Let’s ‘Spice’ things Up to Support your Weight Loss Goal!
Now that spring has sprung 'tis the season for getting out of hibernation and shaking off a few extra winter warming kilos. Even with the smell of sweet flowers and that extra spring in our step, we often get that dreaded thought and begin to wonder, ‘can I fit into last year’s swimsuit!’
This thought is often followed by a sudden mad panic to get ourselves to the gym as quickly as possible and overhaul our diet! If you feel like this, you are not alone and we have some good news for you!
How do you take your ginger? What?! That’s right you heard me the first time, ginger! Now I got you thinking!! So what does ginger have to do with weight loss?! Well, let’s find out.
Fresh ginger is a popular, readily available rhizome that has a rich nutrient composition. It assists in promoting healthy digestion and helps reduce symptoms of constipation and flatulence by relaxing intestinal sphincters and muscles. Maintaining optimal digestive health is extremely important in supporting your weight loss goal. We need to have healthy digestion to absorb nutrients from our food, so we have adequate nutrient intake to support our energy cycle.
We also need to be eliminating our waste effectively. This way we can ensure that we have enough energy and not be bogged down (excuse the pun!) to stay fit in the first place! A randomised crossover, pilot study investigated the use of ginger powder in healthy but slightly overweight men. Areas of assessment included energy expenditure, feelings of appetite and fullness and metabolic risk factors.
Participants were tested over a two day period, on the control day the men were given hot water to drink at breakfast and on the alternate day the men were given hot water with 2 grams (2000 mg) of ginger powder dissolved in it. Participants were asked to avoid alcohol, spices and energy drinks four days prior to the commencement of the study. Meals and testing performed on the participants were identical throughout the study.
Participants were asked to record feelings of fullness hourly utilising visual analogue scales (VAS) and blood samples were taken at fasting and then again 3 hours after breakfast. The results of the VAS ratings demonstrated lower hunger, lower prospective food intake and greater fullness amongst participants when they consumed ginger versus the control. An interesting property that researchers discovered during this study was that ginger stimulated dietary thermogenesis a process that produces heat in the body resulting in increased metabolism. This research supports the use of ginger in addition to a healthy diet and exercise to help you reach your weight loss goal this spring!
So what are you waiting for? Try some ginger for weight loss today!
