The urge to step on a weight loss journey has become a fad of late. And with the entry of the coronavirus in 2020, we as humans have become more attracted towards losing those extra pounds that we carry as unhealthy weight. It is very true, the more unhealthy weight we have on our body the more prone or exposed we are to coronavirus. But life must go on and we need to find a way to lose our excess weight most naturally. Staying healthy and staying in shape will ensure that our immunity levels in the body are high. In order to achieve this, we need to ensure that we are working every single muscle and bone in our body and are ensuring that they stay in good health, shape and are working fine.
So once you’ve set your mind on losing weight, what is the next step to take after this? The second step would certainly be to understand how are you going to lose weight. In the present world, there are millions of ways through which one can lose weight— it can happen through diet, it can happen through following an exercise regime consistently, it can also happen through undergoing fat loss surgery, and it can also happen through taking supplements. all of these ways have their pros and cons, it completely depends on us to zero down on one method or a combination of methods that will suit our body type the best to achieve weight loss.
On a majority level, it is the natural way of losing weight that people opt for the most. And when we say natural ways, it includes following a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and including superfoods that help in weight loss. And it all boils down to leading a healthy lifestyle.
The world of natural supplements has seen a humongous growth, especially during these pandemic times. Every other company is on the lookout to manufacture supplements that are or that will promote weight loss and immunity at a much faster pace. This makes it very important for us as consumers to ensure that we do our bit of research on the company as well as the ingredients used in the supplements before we purchase and start using them in our life. The latest entry into this natural ingredient supplement category is Inulin! Have you ever heard of this ingredient before? If you haven’t, then here’s a quick guide for you to understand what exactly is Inulin and what are the benefits you could derive from it in terms of weight loss.
What Is Inulin?
Inulin is a unique source of dietary fiber. It is a soluble fiber. People also say that this fiber is fermentable and is usually found in the roots of several foods such as onions, garlic, whole wheat, and even artichokes—all of these are very commonly extracted from the chicory root of the plants and then added to foods as supplements. Now we all know that dietary fibers come with so many unique benefits that boast great advantages to our overall health. They help promote the gut health of a person, increase the feelings of being full, promote weight loss in the body, improve the overall health of the heart thereby reducing the levels of cholesterol naturally.
Coming to the more scientific definition of the function of inulin in our body, it is one of the different types of oligosaccharides called fructan. Now, if you ask what is a fructan here—well, it is nothing but an attached chain of sugar or fructose molecules that have been strung together. Inulin nature is fermented because of a bacterial reaction on it, it is normalized by a colon and therefore inulin is also considered to be prebiotic. Now, we all know that prebiotics not just aid weight loss but also helps in improving gastrointestinal health which potentially helps in increasing the absorption of calcium in our bodies.
Inulin And Weight Loss
When it comes to weight loss, health experts and doctors always advise that following a healthy lifestyle is the easiest way to achieve this result—this includes eating clean, staying active, and performing exercises regularly. We all know how important it is to eat greens that are packed with fiber. Why is fiber such an essential part of the diet when it comes to weight loss? This is because fiber is the only part of the carbohydrate that contains zero calories and is also indigestible. It assists in slowing down the speed at which food begins to empty from our stomach. And inulin dear friends is one of those types of fibers that help in controlling your appetite by making you feel full for a longer period of time. Now, if you are wondering what is it that Inulin contains that helps us feel so full all the time… we think that it may be because of the presence of fatty acids of the short-chain present in it. This decreases the appetite by suppressing hormones such as glucagon.
Several types of research have been carried out already to show that taking inulin supplements has helped people reduce their appetites and the complete overall calorie intake amongst children suffering from obesity or overweight.
Several studies that were conducted on whether or not inulin helps in weight loss, the results obtained have certainly been that of a mixed nature, however, it is confirmed that inulin does help one feel full for a longer period of time thereby helping in the process of one losing weight. It’s an inherent impact here. This helps in avoiding storing up of unnecessary fat storage and also ensures that your bodily nutrient intake is apt and not more than what is required.
The Different Plant Sources Of Inulin
While supplements could be an easy method of consuming inulin, here are a few natural sources of inulin that we can include in our diet or look up to:
- The chicory root contains 16 to 20 g of inulin
- The Jerusalem artichoke contains 35.7 to 45.6 g of inulin
- The garlic contains 9 to 16 g of inulin
- The raw asparagus contains 2 to 3 g of inulin
- The raw onion pulp contains 1.1 to 7.5 g of inulin
- The wheat contains 1 to 3.8 g of inulin
- The raw barley contains 0.5 to 1 g of inulin
How To Consume Inulin In The Best Way
Let’s admit it, Inulin is certainly not something you would want to add to your dinner plate, isn’t it? Thank God! We have inulin supplements coming to our rescue. Most of these supplements use inulin that is derived from the chicory root or the dandelion root. Now, how do you consume it? Just add a heap of the supplement into your coffee, juice, or smoothie. Just be sure that you are consuming inulin with healthy fats—this is because the healthy fats will acts as a shield for the inulin supplement by ensuring that it doesn’t reach the gut of your body! This will help is smoother absorption of the inulin in the body, it will ensure that your energy levels are very efficient, and it will ultimately help you attain weight loss.
Some Other Benefits Of Inulin Supplement
Here’s a low down of the other amazing benefits of inulin:
- It regulates the levels of your blood sugar levels. Inulin not just blocks the fats from coming in but it also blocks the glucose too from entering the digestive system. It basically slows down the entire digestive system. This is why breaking down the soluble fiber triggers less spike in one’s glucose levels.
- It helps in promoting healthy gut health. Because of the number of fatty foods, refined sugars, and synthetic ingredients that we gulp into our entire system is clogged. Inulin is that one-of-a-kind food that helps get the probiotics in our system become stronger and fight off the harmful bacteria.
Everybody’s weight loss journey is a very personal one. It is always best advised to consult a weight loss specialist, a nutritionist, or a dietician to figure as to what is the best way for you to opt out to lose those extra kilos. Healthy choices need to be made to have a healthy and wealthy body.
