Herbs for weight loss???

[Ouchydd]

What herbs might help with appetite control or weight loss?

[margypops]

I took 5HTP a year or two back and not only did I loose some weight I felt better, there is much written about it, google for more information. good luck.

[laura1967]

I agree that 5HTP does work well for a lot of people.

[Paxiled]

Theoretically, there are a lot of natural remedies for weight loss, though I have my doubts as to effectiveness.  The only true weight loss program is to eat what you digest well (which is beyond the mere cutting of calories), don't eat what you don't, and exercise more.  However, there are categories of weight loss aids:

Heat:  hot herbs increase metabolism some, and also help everything move through thre system more efficiently.  Some, like cinnamon, also help with blood sugar.  These include ginger, cayenne, cinnamon, and other hot herbs.

Speed:  Speed definitely cuts appetite, though it's unhealthy and the effect goes away as soon as you stop taking it.  Natural speed includes ephedra, a substitute for ephedra that sounds a lot like it but I can't remember what it is at the moment, and caffeine, which would include herbs such as green tea, coffee, kola nut, and others.  And then there's coca tea, which is legal in South America and sometimes available in Latin botanica shops, but illegal in the US. Phenalalynine, an amino acid, produces more adrenaline by increasing norepinephrine.

Energy:  Some herbs increase energy, allowing for the theoretical help in increasing calorie burning.  These are mainly the adaptogens, such as ginseng, maca, rhodiola, and such.  Like speed, they can cause anxiety for some people.

Blood sugar:  Some herbs help with blood sugar, which slows down the conversion of carbs to glucose.  Some are garcinia camboga, mimordica, holy basil, gymneste sylvestre but there are many in different cultures.  There are also minerals such as chromium that are part of the natural process of sugar metabolism.

Mood:  Assuming you eat because you're nervous or depressed, 5htp can help.  So can St. John's Wort and all the other large number of herbs and amino acids that help with anxiety and depression.  This includes a large number of remedies, including taurine, glycine, passionflower, hops, DLPA, depending on what you suffer from.

Diuretics:  These are useless as they just remove water, which is then replaced when you drink another glass, but many remedies include them.  Thus you'll often see herbs such as dandelion leaf, parsley, and such in weight loss remedies.  

Now, do I recommend any of this?  Not really.  But it can work.  I still recommend good old eat less, exercise more, or more accurately, eat better, exercise more.  And do it slowly; any quick weight loss will probably come right back.  And eating better at its simplest means avoiding simple carbs, such as white flour and potatoes, and all simple sugars, and replacing it with green leafy vegetables, protein, and the like.

[Paxiled]

Forgot CLA, an essential fatty acid derived from sunflower seeds.  Some studies show this helps with fat metabolism.  Not trying to be encyclopedic here, but somebody has to say something.