Foods that Speed Up Metabolism and other Metabolism Boosters


Foods that speed up metabolism include lean proteins and vegetables.

Metabolism is the way your body burns up all the calories (energy) from the food that you eat in order to maintain itself.

The speed at which your body burns calories is the metabolic rate.

Speeding up your metabolism can help you burn calories. It can also help you replace fat with muscle and give you more energy.

Individuals who are muscular (i.e. have a low percentage of body fat) normally have a higher metabolism than those that are less muscular. This is because muscle uses more calories to maintain itself than fat.

Some individuals have a slower metabolic rate and therefore have a hard time remaining slim. A slow metabolism causes one to store fat. The slower your metabolic rate, the greater your weight gain will be.

Causes of Low Metabolism

If you have been dieting, skipping meals or fasting, your body's metabolism slows down to compensate for the lack of nutrients. When lean persons overeat, their metabolism speeds up. On the other hand, when obese persons diet, their metabolism slows down.

Causes for Low Metabolism include:

  • Fasting / Skipping meals
  • Taking low calorie diets
  • Snacking frequently on high sugared foodstuff such as confectionary, sodas, etc.
  • Eating / drinking sugary foods and drinks
  • An under active thyroid gland
  • Not eating plenty of foods that speed up metabolism
  • Living a sedentary life
  • One’s metabolism declines with age.

    Avoid over the counter pills containing animal thyroid extract. Marketers of these pills claim they boost metabolism. Such products do not have any significant boost of metabolism and instead cause side effects such as diarrhoea, increased heart rate, disproportionate sweating, anxiety, shivers, swollen eyes, etc.

    A faster metabolism can be achieved more by eating foods that speed up metabolism as opposed to such pills.

    How to Increase Your Metabolism

  • Do not skip any meals - take breakfast, eat little and often.
  • Avoid fasting
  • Exercise regularly
  • Avoid alcohol and sugary foods or drinks
  • Drink at least eight glasses of water every day
  • Eat plenty of protein-rich meals & other foods that speed up metabolism
  • Eat nutritious foods
  • Spice up your meals. Spices increase metabolism not to a great extent as to show on the scales. Eating meals with high calories and fat content will not help even with spices!
  • Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) supplements may increase muscle and boost metabolism.
  • Green tea helps increase metabolism
  • Drinking hot water with lemon is a good way to boost metabolism

    Foods that Speed Up Your Metabolism

    Boosting metabolism naturally can be achieved by eating fewer high fat foods and fewer calories.

    As aforementioned, you can also increase your metabolism by increasing dietary fibre and limiting sugary foods, alcohol, caffeine and smoking.

    Foods that speed up your metabolism and help you lose weight are proteins such as lean beef, pork, chicken, turkey, fish (e.g. salmon, tuna, and sardines), peppers (e.g. jalapeno, habanero, and cayenne peppers), dark green leafy vegetables, tomatoes, fruits such as blueberries, milk, whole-grain cereal, and oatmeal.

    Also, take a minimum eight glasses of water a day. In addition, green tea contains antioxidants that speed up metabolism.

    When your body cells need energy, they break down carbohydrates first, then fat and lastly protein. Your body converts the carbohydrates into glucose, which is easily used as fuel by your body.

    All the excess carbohydrates you eat will be turned into fat for storage. All the fat you eat will be stored as fat. Your body converts any fat you eat into body fat very well.

    However, if you exercise and eat foods that speed up metabolism, you will burn the fat stores and enhance your metabolism.

    A lethargic metabolism can be enhanced through exercise and diet. These will have lasting health benefits for you. A combination of exercise and diet will also help you lose weight and gain muscle mass.

  • Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

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