Nutmeg is more than just a tasty spice.

Nutmeg, whole nuts and powder

Our modern busy lifestyles are often lead to unhealthy food habits.  As a person who has tried one diet or another over the years, I, like you, am always looking for another leg up in my path to healthy.   Most weight loss programs are way too expensive for most of us.  If we could find a way o help you without medication or therapy, we could provide help to more dieters at a fraction of the cost.  An affordable diet plan should be a safe alternative to expansive medications and surgical procedures, but supplements are not the answer.  

We should be encouraging people to not skipping meals and to fill our meals with great tasting whole and wholesome foods are full of natural spices.  We should limit the intake of sugars and other processed carbohydrates such as white bread.  The benefits of a less processed diet with lean meats and proteins is that they lead to feeling full longer, burning fat, increasing energy as well as boosting your metabolism.  One such spice that might help is nutmeg. 

Nutmeg is from an evergreen indigenous, Myristica fragrans, to Indonesia.  The spice contains various biologically active compounds.  This sweet and savory spice is essential to many seasonal foods to include eggnog.  It is great added to milk and many other recipes but especially Indian and Middle Eastern.  Nutmeg has been suggested being used as a nutriceutical for pain, depression, weight loss, and much more, but the research is very limited.  

A new study looked at nutmeg and weight loss[1].  As a part to look for another potential therapeutic agent to combat metabolic syndromes that results in Diabetes type 2 and obesity.  The study looked at adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment.  The study found that the total extract of Myristica fragrans or nutmeg activated the AMPK enzyme reduced weight gain in animals.   There is no reason to believe that this result would also occur in humans.  

The bottom line: These results suggest that nutmeg may assist in treating obesity and possibly type-2 diabetes but may also be beneficial for other metabolic disorders.  It is not going to lead a magical weight loss without the addition of a healthy diet and exercise.  I recommend adding it to your diet.   Grated nutmeg can help your food’s flavor and assist with weight loss.  I would like to see more research.