Being overweight or obese is a major problem that American public faces today. Almost thirty three percent of the population is overweight and 3o individuals per hundred are overweight.
Being obese is nothing but extra accumulation of fat on the body which is more than 20-30% than the average of the population.

Other than looking bad, being over weight and fat can have grave consequences in terms of health as many conditions like hypertension, diabetes, renal problems, enlarged prostate, infertility, fibroids, miscarriages, gallbladder stones, heart diseases, stroke and cancer have a single modifiable risk factor and that is obesity, added weight can be detrimental for your bones too, and people who are overweight invariably will suffer from osteoarthritis.

No two individuals are the same and neither are their metabolic processes and how fast they burn the calories that they consume are also very unique and is under the effect of many things like the genetic makeup for one. Gaining weight is easy and even the snacks you might consider harmless may add a few pounds. Consider this if you take 100 calories each day over a period of a month you will gain half a kg of weight (one lb of bodies fatty tissue is equal to 3,500 calories). Some doctors believe the reason for gaining weight is more due to the sedentary lifestyle that one follows rather than getting more calories than you need. Exercise burns the fat and extra calories you consume and turns it into muscle mass, the greater the muscle mass more is the amount of calories burnt by you.

Various herbal medications may work well if you don’t wish to go on drastic diets, they work by enhancing your metabolic rates and suppressing your hunger. But one should be careful of any side effects that they may produce hence always consult your physician before starting to take any.

• Aloe Vera helps clean digestive tract and improves the digestive process.

• Astralgus, improves absorption of nutrients hence giving you more energy

• Bee pollen, controls your appetite for sweets and improves metabolic processes

• Bladderwrack, enhances thyroid function

• Brewer’s yeast, suppresses your hunger

• Cayenne, suppresses hunger that one has following a meal and improves metabolism to burn more calories
• Chitosan, depresses fat absorption in the digestive tract

• Chromium, assists the body utilize fat for activity and helps builds up muscle mass

• Dandelion, cleans the kidneys, boosts bodies metabolic process , and depresses the cravings one might have for something sweet

• Ephedra/ ma huang, depresses appetite

• Fennel, decreses appetite and cleans the digestive tract of any mucus or fat
• Garcinia cambogia, is a good suppressor of hunger pangs

• Green tea is a good stimulant and helps alter metabolism of body help in the process of burning fat.

• Guaraná, is a good diuretic and controls appetite

• Guggul,for lowering weight and cholesterol

• Kelp helps to boost the metabolism

• Licorice, quells the hunger for sweets and lowers blood glucose levels

• Malabar tamarind, prevents the conversion of extra calories to fat and suppresses hunger

• Siberian ginseng, the hunger for sweets and lowers blood glucose levels

• Yohimbine hastens the bodies metabolic processes, there by promoting more fat loss and suppresses hunger as well.

These herbal medications are an accompaniment to diet and not diet in themselves; healthy lifestyles and exercise hold the key to staying fit.