This year, try adding a kick to your diet by introducing more spicy ingredients to your meal plan.There are many benefits to adding spice to your diet. Adding ginger, turmeric or cinnamon to your diet can boost your metabolism for hours after you’ve finished a meal.
Spices also make you feel happier, as these types of foods activate pain receptors, which release endorphins. A food that can increase your metabolism and make you happy...is a great combination. :)
So have fun spicing things up a little :
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is high in antioxidants and effective in stabilizing blood sugars. Packed with anti-inflammatories it is most effective in dishes that have sugar, helping our bodies digest them.
Turmeric
Turmeric is like the super spice and been around for centuries. It has been linked to weight loss and the prevention of obesity and diabetes. Ideally we would add 1 1/2 teaspoons to our diet each day.
Turmeric is bright yellow in color and is usually found in curries and Indian dishes. Drinking turmeric tea is a popular way to add this spice to your daily routine.
Ginger
Ginger promotes digestion and increases our metabolism. It promotes a feeling of fullness and is calming to our digestive tracts. It has anti-inflammatory benefits and gets our blood flowing. You can take supplements, use ginger powder or fresh ginger to get the benefits.
Cayenne
Capsaicin, found in cayenne, increases your body’s ability to burn fat and calories by stimulating body heat. Some research indicates the heat raises our body temperature temporarily increasing our metabolic rate by 15 to 20%. The hotter the pepper, the higher the metabolic burn.
Capsaicin is also believed to suppress your appetite and help cut cravings for fatty, salty food. One caution: cayenne can decrease effectiveness of certain drugs like antacids, aspirin and blood thinning drugs.
So whether it is sprinkling cinnamon powder on to your latte in the morning or mixing in turmeric powder to your scrambled eggs... add a little spice to that life, you will love it.
SweetReadings :)
