of a balanced diet and regular physical exercise is the most effective way to lose weight and being healthy. For convenience, there are many natural ingredients to suppress a strong appetite to achieve our goals of shedding extra body weight.
Fenugreek seeds
Fenugreek is or Trigonella foenum-graecum is an effective alternate if you are desperately following the track to lose weight, the seeds are also known as Alholva, Bird’s Foot, Bockshornklee, Bockshornsame, Chandrika and belongs to legume family. Fenugreek doesn’t work to lose weight as such but it curbs your desire to eat more, make you feel fuller for a prolonged period of time and slow down CHO and fat absorption. All thanks to its high fiber content, it reduced appetite and balances blood glucose level.
Fenugreek seeds are rich in Insoluble CHO (Insoluble fiber is the type of fiber that adds bulk to faces which helps to pass solids out more easily), and works as a natural and nutritious weight loss ingredient that offers a wide range of health benefits such as it aids in digestion, reduces cholesterol and fat accumulation and maintains blood sugar level in the body. The main ingredient helpful in appetite suppression is “Galactomannan” which is a water-soluble hetero polysaccharide (from of CHO), it reduces your hunger and food cravings which results in less intake of food. Many researches proved that regular use of fenugreek can help in effective weight management by accelerating the secretion of digestive enzyme to break down food more rapidly.
Ginger
Ginger or Zingiber officinale. is a commonly used pungent spice in various food preparations, seasonings and in some medicines as well. Ginger is helpful for our overall health in many ways, it accelerates our metabolism and absorption and converts the food into energy to be used up for life sustaining activities, reduces fat accumulation and oxidative stress and also help to crack our target of being in shaped by reducing extra body weight, Ginger contains Gingerols and Shogaols, which directly shows effect in appetite suppression and give you satiable feeling for longer duration. Not only for weight loss, but Ginger is full of anti-oxidants, anti-inflammatory properties that binds free radicals in the body and protects ourselves from any internal damage. This miraculous herb boosts our immune system to fight disease causing agents, maintain cardio heath, strengthen our respiratory system etc., it also decreases our food digestion and don’t let the waste material suspended in bowels.
Apple
Apple is mostly associated with good health as they say “An apple a day keep the doctor away”, it is supposed to be the part of our morning breakfast, brunch, supper or evening snack. Apple has a lots of health benefits with its powerful antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, this yummy fruit is helpful to cheat on our hunger and food craving, it has ample amount of soluble “fiber and pectin” that makes you chew for longer time and also add bulk to your stomach which make you feel fuller and satisfy your hunger. Plus, Apple is a great source of water that fills your gut largely and prevents you from overeating.
Oatmeal
Oatmeal is the favorite breakfast for many, it makes one feel satiable, fuller and significantly reduces the calorie intake by balancing cholecystokinin (appetite regulating hormone). Oatmeal has a higher number of polysaccharides beta-glucan fiber which is beneficial in weight management and appetite suppression. Having oatmeal in the morning will give you a feeling of being full throughout the day, the fiber in Oatmeal soaks up water and increases bulk during digestion. Oatmeal also reduces the sugar absorption from small intestine and thus maintain blood glucose level.
The lead author Candida Rebello from Louisiana State University in the US said “When we took it a step further and evaluated the intake four hours post-breakfast, we found that after consuming instant oatmeal, the participants chose to eat significantly less at lunch compared to those who ate the oat-based, cold cereal,”
Green tea
Green tea extract is an excellent appetite suppressant comes with many helpful compounds, which help in weight loss, burns calories and suppress your appetite.
Green tea contains two major compounds, named as caffeine and catechins which use to accelerate metabolism in order to reduce fat mass from the body. Green tea decreases hunger by maintaining dopamine and norepinephrine (peptide hormones) collectively known as catecholamines, which activate your sympathetic nervous system and reduces you hunger spikes and then you consume less amount of food.
It also contains polyphenols, which increases thermo genesis and accelerate fat burning inside the body. Green tea has potential antioxidant which is said to take good care of cardiovascular system, and also helps in decreasing anxiety and depression.
Legumes and pulses
Legumes are a staple food in India; the term “legume” is used to describe seed of leguminous plants that produces a pod with seeds inside. Commonly used legumes are lentils, peas, chickpeas, beans, and soybeans etc. Legumes are nutritionally adequate and fall under the category of plant-based protein and fiber rich food items.
Legumes are also rich in complex carbohydrates, termed as resistant starch and oligosaccharides and are well known to curb our hunger it keeps you fuller by delaying the stomach emptying, and also slow down the digestion process which helps in more calorie output than intake.
Avocado
Avocados is a good source of refined CHO, monosaturated fatty acids and dietary fiber, it can easily curb your appetite by making you feel satisfied and fuller for a longer period of time.
The study published in the Journal of Nutrients says” including whole and half fresh avocados on not only suppresses hunger but also keeps your fullness for 4-6 hours”.
Avocado are high in fiber which help to slow down the digestive process, burn a greater number of calories and reduce food and snacks cravings (results in less food ingestion). Besides weight management, Avocado is good for heart, skin, brain, eyes and for many vital body organs, it also regulates blood cholesterol and sugar level and prevent the risk of diabetes and cardiac complications.
Almonds
Almonds are rich source of antioxidants, Vitamin E, healthy fats, magnesium and of course fiber which makes it ideal for weight loss purposes. If you are on the way to lose weight and want to curb your hunger, Almonds are perfect for you to try. Almonds act as natural appetite suppressant and keep you satisfied for longer time with its high fiber content in order to manage your weight effectively and easily.
Garcinia Cambogia
Garcinia cambogia also known as Garcinia gummi-gutta or Malabar tamarind is a popular weight loss supplement and works well as appetite suppressor by increasing serotonin (serotonin reduces hunger) and make us feel fuller and satiable. The outer part of the Garcinia Cambogia fruit has high amount of hydroxycitric acid (HCA), which is the active element responsible for its weight loss benefits. This potent herb facilitates body’s metabolic rate and prevent fat accumulation in liver and adipose tissues.
Spicy herbs
We can use some easily available spicy herbs to suppress our appetite to avoid excess food intake, these herbs include turmeric, cumin, cayenne, black pepper, funnel, cinnamon, turmeric and ginger etc. The spicy herbs increase our metabolism to utilize energy, maintain blood glucose level, binds free radicals to prevent cell damage, accelerate thermogenesis (conversion of fat into energy) and gives us feeling of fullness.
Some effective lifestyle changes to eat less can be as follows-
- Use 6 smaller portion in a day instead of three big meals
- Drink plenty of water one hour before having meal
- Try to incorporate fiber rich food like green leafy vegetables, pulses and tofu etc. Because is the key to reduce obesity and suppresses appetite.
- Avoid using junk food, sugary drinks or sweets during meals, instead of all these try to use gummies and healthy nuts.
- Eat lean met instead of red meat
- Eat whole fruits in lieu of juices and extracts, it will add bulk and keep you full.
- Practice mindful eating and incorporate at least five food groups in your daily diet.
- Be relaxed while eating and chew properly
