One of the most difficult things about committing to a weight loss or health improvement program is the way adjusting your caloric intake or diet can create cravings for the sorts of foods (or quantity of foods) on which your body is used to running. Ignoring your appetite can only work for so long before a craving is likely to take over and, before you know it, you are stuffing your face with the same sorts of sweets, fast foods, or fatty foods that created your health issue in the first place. Improving a lifestyle demands a substantial degree of self-discipline. However, there are fortunately some really excellent tools at your disposal to curb your appetite and reduce cravings. This includes one secret weapon that you need to be sure to include in your dietary arsenal – spinach!
Including spinach in your diet will be an enormous benefit to you as your work towards losing s much body fat as possible. This insight is actually backed by some hard science, evidenced by a study completed at Lund University in Sweden. In their study, researchers monitored 38 overweight women and instructed the to consume either a beverage that contained five grams of spinach extract – comprised almost entirely of the cell membranes in the spinach stems – or a placebo. After three months of study, the team found that the group who had consumed the spinach extract lost 50% more weight.
They credited this dramatic difference in weight loss success to the spinach groups overall trend of maintaining a diminished caloric intake. The research team investigated and found that there is a compound in spinach stems called thylakoids, which reduces hunger. That holds especially true about cravings for fast food and sweet treats. Thylakoids slow the digestive process significantly, which allows your intestinal hormones more time to indicate to your mind that your hunger has been satisfied and you do not need to eat anymore. That, in turn, reduces how hungry you feel. The more satisfied you feel, the less you can eat. They are so effective they have been measured to reduce cravings for such dietary disasters by as much as 95%.
Easy ways to start regularly including spinach in your diet (especially the stems!) include throwing a few handfuls of the green stuff into the blender when you make your protein shakes. Although the color might change, the taste is likely to stay exactly the same. Similarly, be sure to add plenty of spinach into your rotation of fruits and veggies when juicing. Finally, spinach can be delicious all on its own! Try to eat spinach salads or sautéed spinach with your meals.
by Josh Bezoni