What Turmeric And Ginger Can Do For Your Weight When Taken Together

There’s no one spice that can keep you trim. However, turmeric and ginger have been used to promote weight management, in addition to other health benefits. (Read what turmeric and ginger can do for your heart when taken together.) Therefore, if you’re one of the approximately 40% of adults in the United States who struggle with obesity, you might want to add turmeric and ginger into your healthy eating plans.

Turmeric contains a chemical called curcumin, which has been the focus of weight-related interest. A 2022 review from the International Journal of Molecular Sciences investigated curcumin’s role as a weight regulation agent in studies of overweight animal and human subjects. The reviewers found evidence to support curcumin’s use to increase one’s caloric burn, solidifying it as a diet hack to boost metabolism. Additionally, curcumin ingestion appeared to interfere with fat cell development. A 2019 review in Frontiers in Pharmacology noted that across 18 studies, curcumin intake was associated with reduced weight (likely due to the aforementioned inhibition of fat cell maturity) and lower BMI.

Ginger may also encourage weight loss by promoting longer-lasting fullness. In a 2013 study in Metabolism, subjects reported higher levels of satiety after taking ginger. A 2024 review in Nutrition Reviews indicated that 2 grams of daily ginger taken for at least eight weeks could measurably decrease weight and the composition of body fat, although the authors suggested more trials were warranted.

So, what happens when you purposefully combine these spices in a golden milk, a tea, a mocktail, or another recipe? When ginger and turmeric are taken in tandem, their advantages can complement each other. After all, turmeric’s high levels of curcumin have shown promise in increasing the body’s metabolic processes while stunting the growth of fat cells. Along with ginger’s hunger-quelling potential, they may well be considered the “dynamic duo” your waistline deserves.

Interestingly, the weight-control ability of ginger and turmeric may be enhanced further if you partner them with other compounds. For example, capsaicin may bring about an additional increase in calorie use when combined with ginger and turmeric. A 2023 review in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine examined the thermogenic potential of ginger, turmeric, and red pepper (which contains capsaicin). The results showed that the addition of red pepper to ginger and turmeric encouraged an uptick in energy usage as well as satiety.

The compound piperine (found in black pepper) could be another weight loss aid that’s worth adding to your regular turmeric-ginger regimen. When taken together, piperine and curcumin helped obese mice lose weight faster than their counterparts who weren’t fed the substances, according to a 2018 study in Nutrition and Metabolism.

With that said, it can be tough to know exactly how much turmeric and ginger to take. There’s not an exact dosage recommendation for either spice if you’re looking for weight loss. Nonetheless, that doesn’t mean that you should just keep upping your intake without flirting with unwanted symptoms. When you take higher daily doses of turmeric (above 8 milligrams, for up to 2 months) or ginger (more than 5 milligrams), you may be at greater risk of gastrointestinal discomfort. And if you take blood coagulants, you may want to consult a medical professional first; turmeric can interfere with blood clotting medications, and ginger can cause bleeding.

Of course, one way to moderate your consumption of spices is to eat them in food form. (Read about certain supplements and medications you shouldn’t be taking together.) As explained by nutritionist and dietitian Mary-Eve Brown (via Johns Hopkins Medicine), “It’s better to get curcumin and most other nutrients in whole food form rather than to take turmeric pills, tinctures, capsules or gummies.”