Everyone wants a more slim and toned figure when they look in the mirror every morning, but many are also afraid to look at the little numbers that appear on the scale every time they’re weighing themselves.
If you are anything like the millions of us struggling to lose weight, it’s probably because you either can’t control the urge to snack on those sugary and starchy foods we all love, or you don’t have enough energy to work out. The road to weight loss can feel like a long journey, but you don’t have to do it alone.
Fortunately, goji berries have proven to be successful in targetting these weight loss obstacles and can actually help you lose weight. Goji berries, a known adaptogen, have gained a lot of popularity in recent years, with a number of fitness gurus and dieticians alike claiming goji berries as the new “superfood” because of its weight loss capabilities.
Goji berries have also been proven beneficial in promoting lean muscles and improving your workout performance. Read more to learn just how goji berries accomplish this.
Goji Berries Can Suppress Your Appetite
Goji berries have an extremely low glycemic index score of 29, meaning it is less likely to cause a big spike in blood sugar and instead make you feel fuller, preventing you from overeating. Along with being low on the glycemic index, goji berries have other additional properties that control cravings and moderate your blood sugar level as well.
Goji berries are composed of 21% fiber and contain a good source of chromium, which is a mineral that helps regulate blood sugar. Chromium also helps preserve lean muscle mass during weight loss. Muscles tend to burn more calories than fat, regulating your metabolism and making it harder for you to gain weight.
Although goji berries don’t directly suppress your appetite, they indirectly do by keeping you full and preventing a ravenous appetite.
Goji Berries Convert Food into Energy Rather than Fat
Goji berries contain several nutrients like calcium and thiamin that help to convert food into energy, as opposed to storing it as fat.
- Calcium: Along with supporting healthy bones, calcium has been linked to lower body fat levels.
- Thiamin (B1): This vitamin is essential for converting carbs into energy to promote a healthy thyroid gland function (a sluggish thyroid gland contributes to weight gain).
Other essential minerals: An adequate amount of minerals are imperative for efficient protein metabolism. Along with chromium and calcium, goji berries contain iron, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, sodium and zinc.
Goji Berries Help Support Regular Exercise
In order to lose weight and permanently keep it off, consistent exercise is necessary. Goji berries help boost energy levels, which will give you the stamina you need to exercise so you can lose weight and keep it off.
According to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition indicated that goji berries may support weight-loss. In an experiment involving a group of overweight adults, the researchers observed that those who consumed goji berry juice every day for two weeks experienced a greater decrease in waist size without exercising (compared to participants given a placebo for the same time period).
Goji Berries Improve Your Workout Performance
A consistent amount of goji berry consumption can improve your workout performance. Goji berries are often classified as an adaptogen because of their ability to help the body adapt to stress while balancing and monitoring our bodily functions.
Goji berries enhance our ability to exercise in many ways including:
- Increasing endurance
- Improving the respiratory system
- Reducing stress caused by strenuous workouts
- Strengthening the heart
- Delaying feelings of fatigue during exercise
Goji Berries Help You Recover Faster from a Workout
Goji berries are responsible for strengthening glands like your adrenals, thymus, thyroid, and pituitary gland, which are responsible for muscle growth, repair and generating energy.
Goji berries also have the ability to eliminate toxins by supporting the liver and protecting it against damage caused by demanding workouts.
Try Adding Goji Berries to Your Daily Regimen
Goji berries have recently become popular due to their weight-loss capabilities, but in all actuality, they have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for more than 2,000 years. Rumor has it that the monks from the Himalayan Mountains used to consume goji berries to help with their meditation, reach their optimal health, attain vitality, stamina, and longevity.
If they can benefit from the use of goji berries, then so can you. Goji berries can be found online or sold at your nearest natural food market. They’re inexpensive and easy to use, however, before you decide to add goji berries into your daily diet, make sure you speak to your doctor to make sure goji berries are safe for you.
