Researchers from the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands showed that the curry spice and herbal teas - especially black and green tea - help fighting against obesity and gaining weight.

First of all, natural spices, such as curry, curcumin, ginger, onion, garlic etc were found to help the eater feel full more quickly, hurrying up the satiety feeling within his body. Spices aid the general process of digestion and also prevent consumers from eating too large quantities of foods.

Spices - especially the ones used in the Indian cuisine - stimulate the body's metabolism and accelerate the process called thermogenesis. Thermogenesis process takes places when the fat from the body is naturally used to produce body heat. The same happens when we go to the gym or other forms of exercising.

Herbal teas were also found to help in the losing weight process, as they decrease food intake and promote satiety sensation to the neuronal cells.

The researchers tested the results of spices and herbal teas intake on rats and found that they really helped the animals lose weight. They have also been tested on humans and had the same beneficial effect, but it was rather difficult for the experts to say which of the spices and teas used in the study were more effective.


However, the medical team pointed out that teas and spices that help overweight people to lose weight are the ones "commonly used in Indian cuisine and shown to aid digestion and influence overall food intake."

Despite the positive effects herbal teas and spices have upon our health, the researchers warned that this is not all it takes to an individual to lose wait and cut fat layers in the body. Weight loss requires more, like being always careful what one eats and exercising.

To support this idea, the publishers of the Physiology and Behavior journal where the report appeared, advised: "Anyone thinking of fighting the flab with a diet of green tea and curry alone may be disappointed, so don't go canceling the gym membership just yet."