Supplements to Enhance Weight Loss
Supplements to Enhance Weight Loss
There are some supplements that truly help your body to metabolize fat. No, I am not talking about some controversial herbs (the ones to avoid are listed further down in this article).
Gamma-linolenic acid—GLA
The very short non-scientific summary of how GLA works is that it initiates fat-burning rather than fat-storage.
GLA is found in borage oil, evening primrose oil and black currant seed oil. The recommended amount of GLA for a weight loss diet is 360-400 mg. of GLA per day.
Conjugated linoleic acid—CLA
The very short non-scientific summary of how CLA works is that it reduces your body’s ability to deposit fat and increases the use of stored fat for energy as well as converting more fat to lean muscle tissue.
The recommended amount of CLA is 1,000 mg. three times per day, before each meal. This supplement is more useful after you start leveling off your food intake in the maintenance phase of your weight loss journey, as opposed to the beginning stages of weight loss.
L-Carnitine
This amino acid is known to be “fat-burning”. The recommended amount of L-Carnitine is 250-500 mg. per day for weight loss purposes.
Metabolism-boosting herbs and spices
Some “everyday” herbs and spices have been shown to boost your fat metabolism. These include: gingerroot, dandelion root, milk thistle, turmeric, and oregon grape root.
Ones to avoid due to potential harm to your liver or other bad side effects include: ephedra (ma huang), kola nut, guarana, mate, white willow bark, chapparal, comfrey, germander, pennyroyal, gentian, senna, skull cap, valerian.
Be wise.
Remember that all these things are listed as supplements. Please do not substitute healthy eating and exercise habits for the taking of these supplements. These are meant to supplement or augment your healthy eating and exercise.
The majority of the content for this article was gleaned from “The Fat Flush Plan” by Ann Louise Gittleman. This author is one of the nutritionists that I trust and this book is highly recommended.