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There are herbal medicines that can help you to lose weight, but finding the right one can take quite a bit of time. You first would have to figure out your exact symptoms and find out which of these herbs would suit you. The best part about herbal medicines is that they are all natural products and taking them in moderation can cause almost no side effects. Those side effects are apparent in other over the counter medications.

The first type of herbal medicine you need to take to reduce your weight is a medicine that will suppress your appetite and therefore make you cut down on the calories you consume. Medicines like Ephedra (this had been banned earlier, but is not now) and a cactus based derivative called hoodia gordonii, come into play here. This second medicine is a Kalahari Desert product, and is difficult to produce and may therefore be quite expensive.

Once you have found the medicine to suppress your appetite, you need to look for some herbal medicines that will boost your metabolism. Now that you are consuming fewer calories because of the appetite suppressant, you need to see that your body now absorbs the limited calories that you consume more efficiently. This will definitely reduce your weight.

These herbal medicines are heat creating or thermogenic medicines and are easily available in spices like cinnamon, ginger, pepper and cayenne. Use them in your cooking. They use a lot of these spices in Indian cooking. There are teas available that combine all these spices and can be used to flavor your dishes. These spices do increase appetite and you need to guard against any propensity to increase your calorie intake. Caffeine and green tea can also act as natural medicines to increase your metabolic rate.

Make sure that you do not suffer from an underactive thyroid which can slow metabolism. This can easily be offset by iodine rich kelp. Constipation and an inadequate digestion can also slow weight loss. So use herbs like basil, fennel or anise to improve your digestion. There are also lesser known herbs like cascara, buckthorn and senna. Dandelion can also be used as a useful herbal laxative to correct digestion. You can also use diuretics to control your weight. The herbal medicines for this are Buchu or Uva ursi (bearberry). Tranquilizers like kava or valerian will help reduce your stress and thus your need to overeat.

Exercise is a must if you want to lose weight and if you do not feel energetic enough to do this, use gingko, ginseng or caffeine. Peppermint tea is another alternative to help you get that energy needed for exercise.

Fortunately most of these herbal aids are available in tablet and pill form making it almost too easy to take the herbal medicines that can help you to lose weight. It is, however, vital that you have a healthy lifestyle that includes good eating habits, and enough of exercise. And definitely keep away from food that can cause you to gain weight.