Perth Naturopathic Nutrition Expert Perth Western Australia | Women`s Health | Weight Loss | Detox Programs | Counselling

It would be wonderful if there was an easy answer to reducing body fat and maintaining a healthy weight and we are always being asked if there is a supplement that really does help with weight loss. There are many on the market being touted as the cure-all for managing weight. Some work by absorbing fat in your digestive system preventing it being broken down and metabolised by your body. This type of supplement may cause digestive upset. However, the biggest problem is that it may lead to deficiency of fat soluble vitamins such as E and D. Vitamin E is an important anti-oxidant and vitamin D is essential for healthy bones. We outline here a couple of herbs and a nutrient that really do help with managing your weight and improving fat burning.

Coleus forskolii is a herb that we have been using quite a bit lately because it has some impressive scientific studies to back the claims. Coleus helps with body fat reduction while preserving body muscle. This is a great benefit because many people tend to lose body muscle as well as fat. When you lose body muscle your metabolism reduces resulting in your body using less kilojoules. This of course makes reducing your weight even harder. That's why we always emphasise doing resistance exercise during a weight loss program to maintain / strengthen your muscle to boost your metabolism.

The mineral chromium and the herb gymnema are very useful to include in your weight loss program. They both assist with blood glucose management and for people with insulin resistance (you are prone to this if you have excess body fat around your waist) can be a great help with weight management. Usually chromium and gymnema are combined with other nutrients that support healthy blood glucose levels and by helping to reduce excess insulin levels. 

To explain how this works, people who tend to put on body fat more easily than others could be producing more insulin than they need. If there is excess insulin, the body tends to convert glucose more easily into fat for storage. If you do put on body fat easily, cut your carbs down considerably and do daily exercise and you'll make a difference. We can help by giving you a lower carbohydrate eating program that works. And, we may suggest a detox program as a kick start should your body need one.