The answer to weight loss starts with a healthy diet and ends with perseverance. And the good part about this journey is that you can make it happen from the comfort of your home, your kitchen to be specific. Yes, your pantry is stocked with abundant spices that aid weight loss. Check it out here!
Spices for weight loss you must have in your pantry
Turmeric
The essential of any Indian dish; no Indian kitchen is complete without this spice for weight loss. But if you have been using turmeric only to add taste and colour to your food, you have been doing it wrong! It contains curcumin, which is a chemical known for its effects on everything from inflammation to weight loss. It makes you warmer instantly. It also boosts your digestive system and enhances your metabolism.
You can have turmeric tea in the morning after you wake up, or you can even consume an inch of raw turmeric along with honey for best effects.
Ginger
This herb dons many hats other than just being a flavour booster, apart from being just one of the spices for weight loss. It helps decrease your appetite and enhances fat absorption. It also increases the fat burning and metabolism rate when you consume it raw or with tea. Ginger is also known to control your blood sugar levels, which is the ultimate enemy of your weight loss journey. Make yourself a cup of ginger tea every morning when you wake up or every night before you go to bed and watch it work wonders!
Cumin
Next on the list of spices for weight loss is cumin, the unsung hero of the Indian household. Cuming is loaded with benefits for your body. Not only does it burn up to three times more body fat, according to studies, it also improves digestion and your glycaemic control, lowers cholesterol and reduces stress. Wondering what’s the best way to consume cumin seeds? Just soak a spoonful of cumin seeds in water overnight, warm that up in the morning, and drink it.
Fennel
The twin of cumin — fennel seeds also are packed with loads of benefits and makes an excellent spice for weight loss. We normally consume fennel seeds, popularly known as saunf, after meals to aid digestion. It is loaded with vitamins such as A, D and C and antioxidant properties. It is a natural diuretic that curbs your hunger pangs and thus you end up consuming lesser food and stay full for longer. Just like cumin seeds, you can also soak a teaspoon full of fennel seeds at night and have it in the morning. You do not have to heat it though.
Cinnamon
This beautiful spice with a hint of sweetness does more than you can imagine. It is packed with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Like the other spices for weight loss, cinnamon also increases the metabolic rate, thus boosting your fat burning process. You can add a pinch of cinnamon powder with your turmeric, ginger, cumin or fennel tea in the morning and have double the goodness!
Black pepper
The saviour of savoury dishes, black pepper has more benefits than you thought. This extra hot spice is packed with phytonutrients that help burn the extra fat in your body. Also, since it’s hot and spicy, it keeps you full for longer. You can literally just add a pinch of black pepper to your food or tea or green tea, and that would do the trick!
Fenugreek
Next on the list of spices for weight loss is fenugreek, or as we call it, methi. This wonder ingredient is rich in fibres, and like all fibre-rich food, it fills you up faster and keeps you full for a longer time. It also helps decrease your dietary fat and calorie intake, thus helping you maintain your calorie deficit and burn fat faster. Fenugreek is also rich in mucilaginous fiber, that soothes and protects your digestive tract from free-radical damage.
Cardamom
Cardamom, locally known as elaichi, is literally a game-changer when added to recipes. But did you know it could also aid your weight loss journey? It is a diuretic spice that stimulates the digestive system and boosts metabolism. You can just 3-4 pods of cardamom in your tea or just simple chew them!
A journalism student who studied the subject only to meet SRK in person, she settled for the best way to meet him. Covering Entertainment throughout her career, and now Food, Health and Lifestyle as well, Sreetama is also a self-proclaimed plant mom. In love with all things slow and quiet, she can often be found hunting for quiet corners with a glass of wine in hand. Other loves include little, inconsequential things, like neatly tucked-in bedsheets and big, significant things, like whole cheesecakes. She dreams of being a baker and writing about food someday.
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