What Are The Best Superfruits For Losing Weight
Superfruits and their many health benefits are all the talk these days. Their natural juices, seeds and skins pack an enormous punch when it comes to your health and well-being.
Many of these superfruits have already been in wide use in indigenous communities and cultures where they use them for medicinal purposes in addition to eating them as part of their regular diet. It is only recently that the western world has discovered their super powers and has begun importing them so that people all over the world can reap its many medicinal and healthful benefits.
One of the biggest theories surrounding these superfruits is that they can help people lose weight. Popular television shows and magazines are touting the benefits of using these fruits as a natural way to lose weight rather than investing hundreds of dollars in powders, potions and pills that may have adverse effects or not even work at all.
People no longer want to risk their health to lose a few pounds—nor do they want to go bankrupt. These superfruits provide them with a healthier, and cheaper, way to achieve their weight loss goals.
Garcinia Cambogia
Garcinia cambogia is a small fruit that looks like a mini pumpkin. It is found in India and in some parts of Asia. The weight loss benefit comes from the extract from both the fruit and the rind which contains hydroxycitric acid (HCA) which is said to suppress a person’s appetite for carbohydrates and sugar while enhancing fat-burning.
The theory is that HCA inhibits citrate lyase—an enzyme the turns excess carbs into fat. By doing this, those extra carbohydrates are getting burned. There are no adverse side effects for healthy people taking garcinia cambogia making it safe and easy to use.
Click here to read more about Garcinia and weight loss
Pomegranate
Pomegranates come from the small pomegranate tree or shrub and is said to have originated in Iran. Today it is grown just about all over the world. The fruit can be as small as a lemon or as big as a grapefruit with a thick red skin. Inside the fruit are seeds—anywhere from 200 to 1400 of them—that are covered in a water-like pulp that can be white, red or purple in colour.
Pomegranates contain high levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which studies have shown can reduce body fat and increase lean muscle. Its antioxidant powers can also increase metabolism which also aids in weight loss.
Raspberry Ketones
Raspberry ketones are the main aroma compounds found in red raspberries, but are also found in other fruits like blackberries and cranberries. Because the extraction of it is complicated, it is considered one of the most expensive natural flavour components costing as much as $20,000 per kilogram in some cases.
Manufacturers of diet supplements have claimed that products with raspberry ketones aid weight loss, but there have been no human trials to back that up. However, studies on mice found that high doses of raspberry ketones showed that it prevented an increase in body weight caused by a high-fat diet.
Acai Berry
This fruit comes from a type of palm tree that grows mostly in the floodplains and swamps of South and Central America. The acai berry is a black-purplish colour with a large seed inside of it and has been a big part of the Native American diet because of its superior nutritional value and antioxidant powers. However, there is much debate over whether or not it is an effective weight loss supplement.
Manufacturers of acai berry products claim it can help people lose weight, but there has not been much proof to substantiate that claim.
African Mango
The African mango tree is often found in the humid, tropical forests of Africa. It has dark green leaves with whitish-yellow flowers that blossom in clusters in February and March. The fruit itself is green, but the inside is a bright orange with a sweet to slightly bitter taste. It also has kernels which are called oilseeds. Researchers tested the seed extract of the African mango to see if they had any weight loss benefit.
They found that there was a significant decrease in weight loss, body-fat loss, and waist and hip circumference for people taking the extract. It is believed the high soluble fibre in the seeds plays a big part in lowering concentrations of glucose.
There is no reason you should not include at least one of these fruits as part of a healthy diet. While they may not all help you shed pounds as they claim, they all have one thing in common—they truly are “super” fruits.
