While we
all need to intake vitamins and minerals every day to remain healthy, weight
loss can be helped along by ensuring we have adequate intake of a few
particular nutrients. This is especially important considering in the past 20
years, modern farming practices have consistently produced food that, while
plentiful and attractive to the eye, have 80% less nutritional value than they
did a generation or two ago.
Chromium
Chromium is
mineral that stabilizes blood sugar levels, decreasing the likelihood of sudden
waves of hunger, mood swings, and binging. In the long term, it works to
prevent diabetes and heart disease because of its leveling effect. You can take
chromium as a supplement but it is always best to obtain it through foods such
as corn, sweet potatoes, apples, eggs, tomatoes, and broccoli.
Magnesium
Surprisingly
little emphasis is placed by the media on the role the mineral magnesium plays
in weight loss. Magnesium plays critical parts in food digestion, insulin
regulation (insulin determines whether energy is used or stored as fat), and
controlling the body’s chemical reactions to stress, which causes weight gain.
Food sources of magnesium include rice, wheat, and oat bran, pumpkin seeds, spinach,
flax, sesame seeds, Brazil nuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, molasses and edamame
(dry roasted soybeans).
Zinc
Here is
another key player in the weight loss game: the mineral zinc helps control
metabolism and lean muscle mass as well as the immune system, so this is one
mineral to pay attention to. Quick tip: you can tell if you are zinc deficient
by looking at your finger nails. If there are white spots, then that is a
usually reliable indicator that you are lacking zinc in your diet. You can always
take zinc in a supplemental form, but getting it from food sources is a much
better route to take. Zinc can be found in oysters, toasted wheat germ, roasted
pumpkin seeds, low fat roast beef, peanuts, crab, and lamb.
Vitamin D
Once just
thought of as being useful for strong bones, Vitamin D is becoming a major
force in the nutritional world, including the weight loss arena. Adequate
amounts of this vitamin help transition the body metabolism from fat storing to
fat burning and has the additional benefit of burning belly fat first. Vitamin
D is made by exposing the skin to sunlight each day. While this is not always
possible, you can take an oral supplement Vitamin D to ensure your body is
maintaining proper levels.