Saturday, September 27, 2008

Herbs That Help You Lose Weight

By: Jim Scotty

You are probably on the verge of frustration over losing weight. If you have tried exercises, diet plans, and other weight loss programs out there and these still do not work for you, you should start looking for alternative ways to solve your weight problems.

If you are struggling to find alternatives to prescribed medicines, then you should try weight loss products that have natural herbs complement these.

One of the most popular alternatives to prescribed weight loss products is the use natural herb for weight loss. These are natural appetite suppressants that are known to aid natural and gradual losing of weight. If you are considering using natural herb for weight loss, then you might as well start researching about the types to know their effects and possible side effects.

TAKING THE HERBAL APPROACH

The most common trend in natural weight loss products is called herbal diuretics. These are very common in over-the-counter natural weight loss products that include shave grass, hawthorn, juniper seeds, dandelion, horsetail, and green tea.

Most experts say that these herbs are not really toxic but some can create conflict with the body especially if the person is using prescribed medicines but if you are not taking any prescription medicines and is not suffering from any illness or disease, there is no harm in trying these natural herbs for weight loss.

Herbal diuretics—considered as over-the-counter herbal weight loss preparations—are usually derived from several herbal plants like uva-ursi, burdock, buchu, borage, ephedra, yerba mate, and dandelion combined with different minerals. Here are some of the products you might want to consider.

- Ma-Huang or Ephedra is the most common ingredients used in herbal preparations. Although there are clinical studies that prove its effectiveness, the combination of these ingredients with other herbs post potential long-term effects.

- St. John's Wort is used primarily as an antidepressant. Most experts say that the use of St. John’s Wort poses a very small potential for weight loss but is great in managing stress and depression.

Be careful in using this product because it has unsafe properties that are dangerous to health. Make sure that you do not take medications like Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil when you take chance on this product. Also, avoid eating foods that contain tyramine like wine, cheese, and aged meats to avoid further conflict.

- Yerba Mate also known as Paraguay tea is considered as a very strong nervous system stimulant. Be careful in using it because several cases of poisoning have been reported related to excessive stimulation and high blood pressure.

- Bladderwrack, on the other hand, is a kind of seaweed that has high iodine content. Since it has high amount of iodine, avoid taking this if you are suffering from goiter.

- White Willow Bark is an herb that is known to contain an active ingredient used in aspirin. Products that contain this product may work if you experience recurrent headache, but if you want to use it to lose weight, you might want to think twice.

If you are going to try these, make sure that you drink lots of purified so you will replace the lost minerals in your body.

Another trend in natural weight loss products is dietary fiber. Most experts say that taking products with dietary fiber is effective in losing weight because it will make the person feel full so they will eat less.

Products like pectin –which is a soluble fiber that occurs naturally in fruits like apple, pear, or bananas; guar gum—a dietary fiber usually used as a thickening agent; glucomannan—obtained from konjac root that can absorb lots of water; fenugreek seeds—that has 40 percent soluble fiber and may help reduce blood glucose levels—also help in the body’s detoxification process.

Article Source: http://www.healthfreakarticles.com

For further reading, find out more about dietary herbal supplements.



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