Adding These 11 Spices to Meals Can Help With Weight Loss

In this post, you’ll learn about the different spices you can add to your meal for weight loss.

Spices enrich your dishes. And they are the best natural and healthy way to make your meals tasty.

But besides making food tasty, spices can help if you want to lose weight.

Before we look at the types of spices, let’s first look at how spices specifically impact weight.

How does eating spices influence weight loss?

Spices are full of antioxidants and other compounds. 

These compounds, together with other components, boost metabolism. 

Spicy foods increase your body temperature and help your metabolism to burn more calories. Besides temperature, spices can help:

• Regulate blood sugar level
• Control appetite
• Promote fat loss

Here is a list of the top spices that can promote weight loss.

1. Turmeric

Turmeric is a colorful orange spice you can find in Indian and Asian cuisine, and nowadays also in any health or convenient store.

This exotic spice has been popular in Ayurveda – the traditional medicine from India – due to its therapeutical effects. 

The famous and trendy golden milk based on milk and turmeric comes from those times!

Some of the properties that makes turmeric so valued are:

• Antioxidant
• Anti-inflammatory
• Antibacterial
• Control of cholesterol levels
• Relief of arthritis symptoms

Most of these benefits are related to its component Curcuma. Curcuma is a powerful anti-inflammatory and for helping with weight loss.

In one study, researchers identified Turmeric as a promising candidate to fight against obesity.

Part of the reason is that turmeric plays an important role in the regulation of inflammatory reactions common in overweight patients. 

This in turn helps them to help them reduce the excess body weight.

Be aware that to benefit from these therapeutical effects you may need a high dose of the extract Curcuma. And only turmeric may not contain enough of it.

2. Cinnamon

Cinnamon is made from the inner bark of trees originally from Sri Lanka.

It needs a tropical climate to grow. And its aroma makes it one of the most famous spices all over the world for both main dishes and desserts.

Its therapeutical properties are so numerous that traditional medicines have included it as part of their remedies for centuries.

Some of the most relevant properties of cinnamon are:

• Anti-antioxidant
• Anti-inflammatory
• Control of blood sugar levels
• Control of blood pressure
• Anti-microbial and anti-parasite

It can help promote weight loss by regulating blood sugar levels and energy levels.

It also slows down the breakdown of carbohydrates, and potentially decreasing appetite. 

3. Saffron

Saffron gives an exotic and deep color to dishes from different cuisines, especially from the Middle East and India. 

It’s a source of carotenoids, the component that gives its particular color.

And it has also been used in traditional medicine for the treatment of different diseases since ancient times.

It has antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, and anti-obesity properties.

Saffron has possible powerful effects that promote weight loss. 

And researchers are trying to understand its potential role in helping treat obesity. 

4. Ginger

Ginger has a long history as a medicinal remedy around the world. 

And its popularity in modern times has increased especially due to its anti-inflammatory properties. 

Ginger can control blood sugar levels, and as a result, it can also help:

• Maintain energy levels stable
• Reduce cravings and binging
• Regulate metabolism
• Control appetite

In addition to this, ginger also has fat-burning properties.

5. Black pepper

Black pepper comes from India but it’s maybe the most common spice in households nowadays. 

It also has numerous health benefits, including promoting weight loss.

One study found that black pepper can reduce body fat in animals even when no other dietary changes were made.

While more clinical research on humans is needed, this preliminary result shows promising weight loss effects of black pepper

6. Garlic

Garlic is considered a medicinal food all over the world and weight management is also one of the conditions that can be beneficial for. 

It can boost energy levels and metabolism helping increasing energy expenditure, and control appetite making you feel fuller for a longer time.

And if you can’t stomach it raw, you can also go for a garlic supplement instead!.

7. Rosemary

Rosemary is a Mediterranean spice with delicious aromatic properties. 

It can help increase your metabolic rate, assist with digestions, and promote weight loss. 

There’s more to the therapeutical effects of rosemary besides adding it as a spice. 

You can also soak the leaves in boiling water for a few minutes and drink the tea throughout the day after food.

8. Onion

We often use onion and garlic together in cooking and both have a long list of health and therapeutical properties.

Onions help prevent illnesses and disease, control blood sugar levels have anti-bacterial properties, and it’s full of antioxidants.

And also, it may be able to help with weight loss!

9. Ginseng

Ginseng is a well-known and highly valued plant with therapeutical properties used in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Some of those properties are:

• Increase energy levels
• Reduce inflammation
• Assist brain functions
• Boost immune system
• Control blood sugar levels
• Reducing body weight

Take this study done in Korea as an example. A group of obese middle-aged women consumed ginseng for 10 weeks.

The researchers found that ginseng had weight loss effects.

10. Cumin

Cumin comes from the Mediterranean Sea and Egypt from the family of parsley.

It is well-known for its health benefits, including:

• Promoting digestion
• Improving blood cholesterol levels
• Controlling diabetes
• Reducing fat and control weight

In one research, diet-induced obese rats were given cumin to investigate its potential anti-obesity properties.

The result was that they consumed less food, had lower hunger hormone levels, and lost weight as a result. 

11. Cardamon

Cardamon is a seed from the family of the ginger. It gives an exotic delicate and aromatic taste to the final dish!

And it may also have properties for weight loss. 

This study found that cardamon powder given to animals fed on high-fat and high-carb diets had the effect of reducing belly fat.

Therefore, cardamon and its powder supplementation can be helpful if you want to lose weight.

Takeaway

If you want to lose weight, adding these natural spices can help a lot.

Use them in moderation. Do not over-spice your meals

Using spices for weight loss can easily promote your health and even enhance your cooking skills and choices in your kitchen.