Spice That Helps Weight Loss

Time to add another flavor to your spice rack: cumin. This spice-is in everything from Tex-Mex chili curry Indian food can also help you lose weight, according to a recent study published in the journal Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice.

In this study, told a group of women eating three grams mixed with cumin yogurt for lunch and dinner, while others were simply told to eat yogurt. In addition, 88 women were put on a low calorie diet and received nutritional counseling for three months.

Although both groups lost weight, cumin group lost an average of 4.5 pounds more than the other group. Women in the cumin group also had greater reductions in body mass index, waist circumference, body fat percent and cholesterol.

"Cumin is a spice in the parsley family that goes well with red lentils and brown rice," says Alexa Fleckenstein, MD, author of The Cure Diabetes. Besides the benefits on cholesterol, blood sugar and maybe a also a good effect on advanced glycation end products (AGEs) that are so harmful in diabetes, "she said. EFAs are toxins typically found in foods cooked at high temperatures (like grilled). In the body, create oxidative stress and cell damage. EFAs also cause accelerated aging.