You might have heard that ginger makes a good weight-loss aid. Unfortunately, there's no scientific evidence to support this. Losing weight requires consuming fewer calories than you expend, which means you need to eat less or burn more energy each day. Ginger has no effect upon the rate at which your cells burn energy.
Weight Loss
The weight-loss equation is, at its heart, a simple one: eat fewer calories than you expend each day. However, given the busy lifestyles that keep most people from exercising regularly, this is much easier said than done. The alternative to eating less and exercising more is taking a supplement that will increase your metabolism -- the rate at which cells burn energy. Caffeine is such a substance, but ginger is not.
Ginger
The likely reason that ginger has a reputation as fat burner is that it's known to have an anti-nauseant effect, which many people extrapolate to mean that it affects digestion -- and therefore weight. In fact, ginger doesn't affect the digestive tract at all. Its anti-nauseant properties come from the molecule zingerone, which binds to pain receptors and confuses the nervous system, explain Drs. Penny Le Couteur and Jay Bureson in their book "Napoleon's Buttons."
Uses of Ginger
Your brain can't simultaneously process the pain or heat signals that come from zingerone binding to receptors and the nausea signals you're receiving, so it ignores the nausea signals temporarily. This makes ginger an excellent home remedy for nausea, and it's particularly common as a treatment for motion sickness and the morning sickness associated with early pregnancy, explain Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel in their book "What to Expect When You're Expecting."
Weight Loss
Though ginger isn't a metabolism-boosting substance, there are a few. However, they have significant side effects, including rapid heart rate. It's healthier -- and provides for more permanent weight loss -- to put together a sustainable diet and lifestyle that incorporate an appropriate number of calories from healthy foods and plenty of physical activity. Your doctor can help you formulate a plan for losing weight in a healthy manner.
References
- "Napoleon's Buttons"; Penny Le Couteur and Jay Bureson; 2004
- "What to Expect When You're Expecting"; Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel; 2008
Member Comments