Festive spices are a veritable treat for your senses and, what’s more, these culinary heroes enhance your health and trim your waistline in unexpected ways.
FIND YOURSELF craving another slice of Christmas log or panettone? Needn’t mean you lack willpower – it could be down to a variety of physical and emotional reasons, or be caused by an imbalance in your appetite-regulating hormone, leptin.
A diet rich in sugar or refined carbs can lead to leptin resistance, according to University of California professor Robert Lustig. Leptin resistance is where your brain doesn’t recognise you’re full, and makes you crave high-fat, high-sugar foods for instant energ y. Fortunately, balancing your blood sugar helps reduce these cravings, which is where spices such as cinnamon can help.
Dr Neal Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, has led numerous research studies investigating the effects of diet on health and body weight. ‘Eating a whole-food diet packed with a variety of different spices – as well as other plant-based produce – can be a more powerful prescription for lowering blood sugar than even the leading diabetes drugs,’ he says.
For all of us, maintaining stable blood sugar levels is important, especially if you want to keep trim over Christmas, with all its tempting array of dishes.
When you eat carbohydrates, your body converts them into glucose, the fuel that powers your cells and sends the surplus to your liver and muscles (as glycogen). The problem is, as they can only store a limited amount, the rest is converted to fat. Quite simply, the more sweet and simple carbs you eat – think biscuits, cakes, white bread – the more likely they are to be stored as fat.
However, many spices – particularly cinnamon – can help prevent a spike in blood sugar after a carb-heav y meal. Eating up to two teaspoons of cinnamon per day is enough to affect a drop in blood glucose levels, according to research. Plus, other studies have also said that the spice decreases levels of fasting glucose – meaning the level it ’s at when you wake up in the morning – so you don’t wake feeling groggy. ‘Cinnamon’s ability to lower blood glucose may be because of compounds in the spice called polyphenol polymers, which are antioxidants that act similarly to insulin,’ says Dr Barnard. Cinnamon is also great for helping reduce carb cravings in the first place.
CINNAMON YOGHURT BARK
If you want to make a sweet treat that’s less carb-heavy than most, mix together ½ tsp cinnamon and 500g full-fat Greek yoghurt (full fat keeps you sated for longer), add 2 tbsp maple syrup (optional) and 2 tbsp vanilla extract. Stir in 200g fresh or frozen berries, such as blackcurrants or blackberries (berries contain less sugar than
