Sauces and salad dressings can add flavor to your food, but many are loaded with fat and add a ton of hidden calories. You should avoid sauces and salad dressing that are oil-based and instead look for those that have vinegar as their main ingredient (i.e., most fat-free salad dressings). Vinegar has almost zero calories, adds a lot of flavor to food, and has many health benefits, such as improved digestion.

One of the biggest problems with the American diet is that the food is extremely bland and contains very few spices compared to the cuisines of the rest of the world. Herbs, spices, and sauces not only make your food tastier and more satisfying but also can have many health and fat-burning benefits. Some population of the leanest people in he world are found in countries where the local native cuisine has the highest spice content. If you eat traditional hot and spicy Indian or Asian food, chances are you will eat less, thus consuming fewer calories than you would from eating bland meat-and-potato combinations typical of American cuisine.

Certain spices, especially those in the cayenne chili pepper family, create a warmer feeling that burns your taste buds, quickly stimulating your gastric. Juices for better absorption and digestion. Your appetite will be quenched faster, and you will actually have to eat less to feel full and satisfied. Integrating hot species into your meals is a tasty way to reduce your caloric intake.

Certain spices even guard against the fattening effects of many foods. Garcinia cambrogia is a sour fruit native to India that gives food flavor and also blocks fat production. The ginger family of spices helps to stimulate digestion and the absorption of key minerals, which in turn helps you lose weight. Cinnamon and turmeric, among other curry powders, not only are very tasty but also have important effects on decreasing levels of insulin-the major fat-storage hormone. These spices stimulate and sensitize your cell membranes, reducing the amount of insulin they need to process sugar.

Salt adds a lot of flavor to food and is a good source of sodium (an essential mineral for our bodies), but unfortunately most American get too much salt in their diets from processed and canned foods. Excess can lead to high blood pressure and water retention. Fortunately, there are good salt alternative available at most grocery stores that taste almost the same as traditional sodium-based salts. Look for salt-substitute product that contain potassium chloride, which will provide your body with potassium chloride, which will provide your body with potassium, the essential electrolyte mineral. Most American potassium in their diets, and potassium can actually prevent the bloating created by water retention.