Get healthy with herbs

Add a little spice and herb to improve your health


My staff and I do our best to help clients improve their health and get the best weight loss and fat loss results possible! And one of the things that is sad - but true, is that most of the foods we find that are convenient, and quickly available, are not actually very good for us.

To help add variety and "spice" to healthy foods, I recommend a variety of herbs and spices in everyone's daily diet. Instead of added sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and artificial flavorings, try some of these herbs in your meals. Why?

Below are some great reasons to add these herbs and spices to your food:

1. They improve the flavour and taste of food without adding hidden or unhealthy excess calories. No matter what kind of diet you might be on, most, if not all, herbs will fit right into your diet plan. No matter what kind of diet you are on (low carb, high protein, paleo style, reduced calories etc) herbs can help you boost your results and make your taste buds happy as well.

2. Herbs and spices overflow with stuff that are good for you - vitamins, minerals, all sorts of health-giving phytochemicals and antioxidants etc. These are best found in their natural form rather than in their chemically produced and often ineffective artificial forms found in many multi-vitamins or mineral supplements.

3. In general, they make everything taste so much better without adding evil stuff to what you put into your mouth - artificial colors, chemical preservatives, trans-fats. Well, that is assuming your herbs were not grown close enough to the freeway to absorb tonnes of toxic metals and the like, or on a commercial farm that abuses pesticides and fertilizers the way some bodybuilders abuse steroids.

Consider going organic for herbs because there is a large variance in the quality of herbs and the amount of active ingredients they contain, so herbs are one of those things where cheaper is not better.

Here's a quick look at some of the more common herbs and how it can benefit you:

Cinnamon

Cardamom - stimulate bile flow for liver health and fat metabolism, reduces flatulence, contains limonene that boosts the body's production of an enzyme with antioxidant properties.

Cinnamon - helps reduce blood sugar and "bad" cholesterol by increasing insulin sensitivity (i.e. nutrients go to your muscles not your fat cells!)

Cloves - One tablespoonful contains the RDA of manganese for women. Also contains potassium, calcium and phytosterols in significant proportions.

Cumin - has antimicrobial properties, is a good source of iron, helps reduce heartburn and improves digestion.

Garlic

Garlic - lowers cholesterol and prevents blood clots, current research suggests strongly that garlic has anti-cancer properties, helps in weight control.

Ginger - anti-inflammatory, research suggests it lowers cholesterol.

Mustard seeds - contains isothicyanates which are believed to play important roles in cancer suppression

Oregano - has even higher antioxidant properties than the famous blueberry! Oregano oil has been shown to kill parasites in the digestive system and inhibit growth of microbes. Also contains antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic compounds which reduce cancer risk.

Parsley

Parsley - freshens the breath

Tumeric - anti-inflammatory, possible benefits for Alzheimer's, cancers, digestive disorders and insulin regulation. Aids recovery from injury.










So incorporate herbs and spices into your diet, as much as you can, as often as you can, in every creative way possible! You'll not just get all those health benefits, but you'll also enjoy your food more, so it'll be easy to stay with your healthy lifestyle. That means you'll surely get those fat burning, fat loss results that you want!

Coach Jon,
MSN
29/07/2011