Best Superfoods for Weight Loss

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Tarragon
You can use this herb, a staple in French cooking, in place of salt in marinades and salad dressings. Plus, Tarragon lends a sweet, licorice like flavor to bland foods.

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Rub 2 tbsp dried Tarragon on salt with chicken before baking or grilling. Or make a tasty dip by mixing 1 tsp chopped fresh Tarragon into 4 oz low fat plain yogurt and 1 tsp Dijon mustard, recommends Jacquelyn Buchanan, director of culinary development at Laura Chenel’s Chèvre, a fromagerie in Sonoma, California.

You can use this herb, a staple in French cooking, in place of salt in marinades and salad dressings. Plus, tarragon lends a sweet, licoricelike flavor to bland foods.

Parmesan
Drop that rubbery low fat cheese and pick up the real stuff. Women who had one serving of whole milk or cheese daily were less likely to gain weight over time, a study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition finds.

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Grate Parmesan over roasted vegetables. Or snack on a 1 ounce portion with an apple or a pear.

Avocado
Do not let the fat content of an avocado (29 grams) scare you - that is what makes it a top weight loss food. The heart-healthy monounsaturated fat it contains increases satiety. And it is terrific summer party food.

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Add avocado to your sandwich instead of mayo for a creamy texture and a shot of flavor. Avocados do contain a lot of calories, so it is best to watch your portions. One easy way to do it: Try Wholly Guacamole’s 100 calorie fresh guacamole packs ($3; grocery stores or WhollyGuac.com). They are easy to pack in your lunch and pair with chopped vegetables.

Grapefruit

Maybe there was something to the old grapefruit diet after all: A study found that grapefruit may help encourage weight loss and reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Study participants who ate a grapefruit at each meal for 12 weeks lost an average of 3.6 pounds (some in the group lost as much as 10 pounds), while a comparison group that didn’t eat grapefruit lost 1/2 pound, according to a recent pilot study by Scripps Clinic in San Diego. The researchers noticed that after the meals, the grapefruit eaters also had reduced levels of insulin and blood sugar.

The American Institute for Cancer Research notes that “there’s no scientific evidence to support that grapefruit enzymes burn away fat.” And according to the American Dietetic Association, “if you lose weight when you add grapefruit to your eating plan, it’s probably because you’re substituting it for another food that has more calories.”

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with that. One pink/red grapefruit takes a bit of time and effort to eat, and it adds 3.5 grams of fiber with only 74 calories. Keep in mind that grapefruit can interfere with the effectiveness of some medications, so check with your pharmacist if you’re taking medication.

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References
20 Superfoods for Weight Loss - By Camille Noe Pagán
10 Superfoods to a Slimmer You - FitWatch Inc.
9 foods that can help keep the extra weight away - By Elaine Magee, MPH, RD

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