Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Foods for Losing Weight

First, the bad news – there’s no such food item that can magically shed off the pounds.

But don’t worry -the good news is there are some foods which not even increase our metabolism and help our bodies to burn fats and calories faster but also help to fight against cholesterol, provide necessary vitamins and other nutrients.

Remember, if you want to lose weight in a healthy way first of all you should:

- Balance your diet – eat often, but small portions, reject fast food, eat vegetables and fruits and drink a lot of water every day.

- Walk by feet as much as possible. Be physically active.

- Get enough sleep.

While doing that, add these products into your diet and watch how your pounds just melts away.

Chili Peppers
When we eat a chili pepper it seems that our mouth starts burning. That burning taste is caused by capsaicin – a colorless, pungent material. Capsaicin has been associated with many natural healing abilities like lowering blood pressure, reducing cholesterol levels, warding off strokes and heart attacks, speeding up metabolism, treating colds and fevers, preventing cancer and increasing pain control.

So, when you eat chili peppers:

- Chilies curb your appetite – especially for fatty foods and sweets.

- Capsaicin increases your metabolic activity.

- This, in turn, helps to burn calories and fat!

- In addition, chilies make it easier to stick to a healthy diet because the food has more flavor.

If you want to lose your weight, adding chili peppers to your diet is a good way to start. Eat it every day, put it into soups, salads and other dishes, though a little amount of it, if you don’t like spicy food.

Too hot? Do not drink water – capsaicin which is an oil, will not mix with water but instead, will distribute to more parts of the mouth.

Ginger

This spice is good not only when you have caught a cold. Today, ginger is used in many weight loss pills and dietary supplements as well as a part of some weight loss diets.

- Ginger can lower your cholesterol level and thin your blood. This will surely improve the overall condition of your body.

- It also helps in case of indigestion by making your digestive system work better – ginger increases the pH of the stomach acid, thus increasing the activity of digestive enzymes. It also stimulates the production of saliva, which not only helps us swallow food, but also takes part in starches digestion.

Ginger can be used with meat, vegetables, and with sweet dishes such as cookies and candies. Despite all of it’s benefits – it is not advised to eat more than 4 grams of ginger per day.

Mustard

Like all other hot spices mustard increases metabolism, stimulates digestion and helps to burn calories. In addition, it is low-calory food itself. Here is an example:

- A tablespoon (14 g) of mayonnaise (and most of us prefer two tablespoons or more on our sandwiches) contains 99 calories (kcal) and 11 g of fat. A teaspoon of mustard (which is enough to give a zingy taste to sandwich if you spread it thinly) comes in at just 3 calories and zero grams of fat. So, you can can easily save 200 calories or more for every sandwich!

If you don’t like mustard you can take mustard bath. Mustard Bath is a traditional medical treatment made from mustard seed powder and usually used to treat colds, fevers , and tired muscles. It is believed that this bath can also increase the metabolic activity and burn fat and calories.

Green Tea

Is there any other food or drink which have more health benefits than green tea? The Chinese have known about the medicinal benefits of green tea since ancient times, using it to treat everything from headaches to depression. It appears that it can also help to lose weight.

- Substances found in green tea known as catechins may trigger weight loss by stimulating metabolism.

- Catechins may also affect body fat accumulation and cholesterol levels.

In November, 1999, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published the results of a study at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. Researchers found that men who were given a combination of caffeine and green tea extract burned more calories than those given only caffeine or a placebo.

Some people gain weight when they are emotionally stressed and tired. Just a cup of warm green tea will help you to relax after an intensive workday and forget all the stress. It also helps to wake up in the morning more easily, as it contains caffeine and it is said to be much healthier than coffee.

Pineapples

Pineapple is high in fiber and contains modest amounts of vitamin C, potassium and a unique digestive enzyme called bromelain.

- Bromelain can relieve indigestion. This enzyme helps break down the amino acid bonds in proteins, which promotes good digestion. It has also been known to help prevent the onset of cellulite.

- Vitamin C helps to metabolize fats and cholesterol, absorb iron, and synthesize amino acids and collagen.

- Like other mentioned products, pineapples also help to increase metabolism.


Just remember, never eat only one kind of products – it can’t have all the necessary nutrients and vitamins. And of course never overdose neither spices nor any other products, even vitamins , otherwise they will have a negative effect instead of helping your body. And while burning your calories always remember to have a smile on your face, as it is an ultimate medicine!

Source: http://www.tastyhuman.com/food-for-losing-weight/

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