The Spice of Life

Herbs and spices are miracle powders found in nature that can do wonders to your diet whilst adding to flavour and interesting, new twists to your meals. Not only do they add a range of new tastes to your meals but certain herbs and spices can help you maintain a healthy body weight by increasing your metabolism, shrinking fat tissue and suppressing your appetite.

It's time to dust off your spice rack and add as many of these herbs and spices to your kitchen as possible in order to reap their benefits and aid you in your quest for a fitter and healthier you.

Cinnamon

A universal favourite, this much-loved spice is known for it's ability to balance blood sugar and suppress appetite. Cinnamon also reduces triglycerides, LDL (bad) cholesterol, and total cholesterol levels in people with type 2 diabetes, as well as increase glucose metabolism, which makes it the seasoning of choice for people with diabetes or pre-diabetes. Whether it's sprinkling some on your oats, mixing it in your yoghurt or adding it to a marinade, there's so much you can do to make it part of your daily diet.

Cumin

Research has shown that this super-spice can help jump-start weight loss, decrease body fat and improve unhealthy cholesterol levels naturally. Just a single teaspoon can help burn body fat by a whopping 3x more! It also gets bonus marks for being so versatile as you can add it to almost any meal and is popularly used in Indian cooking and a regular component for curry powder. It also contains potent properties useful in aiding digestion and energy production and can be added to soups, stews and dressings.

Ginseng

One of the oldest known herbs, it's no surprise that ginseng is used for a number of different purposes due to it's range of benefits such as providing an energy boost, lowering blood sugar and cholesterol levels, reducing stress, promoting relaxation, treating diabetes and supporting male libido. Ginseng is popular in Asian dishes and commonly used with chicken and soups, among others. Ginseng roots can also be eaten raw or chewed and also simmered in hot water to make ginseng tea.

Cayenne Pepper

Give your meals a tasty little kick by adding this spice to it. Research has also shown that due to it's thermogenic properties, meaning it raises the internal body temperature and boosts metabolism. Adding ground cayenne pepper to food can help burn up to 100 calories per meal, which is certainly a great excuse to have a slightly larger portion! It can be generally added to any lunch or dinner but works particularly well with eggs, avocado, soups, dips and most meats. A very potent extract of cayenne is also a key ingredient in some of LA Muscle's best selling fat burners including Fat Stripper Intense, Couture Curves and Thermoburn Herbal.

Ginger

A tangy spice that's extremely popular in Asian cuisine, Ginger is becoming staple of our spice racks due to it's similar abilities to cinnamon, such as controlling blood sugar by preventing a spike in your glucose levels after a sugar or carb-rich meal. It also has the same fat-burning thermogenic properties as turmeric and cayenne pepper. Ginger can be added to stir-fries, baked fish and the seasonal favourite; gingerbread. It can also be sliced and added to hot water to create Ginger tea, which can boost the immune system to beat a cold from coming on. It does this by warming you from within and promoting perspiration.

No matter what you use them for, these ingredients are cheap and easy to obtain and with just a few sprinkles can easily give your body a much-needed boost in pursuit of your fitness goals.