20 BEST METABOLISM BOOSTING FOODS AND TIPS THAT WILL HELP YOU STAY IN GREAT SHAPE
20 Best Metabolism Boosting Foods And Tips That Will Help You Stay In Great Shape
One of the best ways to get in and stay in great shape is by firing up your metabolism. In this article, Beauty and Tips gives you the lowdown on the top 20 metabolism boosting foods that need to be on your next grocery list.
Firstly, what even is your metabolism? At some point or another, you’ll have heard someone tell you that they either have a fast or a slow metabolism. “I can’t lose weight because my metabolism is SO slow,” is a common complaint. This is true. The faster your metabolism is, the easier it is to burn fat and lose weight. This is because metabolism is a catch-all term that refers to the chemical reactions that maintain our organism and the living state of our cells. In other words, our metabolism keeps us alive! To help it keep functioning, our body uses the energy we get from our food. The more energy we have, the faster our metabolism is able to work. As you can see, if you eat the wrong food, your body won’t have enough energy to carry out its processes at optimal speed – including digesting your food and burning fat. Let’s take a look at the 20 best metabolism boosting foods and tips that will help you stay in great shape.
Drink Coffee In The Morning
When we think of metabolism, many of us think of coffee. It just gets things moving, right? That includes our brain, our sleepy eyes and our ability to burn fat. If you’re the type of person who already has a cup of Joe in the morning, you’re already onto a good thing. If, on the other hand, you rarely drink coffee, you might want to consider giving it a go from now on. Coffee indeed boosts both your mind and your metabolism. Although it contains caffeine, it’s still a healthier way to get things firing than, say, a sugar-drenched energy drink. The jump that coffee gives to your metabolism is only short term, but it’s still a useful jump to have in the morning, when your body is taking time to wake up. Go for it! If you really, really don’t like coffee, green tea is also a good metabolism booster. And with green tea, there’s less chance that you’ll consume too much caffeine than is really good for you.
Spinach
As a kid, you probably didn’t like spinach. Hey, which kid did?! But as we get older, our tastebuds change and spinach doesn’t seem so bad at all. In fact, it even seems a bit rad! Spinach is a dark leafy green that’s rich in iron and which, subsequently, is great for providing fuel for your metabolism, it definitely deserves it’s place in our list of metabolism boosting foods. This is because iron is a key nutrient that ensures oxygen moves around your body with more efficiency, ensuring that your muscles are able to burn fat at a quicker rate. Still, spinach isn’t to everyone’s taste (even grown ups). If you’re not keen, try iron-rich alternatives like swiss chard or lentils instead.
Drink More Water
Here at Beauty and Tips, we’re always recommending people to drink more water. It’s the most natural substance there is and it’s the best way to stay hydrated, which is key, if you want to speed up your metabolism. Even mild dehydration is enough to put the brakes on your metabolism. We recommend that you drink at least 5 glasses of water per day from now on to stay on top of your metabolism.
Curry
Curry is now one of the world’s most popular dishes. The West has embraced it like a lost son and we’re all in love with it. And why not? Curry is healthy, tasty and it’s also one of amazing metabolism boosting foods. That’s right, curry is one of the best foods you can have if you want to get your metabolism firing on all cylinders. One of the reasons for this is the spicy peppers but we’ll discuss them a little later. See, heat is just one of the reasons why curry is so good at turbocharging your metabolism. The other reason is that it’s just so rich in all kinds of metabolism-boosting foods, including ginger, turmeric and cinnamon.
Apple Cider Vinegar
What is it that grandmas love SO much about apple cider vinegar? Could it be the fact that it literally woks for everything?! Whether you need to treat an infection or boost your metabolism, apple cider vinegar is here to save the day. It’s basically a Master of of the Universe. Kind of. It works a bit differently to everything else you’ll find on this list, because it helps your stomach produce more hydrochloric acid. The more you have of this acid, the better you can digest food. To really get your metabolism going, it’s a good idea to mix it with lemon juice, a touch of honey, a touch of cayenne and a smidgen of cinnamon.
Cinnamon
Speaking of cinnamon, you don’t have to combine it with apple cider vinegar. Instead, you can sprinkle it on your hot beverage or add it to your cakes. In terms of how powerful it is as a metabolism booster, everyone is pretty much agreed that cinnamon is really awesome. It comes with what are known as thermogenic properties, which trigger your body into burning more calories right automatically. Cinnamon further helps you to stay in shape by managing your cravings, so that you don’t get as tempted to eat candy, etc.
Oysters
Grandma probably used to eat oysters back in the day, too. Before the outbreak of the second world war, oysters were cheap and popular in Europe. After the war, they were scarce and became an expensive delicacy. If you can get hold of them, you should add more oysters to your diet. They’re a great source of selenium and zinc, the latter of which is an excellent appetite-suppresser, and it’s one of fabulous metabolism boosting foods.
Brazil Nuts
Brazil nuts are also one of wonderful metabolism boosting foods, they contain more selenium than any other nuts. They’re also notorious fat burners that convert your thyroid hormone into its active form. There are lots of things you can do with brazil nuts. Eat them out of your and, add them to a smoothie, or sprinkle them on a bowl of fresh fruit. Careful not to overdo things, though, as brazil nuts are packed with calories.
Fish
Provided you’re a meat eater, you should definitely think about adding more fish to your diet, because it’s a great source of selenium and iodine, two essential minerals, which help to fire up your metabolism by supporting the function of your thyroid gland. There are lots of different types of fish you can try. We recommend going for the likes of trout, mackerel, tuna or salmon as they’re nutrient dense and also contain lots of omega-3 fatty acids.
Seaweed
This one will seem a bit unusual to some of you, but anyone who’s taken an interest in nutrition or seafood over the years won’t be surprised by the inclusion of seaweed in our list of metabolism boosting foods. Seaweed is a bit of a delicacy in Japan. It’s super duper healthy and provides lots of benefits to your body, but it’s the iodine aspect we’re focusing on here. Iodine is good for powering up your metabolism. If you consume more seaweed, you consume more iodine, which in turn allows you to keep your thyroid hormone mic and healthy. This, in turn, ensures that your metabolism is firing on all cylinders. Like all seafood, there’s always the danger that you might overdo things. If you eat too much seaweed, you could end up with iodine poisoning. Not cool. To make sure this never happens, we suggest eating seaweed no more than three times per week.
Coconut Oil
“But isn’t coconut oil a fat?” you might be asking. “How’s that gonna help me?” It’s a fair question but the type of fats in coconut oil are know as medium chain fatty acids. These are better than out-and-out bad fats because they convert into energy a lot more easily. As such, they boost your metabolism. Medium chain fatty acids also support your thyroid which, as we’ve already learned, is key to a booming metabolism. Coconut oil can be eaten by itself, but most people cook with it. Don’t worry – it doesn’t make all your food taste of coconut!
Garlic
Garlic is another one of great metabolism boosting foods. Nutritionists reckon we should eat garlic at least once per day. The more garlic you consume, the less damage nasty fats and carbs can do to your metabolism and blood sugar.
Apples
The old saying goes that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. An apple a day also boosts your metabolism and helps you to keep in shape. Apples are rich in fibre, which leaves you satisfied for longer. The apples you eat, the less at risk you are of developing metabolism syndrome.
Kale
Kale is a good substitute for spinach, and it’s also one of good metabolism boosting foods. It’s a dark leafy green that’s been nicknamed The King of the Greens and the New Beef variously because it’s super nutritious. In fact, kale is one of the most nutrient-dense foods around. It keeps you satisfied for longer, eliminates toxins from your body – and it boosts your metabolism. There are lots of things you can do with kale. We recommend adding kale to salads or soups, or, if you’re feeling extra creative, you could make your own kale chips!
Grapefruit
Some people have grapefruit for breakfast. That’s all they have – a halved grapefruit. We know what you’re thinking: “Well, of course those people stay in shape. I mean, a grapefruit?! There’s barely anything there!” Thanks to its high fibre content, Grapefruit is actually more filling than a lot of people realise, and it’s very tasty. And it’s its fibre content that allows grapefruit to be one of marvellous metabolism boosting foods. As well as this, grapefruit also helps to decrease your insulin levels. It’s also a good source of vitamin C, which is needed by your immune system to keep it strong and healthy. Vitamin C also helps to keep your metabolism moving quickly. Excellent.
Lean Meats
Lean meats are a good source of protein. Eat more tuna and turkey to boost your metabolism.
Watermelon
Watermelon is another one of good metabolism boosting foods. Like grapefruit, watermelon doesn’t exactly look like it would keep us satisfied for very long. And because it’s rich in (albeit natural) sugar, some people stay away from it. But watermelon is also rich in arginine, an amino acid that’s been proven to help us lose weight. This amino acid quickens up the fat burning process and is well known among nutritionists and dieticians as a bit of a star when it comes to metabolism. Get on it.
Hot Peppers
This is one of the most famous metabolism boosting foods. When we were discussing the benefits of curry earlier, we said we’d return to the hot peppers later. Well, here we are hot pepper fans! Some people love hot peppers – such as jalapeños – while others are terrified of them. “Don’t put that jalapeño anywhere near me, I’m serious!” Even the thought of one is enough to make some people sweat! But hot peppers are our friends, not our enemies. They contain capsinoids, chemicals which boost the amount of energy we expend. And there’s the rub: The chemical is burning hot, not the pepper. The capsinoids make you breath faster, bump up your heart rate and they literally force you to burn more fat and calories. Sounds good? If you’re a fan of the hot stuff, it’s time to add more peppers and jalapeños to your salads and sandwiches. We’ll stay clear though, thanks!
Broccoli
Broccoli has traditionally been seen as brain food, but it also keeps your thyroid in shape. Whether you want to get smarter or lose weight, you should eat more broccoli.
Tomato Juice
If a Bloody Mary is your tipple of choice on a night out, we’ve got some good news for you – it’s helping you burn fat. Tomato juice reduces inflammation and shrinks fat cells. Tomato juice also ramps up your body’s production of proteins that help your body to further break down fat. We’ll drink to that!
What are your favourite metabolism boosting foods?
Stay happy!
from Beauty And Tips Magazine
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