Many people turn to herbs to maintain their optimal weight, which means not losing weight or gaining weight when they reach their goal of ideal weight.
While herbs are not a panacea, they can be used as a food or medicine to supplement and support diet and exercise interventions.
Herbs are used as spices, supplements, foods, and teas to help control weight. The spices used in cooking (ginger, cayenne and fennel) increase digestion, stimulate salivation and gastric secretions and are antispasmodic.
How can we maintain optimal weight in a healthy way based on good nutrition? The indications to achieve it in a healthy way can be a little more complex, in some cases, than the fact of losing weight or avoiding obesity.
This happens because various aspects must be taken into account: avoiding an excess of calories from industrial foods that would cause us serious health problems in the long term, achieving an increase in appetite to be able to eat in a way more consistent with the plan to maintain weight, and perhaps solve some associated digestive problems.
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Why are there people who cannot gain weight?
- Genetic causes: Some individuals cannot ingest anything more than a certain amount of food. Once it reaches their stomach, they secrete a series of hormones that quench their appetite and prevent them from continuing to eat.
- Increased muscle fiber: Sometimes, the genetic and hereditary composition of these individuals has made them have more muscle fibers, this makes the energy intake at rest higher and it is very difficult for them to gain weight.
- Psychological aspects: There are people who are nervous and restless by nature. They are unable to be at rest and are continuously active, even sitting: continuous movement of the legs and arms; all this causes them to burn calories almost every moment.
- Difficulty absorbing nutrients: A key factor, since our body stops receiving the energy supply, we need daily.
- Certain diseases: such as: hyperthyroidism, anorexia, diabetes, bulimia, chronic diarrhea, major depression, anxiety and chronic stress pictures.
Herbs that maintain your optimal weight
Many people find herbs an ally to improve their quality of life, the most frequent consultations with health professionals are about the effect of certain herbs and foods, such as: fish oil, glucosamine, St. John’s wort, ginger and mint, among the main ones.
These herbs also have indirect effects to maintain or reduce weight, since they are responsible for reducing stress levels, which are the main cause of weight gain and also of the difficulty to regain lost weight.
Fenugreek
Fenugreek is an ally to control body weight and treat obesity. This herb has properties similar to those of female estrogens. One of its benefits is that it increases the bust in women.
As an added benefit, it helps in other areas of health: it reduces cholesterol, levels blood glucose and increases milk production in women who are breastfeeding their babies. But how to consume this herb?
- Through its seeds.
- Capsules or pills that are sold in natural stores.
- Through its flour, being able to prepare what is called Egyptian bread.
- Powder to flavor different preparations.
- Fenugreek tea or infusion.
The most common thing is without a doubt to have a tea with its seeds as soon as we get up in the middle of the afternoon. To do this, you must boil a cup of water, introduce about five seeds and you can drink it when it has rested for a few minutes.
Throughout the day you need to drink enough water, this will increase your appetite, in addition, fenugreek has saponins, which help improve digestion, improve your digestive enzymes and regulate calories in a less harmful way. Remember to always drink at least two liters of water a day.
Dandelion
The main power of dandelion is to act as a tonic, stimulating the appetite. Thanks to its bitter taste, it stimulates the flow of bile, thus improving our digestive enzymes.
For the dandelion to take effect, we must take it three times a day, the first time would be on an empty stomach. To prepare a suitable dandelion infusion, bring water to a boil and add four of its flowers to a cup of water. When it has rested you can take it. About half an hour later, you can consume a banana. Consuming a banana every day will also help you maintain weight.
Cardamom
According to studies published by BioMed Central, cardamom powder was found to help reduce abdominal fat in rats on a high-fat, high-carbohydrate diet.
In another similar study, it was determined that this spice helped reduce abdominal fat and total body fat in rats on a high-fat diet.
Unfortunately, most of the research on cardamom’s weight loss potential is limited to animal studies. The influence of cardamom on weight loss in humans has not yet been investigated.
Herbs that help regulate your appetite so you don’t overeat
Some herbs act as natural appetite suppressants, which favors those individuals who have anxiety and choose foods to reduce it, or have become accustomed to overeating, due to an inadequate diet for many years. In this way it favors the optimal weight, and considerably improves our health.
- Sage Even the smell of a leaf rubbed between your fingers reduces cravings and helps you feel satiated like having a cup of tea. Sage has a long-term effect and it also has effects to decongest the airways. It also reduces appetite when cooking or frying in vegetable, meat or fish dishes.
- The Mint. Stimulates the action of bile and promotes digestion. Just the smell of peppermint essential oil helps to reduce hunger pangs and reduce your daily calorie intake.
- Rosemary also increases metabolism, suppresses appetite, and promotes fat burning. At the same time, it strengthens circulation.
- The vanilla aroma inhibits the desire for sweets. Smelling a vanilla bean already promotes the release of serotonin, which promotes well-being, which among other things, reduces anxiety cravings.
- Ginger, chili, and other hot spices also stimulate digestion and metabolism. And when the food is spicy, you can reduce, in part, the food intake.
The important thing to maintain optimal weight is, in addition to the use of some of these herbs in combination with other factors, learning to eat correctly, and drink enough liquid (water and infusions) daily.