Sugar, spice and everything nice; that's what cold winter days are made of...right? Well, we should at least pay attention to the spice part when the temperature isn't so nice.
"This time of year, especially around the holidays, a lot of spices that we use in our dishes, desserts and even some drinks, like cinnamon, pepper, ginger, gingerbread houses, gingerbread cookies, anything like that; they're very pro pro heat," says Dr. Rory Ratzlaff of Sanford Health.
Mustard, horseradish, turmeric, cayenne pepper and garlic are all things that will also help work to warm you up thanks to their thermogenic properties. Could that be why some of us indulge in an extra gingerbread cookie or two in these chilly temperatures?
"That's why we put on weight during the wintertime. It's a good insulator, but its also helps us burn, burn fat," Dr. Ratzlaff says.
So feel free to be a little heavier handed on the spices this season, at least the thermogenic ones.
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Fatty fish, green tea, nuts, kale and spinach are also all foods that have thermogenic properties.
