This spice could help you lose three times as much body fat
This spice could help you lose three times as much body fat
A 2015 study has revealed that cumin may just be your new weight loss BFF.
According to Iran’s Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, this golden spice can help you lose weight, decrease body fat and improve high cholesterol levels. Translation? It’s time to start raiding your spice cupboard. Stat.
In the study, two groups of women ate the exact same controlled diet for three months. The only difference was that in one group, each woman consumed 3 grams (roughly one teaspoon) of cumin every day. Surprisingly, women in the spice group lost an extra 3 pounds of weight and their body fat, collectively, dropped by a whopping 14.64% – nearly triple the 4.91% loss in the non-cumin group.
But that’s not all – eating cumin reduced the women’s “bad” LDL cholesterol reading by 10 points and their level of harmful blood fats by 23 points. Pass us a spoon, please!
Researchers think the results are party due to cumin’s phytosterols – plant chemicals that prevent cholesterol being absorbed in our bodies. More research is needed but the scientists also suggested that cumin, like other hot spices, may potentially increase our metabolic rate. That’s one powerful powder.
So how can you reap the cumin benefits? Try stirring some into a homemade curry, adding it to yoghurt with a squeeze of lemon for a spicy dip or sprinkling it over roasted vegetables. Yum!