Amla for Weight Loss: Does it Work?

There are many supposed weight loss solutions on the market (both synthetic and natural), all with varying degrees of success.

However, one potential weight loss solution is backed by strong scientific evidence and has a laundry list of incredible health benefits.

Amla, also known as Indian gooseberry, is a staple of Ayurvedic medicine. Amla fruit and amla juice have historically been prescribed to everything from weight loss to blood pressure to hair tonic, with one major difference from other folk cure-alls: amla actually works.

In this article, we’ll explore weight loss, one of the many benefits of amla, touching on its method of action, as well as some ways to integrate amla into your diet.

Table of Contents

How Amla May Help Weight Loss

Amla has multiple different mechanisms of action, many of which are still being researched. 

First, in terms of nutrition amla can be a big win, providing a low calorie (20 calories per serving) source of many key nutrients thanks to its incredible density of fiber, vitamin C, antioxidants, and other compounds. 

Specifically for weight-loss, amla primarily works within the digestive system, boosting metabolism and helping your body more efficiently process food, which leads to an overall lower blood glucose value, which is also valuable if you have diabetes. Remember to use a glucose control solution any time you get a drastically different or very unexpected result.

The results have been tangible, with multiple studies showing significant weight loss benefits of adding amla to your diet, including one investigation that found a major reduction of obesity and belly fat in individuals that added 40ml of amla juice to their diet daily.

Combined with amla’s other cardiovascular benefits, like its well-documented hypolipidemic (cholesterol-lowering) effect, amla shows exceptional promise for those looking to lose weight, potentially raise their metabolic rate, and improve their overall health.

What Research Shows About Amla and Weight Loss

Much of amla’s interaction with the human body is still being studied, but the results are quite promising. 

As mentioned above, Amla has been consistently shown to directly lower blood glucose and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol in controlled trials, with effects that rival commonly prescribed synthetic medications with no side effects.

As these are two potential causes of obesity, their lowering often correlates with weight loss. But the research for amla directly causing weight loss is a bit more limited, especially due to the interrelated lifestyle factors related to obesity.

In lab results, non-human trials showed a very clear reduction in obesity in rats, but the most significant connection to draw between these results and humans is that amla might do the same in humans.

Perhaps the most telling evidence was a 30-individual clinical trial in which subjects were prescribed to take 20ml of amla juice twice daily, and the results were very promising, showing a promising reduction in weight, belly circumference, and other biomarkers.

Beyond Weight Loss: Other Benefits of Amla

Amla has been called a “cure-all”, a “wonder berry”, and by many other impressive titles, but one thing about amla is that it may actually live up to its reputation. Increasing medical evidence has shown a wide array of benefits of amla, including:

• Lowering your blood pressure
• Boosting your immune system (by fighting free radicals and oxidative stress)
• Fighting inflammation and helping close wounds
• Protecting your liver, brain, heart and other organs from cell damage
• And preventing a wide array of diseases (with promising signs as an anticancer agent)

To learn more about the wide array of amla’s benefits, you can explore our comprehensive guide to amla.

How to Use Amla for Weight Loss

It’s worth noting that the benefits of amla are not exactly magical. Amla is best used in addition to three strategies: 

• A low-fat, plant-based, whole food diet
• Daily movement and exercise
• Intermittent fasting

Daily movement and changing your diet are common strategies, but that’s because they work. 

And when switching your diet, amla fits perfectly into a low-fat, plant-based, whole food diet, which is proven to provide long-term, sustainable weight loss with no negative effects on your insulin resistance and no need for portion control. Head to this article for four nutrient-packed, delicious salad recipes.

Tips for Adding Amla to Your Diet

Amla is a green-light food, which means that you can eat as much of it as you want whenever you want (although it’s important to be attentive to its blood glucose-lowering effects). 

However, for the best effects, taking a tablespoon of amla powder per day should be enough to start to see results, especially in tandem with diet and exercise. 

It doesn’t matter when you take the amla or how — as long as you get the amla in your daily diet, you can see its benefits. Head to this article for three simple recipes that you can make for yourself or bring to a party.

The 3 Ways to Try Amla

There are three main ways to add amla to your diet — amla fruit, amla juice, and amla powder.

Amla fruit can be relatively hard to find, and even trickier to integrate into your meals. Amla fruit by itself has a very tart and bitter taste, and not many people enjoy eating the raw fruit. 

Amla juice is a little easier to find, especially because it can be more easily mixed into drinks, teas, soups, and used in cooking. However, the disadvantage with amla juice is that it lacks some of the plant fibers and nutrients that make it so healthy. 

Amla powder is our recommended method for adding amla to your diet. Like amla juice, it can be easily mixed into many forms of cooking and retains all of its key fibers and nutrients. It’s also one of the easier ways to store amla.

3 Amla Powder Recipes to Try Amla For Yourself

Amla Green Pomegranate Mojito Mocktail

Getting a little fancier and more fun, this mocktail is especially tasty with Amla Green Hibiscus

Ingredients

• Pomegranate seeds
• Mint leaves
• 2 limes, quartered, plus slices to garnish
• 1 Quart pomegranate juice
• 2 Cups lemonade
• 3 tbsp Amla Green Hibiscus

Instructions

In a big pitcher, mix pomegranate juice, lemonade, lime juice, and Amla Green Hibiscus. Fill glasses with pomegranate seeds, ice, and pour juice over seeds, garnishing with mint.

Tropical Amla Green Smoothie

One of many, many options for Amla Green in a fruit smoothie. Experiment for yourself!

Ingredients

• 1 banana
• 1 cup of frozen mixed berries
• 1 cup of fresh papaya or mango
• 1 scoop of Amla Green (Regular or Decaf)
• 1/4-1/2 cup of water

Instructions

Blend ingredients on high for 30 seconds, then pour into a cup and drink!

Refreshing Amla Green Smoothie Bowl

Brunch, dessert, or afternoon snack. This refreshing smoothie bowl plays well any time of day

Ingredients

• 1 frozen banana (fresh banana also works)
• 1 cup of frozen blueberries or mixed berries
• 1 cup of frozen mango
• 1 scoop of Amla Green (Regular or Decaf)
• 1/4-1/2 cup of water

Instructions

Blend on high for 30-60 seconds, then pour into a bowl and top with 1 tbsp ground flax seeds, 1 sliced banana, or fresh berries.

For more ideas on how to add amla to a plant-based diet, you can explore our article on amla recipes and adding amla to your diet. And head to this article for four nutrient-packed, delicious salad recipes to pair with your amla green tea.

Taking Amla’s Weight Loss Effects Up a Notch

One of the main problems with drinking amla powder straight is its tart and bitter flavor. We’ve changed that with Amla Green, which blends a 20x concentrated amla powder with green tea. 

The result is a smooth, tasty drink with all of the benefits of amla and none of the drawbacks, but green tea brings added benefits for weight loss.

Thanks to its natural caffeine, you can help stay energized and active, with a moderate boost to your metabolism. 

Green tea also has a thermogenic effect, which also helps boost your metabolism and burn fat.

Finally, it’s a natural, zero-calorie drink, which helps you stay full and curb your appetite, but won’t hurt your diet or your intermittent fast, compared to zero-calorie energy drinks. 

Combined with all of the other benefits of drinking green tea, you’ve got a concentrated formula that makes a plant-based booster to any weight loss program.

Try Amla Yourself Today

We’re big believers in Amla Green, and as a part of a strategy that includes a plant-based diet, exercise, and intermittent fasting it can be a powerful tool not only for your weight loss but your health in general.

That’s why we work with the top producers in India and Southeast Asia to bring organic, high-quality amla powder to your front door.

In fact, we’re so excited to share Amla Green with the world that we offer your first batch entirely risk-free. If you’re not happy, you can let us know and we’ll give you your money back. 

But we’ve got a good feeling that you’ll like it.