Losing weight and maintaining it is a day-to-day struggle. There’s no magic pill that can help you shed all the pounds but some natural herbs can definitely support your goals and accelerate the process of weight loss. It goes without saying that you can’t do without a good workout regime and a healthy and balanced diet but these herbs can give you an extra boost.
1. Garlic: Love it or hate it, but you can’t ignore it. Garlic helps in burning body fat faster. A lot of people suggest that you should consume two to three cloves of garlic every morning on an empty stomach along with a glass of warm lemon water to improve your blood circulation and boost the process of weight loss.
2. Dandelion: The roots and leaves of dandelion are dried and used to make dandelion tea, and can benefit your health in many ways. Dandelion tea is diuretic and helps to flush out extra water from the body. This helps in reducing water weight and eases bloating.
3. Ginseng: Macrobiotic Nutritionist Shilpa Arora suggests that ginseng can help in improving your energy levels and boosting your metabolic rate which supports weight loss. The ginseng root can be used fresh or dried. You can simply chew it or stew it in hot water to make a tea or soup.
4. Gurmar: Shilpa also suggests the use of the Gurmar herb, an Ayurvedic wonder which helps in suppressing your appetite. The fresh leaves can be chewed and are known to slow down the absorption of sugar into the blood stream and also the conversion of sugar into fat. Therefore, it also helps in reducing sugar cravings.
5. Peppermint: The strong aroma of this popular culinary herb is known to control appetite and suppress cravings. It helps in supporting good digestion and thus, keeps your metabolic rate on track.
You can sip on a cup of herbal tea made with 1 teaspoon dried mint leaves or 2 teaspoons fresh mint leaves boiled in 3/4 cup of water for 5 minutes.
5. Peppermint: The strong aroma of this popular culinary herb is known to control appetite and suppress cravings. It helps in supporting good digestion and thus, keeps your metabolic rate on track. You can sip on a cup of herbal tea made with 1 teaspoon dried mint leaves or 2 teaspoons fresh mint leaves boiled in 3/4 cup of water for 5 minutes.
6. Oregano: Turns out that oregano may be more useful than just adding flavour to your pizza slice. Fresh oregano herb contains an active component called carvacrol that is known to dissolve fat. It also aids digestion and reduces bloating. You must add it towards the end of the cooking process to retain its essential oils.
7. Coriander: Drinking coriander juice is known to help with weight loss. It helps in boosting your metabolism and thereby, burning more calories which plays a crucial role in weight loss. Add some lime juice to your drink to make it tastier and more effective. It is best to have it on an empty stomach every morning to flush out the toxins, purify your blood and aid digestion.
8. Guggul: Another Ayurvedic herb, guggul is derived from the flowering mukul myrrh tree. It helps in the utilisation of fat as fuel to provide energy.
A study conducted by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center shows that it may support weight loss by affecting your thyroid to boost your metabolism and other functions. The herb is dried and powdered which can be then used with a glass of water or milk or a teaspoon of honey.Weight loss is a combination of optimum physical activity, healthy diet, good digestion, fast metabolic rate and a lot of other factors. The herbs can help in boosting such functions and make you lose weight faster.