Metabolism Booster Foods
If you had the choice to select metabolism booster foods or a metabolism boosting pill, which would you prefer?By eating healthy, and selecting the right foods, you can increase the calories you burn in a day.
The more calories you burn the faster you can reach your weight loss goals.
Keeping your metabolism going all day will help you burn more calories during the day.
So when planning your next meals, why not add some of these healthier foods and increase your metabolic rate.
Whole Grain Cereals / Oatmeal
The complex carbohydrates and high fibers in
whole grain cereals help boost your metabolism naturally by
slowing down the release of
insulin. The lower production of insulin helps to keep your metabolism going.
When there is an increase of insulin production in the system, your body receives a signal to start storing food as fat.
The metabolism must be slowed down in order for your body to store this fat and therefore you are burning fewer calories during this time.
So by eating these metabolism boosting foods, you will slow down the production of insulin and increase your metabolism.
If you are counting carbs, make sure to make your carbs count for you.
Low Fat Yogurt / Skim Milk
The calcium found in dairy products has been part of many studies when it comes to weight loss.Studies show that those people who included 3 to 4 servings of dairy products in their weight loss plan lost significantly more weight than those who did not include dairy or either had a low dairy intake. In this study, both groups ate approximately the same number of calories.
Yogurt is also known to be good for your digestive system, keeping you regular and healthy.
Green Tea / Coffee
So why is green tea one of the best metabolism booster foods?
Green Tea has a component called Epigallo Catechin Gallate, or EGCG for short.
It is this compound that is believed to be the main ingredient that helps boost your metabolism and aid in weight loss.
Additionally, both green tea and coffee has caffeine.
Caffeine speeds up your heart and the faster your heart beats the faster your metabolism.
It has also been shown to increase concentration. So not only do you get the benefit of an increased metabolism, you will have greater concentration throughout the day.
Grapefruit / Oranges
Vitamin C is the secret ingredient to these
metabolism
booster foods and is
said to have some fat burning quality. Grapefruit is by far the most common vitamin C fruit to be considered a weight loss food.
One research at Scripps clinic showed that participants that included ½ a grapefruit to each meal lost weight.
Although the Grapefruit Diet is considered a “fad” diet, there is some merit to the weight loss results of eating grapefruit.
Jalapeno / Habanera / Cayenne
Spice it up with hot peppers. By including these hot peppers in your foods you are boosting your metabolism naturally metabolism.This is because they have a thermagenic property which heats up your body. To cool down your body requires calories, meaning an increase in your metabolism.
Not only are these spices a great metabolism booster foods, they add flavor to your recipes, so get cooking with these hot, spicy peppers.
Lean Proteins
Lean proteins like turkey, chicken, pork, beef and certain fish are great metabolism booster foods.
Protein
is the ingredient in these foods that rev
up your metabolic rate. Protein requires more effort to
digest
than carbs
or fat. This means your body is working harder to digest the protein in these metabolism booster foods and is burning more calories.
Fish fry anyone? Okay, don’t fry the fish but if prepared in a healthy way, foods such as salmon and tuna can rev up your metabolism.
They are loaded with Omega 3 fatty acids, which if you read my Weight Loss Myths you know your body cannot produce certain fats, so you must provide these essential fats through the foods you eat.
Studies have shown that Omega 3 fatty acids can alter the level of a hormone in your body called leptin. These studies indicate that leptin can have an impact on your metabolism by determining whether or not you burn calories or store foods as fat.
Higher levels of leptin means more foods stored as fat, or a lower metabolism. But lower levels of leptin means a higher metabolism, and fish is a great way to lower your leptin.
Another healthy note on Omega-3, it is also shown to reduce the risk of certain cancers.
Vegetables
Vegetables are a great source for low calorie
foods that
help satisfy
you and make you feel full. Veggies contain fiber, vitamins
and nutrients that help keep us healthy. Certain vegetables also are great metabolism booster foods such as Broccoli and Spinach.
Spinach contains magnesium which has been known to boost the body’s fat burning process. Other foods high in magnesium include peanut butter, tofu, whole wheat bread and my favorite, dark chocolate.
Spinach is also high in potassium which aids weight loss by keeping the body’s cells hydrated. If your cells are not sufficiently hydrated, your metabolism will slow down. Other potassium rich foods include bananas, honeydew and baked potatoes.
Apples / Pears
These low calorie, high fiber fruits are why these are included on the metabolism booster foods list. These fruits will give you a satisfying sweet taste and help to keep you full longer due to the lower calorie and higher fiber content than other fruits.According to one study from the State University of Rio de Janeiro, women who included apples and pears in their low calorie diet lost more weight than the women who did not add fruit to their weight loss plan.
For more ways to rev up your metabolic rate beyond these metabolism booster foods, be sure to read this article on Metabolism Boosters - The Natural Way.
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