Your herb and spice rack is an extremely powerful nutritional ally that’ll flavor your performance and provide stronger results.

BOOST AGGRESSION WITH FENUGREEK

There’s a fine line between calm-angry and out-of-control-angry. One wins, the other loses and if you’ve spent enough time in a dojo you’ll know which. But if you find yourself lacking the fist-clenching hormones, you can easily bolster them in good taste, namely fenugreek. A study in Phytotheraphy Research found that taking supplements made from fenugreek improved libido and thanks to its testosterone-boosting properties the subjects also had stronger muscles, more energy and a greater feeling of well-being.

They come in a fresh leaf form or as a spice, which you can chuck in hearty stews and curries to get your head in the game. 

ADD HEAT AND MAKE WEIGHT

Ever been to your local curry house and felt as though you were sat in a sauna? That sweating feeling actually has you frying calories and can aid your six-pack quest. It’s thanks to the active ingredient called capsaicin. Research in the British Journal of Nutrition found that blokes who took 135mg of capsaicin lost 7% more fat than those who didn’t get their burn in a capsule.

Go as hot as you can in your next curry or just spice up your scrambled eggs with a few chili flakes. Either way, getting your sweat on will be a good thing and if it’s too much then have a yoghurt handy, which is also another fat loss aid. 

RECOVER FASTER WITH CACOA

This is not the tooth-snapping stuff that Hershey’s churns out.

In fact, it’s quite bitter in taste when you eat it in its rawest form but is worth it. Research in the Chemistry Central Journal has found that cacao is extremely rich in the antioxidants you need to boost your recovery from a tough training session. Keep a canister of the powdered variety in your spice rack and dust it over your post-workout banana.

BUILD EXTRA MUSCLE WITH EXTRA MUSTARD 

This one is another spice that requires not only a strong gut, but strong nostrils too. An enzyme in wasabi, mustard and horseradish heightens your food’s cancer-fighting abilities and helps you absorb more of its nutrients, especially when vegetables are included, found research in the British Journal of Nutrition. So adding to your chicken breasts or steak sandwich will help you absorb more protein, furnishing you with bigger arms. 

CURB ACHES AND SPRAINS WITH OREGANO

Like Pizza? Well, this spice is the green dots you pay no attention to when you scoff your favorite meat feast.

Research at Bonn University, Zurich, found that it is packed with a compound that can cure inflammation. So if you’ve tapped out a few too many times in your last wrestling class then make sure you get a little heavy handed with this spice. But that’s not a license to guts a family-sized portion. Rather, dish out generous sprinklings of it over mixed vegetables and slow roast them in the oven with a little olive oil.

It’s so tasty, yet healthy that you’ll never boil veg in water again.