If you are striving to lose or maintain weight, you might be looking for foods that can improve your metabolism. Metabolism is a set of cellular mechanisms that produce energy from food and other factors to power every bodily process. It is the number of calories your body burns in an active and restive state. How well these processes work is dependent on one’s metabolic health. Glucose is the primary energy source and needs to be regulated efficiently for metabolic health to be at its best. Therefore, food choices are essential for you to control blood sugar spikes. Also, different foods impact metabolic health differently.
When the blood glucose levels spike, it affects insulin secretion. The excess glucose levels get converted to fat. It is a gradual process that takes a while before we start noticing the visible change in our bodies. For example, if we get a new job and it demands a difference in our lifestyle from our previous lifestyle. We might spend 8 hours per day sitting in front of a computer. Even if we ate the same food during college, we would start noticing changes in our bodies. With our sedentary lifestyle, we start feeling sluggish. In a few months, we start piling up a few kilos. That is the first sign of poor metabolic health.
The HealthifyMe Note
Poor metabolic health leads to diseases like insulin resistance, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia etc. So other than cosmetic reasons, one must be careful about metabolic health, as the gradual change is not visible to the naked eye.
A straightforward way to measure the relationship between blood glucose levels and food is to invest in a HealthifyPro 2.0. It is a complete weight management approach that has several pillars to it. First, a metabolic panel based on more than 80 parameters assesses your intrinsic health. Then, the wearable device BIOS based on CGM, with real-time AI and coach inputs, changes how one approaches metabolic health. It helps you record the variance of blood glucose levels with every morsel of food. If there is a spike outside the permissible range, one needs to be mindful of that food item or the combination. Therefore, the apparent cosmetic response, weight loss, becomes a function of the proper food intake. The coaches who continue to be at the other end of the spectrum get real-time updates on the blood glucose levels. They help you design a sustainable food and activity plan on actual individualistic parameters.
Protein-Rich Foods
Protein-rich foods, particularly meat, egg, fish, dairy, legumes, nuts, and seeds, could help boost your metabolism for a few hours. Also, this is because your body requires extra energy to absorb them. It is known as the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF), i.e. the increase in metabolic rate after ingesting food. Research shows that protein-rich foods increase TEF vastly. They boost metabolic rate by 15–30%, compared with 5–10% for carbs and 0–3% for fats.
The study indicates that a high protein low-fat diet is more effective in weight loss than a standard low-fat diet. In addition, research shows that protein may also enable you to be fuller for an extended duration, which can prevent binging.
Mineral-Rich Foods
The minerals iron and selenium each play various but equally significant parts in the adequate functioning of your body. Nonetheless, they do have one aspect in common. Research shows that they are both mandatory for the proper functioning of your thyroid gland, which regulates your metabolism.
Studies show that a diet too low in iron or selenium may curtail your thyroid’s ability to generate adequate quantities of hormones, which could slow down your metabolism. So to enable your thyroid to function to the best of its ability. You must include selenium and iron-rich foods like seafood, meat, legumes, nuts, and seeds in your daily menu.
Chilli Peppers
Capsaicin, a chemical available in chilli peppers, may improve your metabolism by the rate at which your body burns calories. In evidence, a survey of twenty research studies reports that capsaicin from supplements or peppers may enable your body to burn around fifty extra calories daily.
Many studies report related advantages with quantities as low as 9–10 mg daily. Therefore, this is comparable to one jalapeño pepper. Also, capsaicin may have appetite-reducing properties. According to a survey by researchers on almost 200 people, consuming at least 2 mg of capsaicin immediately before each meal seems to lessen calorie consumption, particularly from carbs.
Adding cayenne pepper to your meal may boost the quantity of fat your body burns for power, particularly from a high-fat meal. Nonetheless, this fat-burning impact may only occur to people unaccustomed to expending spicy foods. That said, conclusions are different on capsaicin’s metabolism-boosting ability.
Coffee
The caffeine in coffee may help boost metabolic rate. Several studies have reported that people who have at least 270 mg of caffeine daily, or about three cups of coffee, burn up to 100 calories daily. Similarly, caffeine may assist your body burn fat for energy, which improves your metabolic health. Still, its impacts vary from person to person, based on personal health parameters, body weight, overall calorie consumption and age.
Tea
Tea includes health-boosting solvents called catechins that may work in tandem with caffeine to increase metabolic rate. In particular, study concerts where oolong and matcha green tea may boost fat oxidation and help you burn more calories when part of a workout plan.
Research shows that Oolong and green teas may help your body use stored fat for burning extra calories effectively, improving your fat-burning ability by up to 17%. However, as with coffee, impacts may differ from person to person.
Beans and Legumes
Legumes and beans, especially peas, lentils, chickpeas, peanuts, and black beans, are incredibly high in protein correlated to other plant foods. Studies show that their high protein content helps your body burn more calories than lower-protein foods. This attribute is due to their TEF.
Legumes include dietary fibre, resistant starch and soluble fibre, which your body can utilise as a prebiotic for the good gut bacteria. These bacteria produce short-chain fatty acids, which may help your body use stored fat as energy and retain natural blood sugar levels.
Ginger
Ginger and its extract have beneficial metabolism-boosting properties. For example, mixing two grams of ginger powder in hot water and drinking it with a meal may assist you in burning up to 43 extra calories than drinking hot water solo. Moreover, this hot ginger drink may reduce sugar cravings and enhance feelings of satiety (fullness).
A study on 19 males noted that participants who were given a 40 mg extract of paradise grains (a member of the ginger family) experienced an increase in whole-body energy expenditure through the activation of BAT (Brown adipose tissue).
Cacao
Cacao and cocoa are delicious delights that may help your metabolism. For example, studies in mice have reported that cocoa and its main flavonols enable fat burning. Also, this is particularly true in mice nourished with high fat or high-calorie diets.
Interestingly, one survey indicates that cocoa may deter the effort of enzymes essential to break down fat and carbs during digestion, inhibiting the body from consuming them and the calories they burn. Still, human surveys assessing the impacts of cocoa or cacao commodities like dark chocolate are rare. Additional studies are required before one can draw strong inferences.
Opt for natural versions if you want to give cacao an attempt. Refining tends to lessen the quantities of beneficial solvents and expand more sugar and calories.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar can boost your metabolism. Animal studies have indicated vinegar to be extremely useful in improving metabolism. Furthermore, apple cider vinegar is always contended to increase human metabolism, but few studies have examined this change to be rapid. It may help you lose weight by hindering stomach opening and providing a feeling of satiation.
If you agree to take it, restrict yourself to 1–2 tablespoons daily. Dilute it to at least one cup of water per tablespoon of vinegar to curtail the risk of tooth erosion, harm to the lining of your digestive tract, or different probable side effects.
Medium Chain Triglyceride (MCT) Oil
MCT oil is a particular type of fat that may offer some metabolic benefits. Great fats originate in diets are long-chain triglycerides, but MCT oil is formulated of medium-chain triglycerides. Some studies have indicated that MCT oil intake can enhance the metabolic rate in humans. Furthermore, unlike long-chain fats, MCTs are assimilated. They go immediately to the liver and get converted to energy. MCT oil is generally taken as an addition, although you can add them to foods like smoothies or soups. It is not sufficient for grilling, though.
Water
Study indicates that drinking adequate water is a great way to stay hydrated. Also, research shows that drinking water may improve metabolism by 24–30%. Furthermore, 40% of that improvement clarifies by the extra calories required to warm the water to body temperature, inferred as water-induced thermogenesis. Nonetheless, the consequences only seem to last 40–90 minutes after drinking water, and the effect’s stability may vary from person to person.
Seaweed
Seaweed is abundant in iodine, a mineral that is good for the functioning of your thyroid gland. Thyroid hormones have various roles, one of which is to govern your metabolic rate. Therefore, seaweed can assist you in fulfilling your iodine requirements and retaining your metabolic health. Furthermore, fucoxanthin is another seaweed-based solvent principally originating in brown seaweeds that may boost your metabolic health.
Avocado
Avocado is a high-fat fruit. However, avocados can assist individuals in regulating their metabolic health and enhance their overall well-being in numerous ways. With fewer carbohydrates, a high fibre volume, and healthy fat, one can take an avocado in moderation without the pressure of boosting their blood sugar status. Pairing an avocado with additional nutritious food may assist lessen blood sugar spears. Also, this is because its fat and fibre volume increases satiety and keeps your metabolic health in check.
The HealthifyMe Note
Dietary regulations and choosing the right food play a vital role in keeping your metabolism healthy. One of the various factors affecting metabolism is blood glucose levels. Hence, regulating your blood glucose levels is essential for a healthy metabolism. You can make some dietary modifications after consulting with an expert nutritionist.
Conclusion
Specific diets may assist in improving your metabolic health or how food reacts to blood sugar levels in your body. It’s a matter of healthily tracking food’s response to blood sugar levels and knowing which food is getting converted to fat. The knowledge helps you to introduce dietary modifications and interventions like a 10-minute walk after having food to prevent a spike in blood glucose levels. So, understanding your body and how it reacts to food can help you take preventive measures that keep you in shape and your metabolic health at its best.
