5 Natural Ingredients That Can Help Improve Your Overall Health

Almost everyone, at some point in their lives, decides to try and lose a little weight—whether it’s because you want to improve your health or you think it will help you look better in a certain dress. However, losing weight is not easy for everyone, and everyone loses at different rates. Some people are just meant to be the size they are. Two friends may start a diet at the same time, only to have one reach their goal a few months later while the other is still working on losing their first 20 pounds. But there is one universal truth in weight loss, and that is that the better the quality of your diet, the more you will lose in a healthier way, or at least, the better you will feel while doing it. And that’s the key to a happy life, isn’t it? Being healthy and feeling good! While many diet plans include packaged, high-salt foods, it’s better to replace these shortcuts with honestly real ingredients—and choosing to substitute, add, or season with any of the following five ingredients will go a long way to helping you reach your goals without a high volume of salt that could harm your heart.

1) Green Tea

Green tea is well known as one of the world’s most healthy drinks. Many people in recent years have even switched from drinking coffee to drinking green tea in a bid to improve their health. But many people don’t understand how the drink even works. Within the leaves of the actual plant, there are many different antioxidants and supplements, all of which make it into the tea when you brew the leaves. The best known of these is caffeine, which not only makes it a suitable substitute for your daily coffee, but also boosts your metabolism. It also contains, among the many, a certain type of antioxidants called Catechins, the most important of which is EGCG. This directly boosts your metabolism and when mixed with the caffeine, it can really give you a lift. However, people get bored easily. It can be hard to drink the same drink every day, just as it can be hard to eat the same food every day. The good news is, green tea can be incorporated in a few different ways—in smoothies, in sauces, there’s even green tea ice cream, cookies, and cake out there if you’re really looking for something different. However, if you want the best health benefit without having to drink the actual tea, taking a good quality supplement is the best way to go, especially if you want to lose weight. Supplements come with no or few calories—cookies and cake pack a calorie punch. It’s also worth mentioning that as great as green tea is, the only way to really ensure you’re reaping the best benefit is to keep exercising while you’re taking the tea.

2) Forskolin

Forskolin is a well-known weight loss supplement, promoted by Dr. Oz himself. But before it was famous, Forskolin was a seemingly unassuming tropical plant in the mint family, grown in India. It was recognized for its medicinal properties early on, and was originally used in Ayurvedic medicine to treat conditions like Asthma and heart problems. In modern times, it has been proven to help with weight loss and overall health improvement. When taken as a supplement, forskolin helps your body break down fat cells while preserving as much energy as possible. It can also help your heart work harder with less risk, which will allow you to burn calories faster and more often. However, if you’re going to take it, you should be aware that because of the plant’s popularity, some companies are now producing a synthetic version of the supplement. It’s not as effective, and will not help you lose weight as effectively. In some cases, it can have a dangerous effect, so only buy it from a trusted source and if you have any side effects, stop taking it immediately and go see a doctor. Take the bottle of supplement with you so they can see it.

3) Green Coffee Bean Extract

Green coffee beans are simply coffee beans in their natural state, before they’re roasted to brew. “Regular,” roasted coffee beans also contain the same compounds that make green coffee beans so great for weight loss, but they are broken down from the cooking and aren’t nearly as effective. The main compound responsible for their weight loss effect is called Chlorogenic Acid, which can actually cause your body to not absorb the fat you eat and begin to reject existing fat in your body, passing it out as waste instead of holding onto it. This is more than just burning fat, or cutting calories. The more Chlorogenic Acid you have in your system, the less fat your body will hold onto. For this reason, taking too much can be a dangerous thing—your body needs the ability to use some fat in order to create energy and work. Therefore, if you’re going to take a green coffee bean extract, go for a balanced, high-quality supplement, and do not take more than the recommended dose. It may be a good idea, if you are on other medication, to take the supplement to your doctor to make sure it’s alright for you.

4) Raspberry Ketone

Raspberry Ketones have gained notoriety in recent years as a fantastic weight loss supplement, with some people even equating them to a miracle. But the truth of the matter is, the process is completely scientific. Ketones are what give raspberries their ruby red color and their sour-sweet taste and aroma. Ketones work in the body, interacting with cells to release a fat burning hormone called Adiponectin. This can, with sustained treatment, actually change your body composition and help keep your metabolism running even when you’re having an off day. Ketones also help regulate blood sugar levels, preventing mood swing and, along with this, emotional eating.

5) Caralluma Fimbriata

Caralluma is actually a really interesting case. It’s a type of cactus, grown wild in India, and is often used as a border in gardens. It can also, however, be found in the wilds of Africa, Saudi Arabia, The Canary Island, Afghanistan, and even in southern Europe. The plant itself actually contains compounds that prevent people from being hungry—traditionally, it was used during times of famine or while people were out hunting to keep hunger pains away. It was also used as a vegetable. These days, people remembered its effect, and have begun to process it to create an extract to help people who need to lose weight do so more comfortably by decreasing their appetite. It’s a very natural part of any supplement, and also helps you stay hydrated and can, when taken over a long period of time, help increase your endurance for running or exercise because of its hydrating abilities.