Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsBoosting Metabolism NaturallyOther Ways to Increase ItFactors Affecting MetabolismSigns of a Slow Metabolism
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Boosting Metabolism Naturally
Other Ways to Increase It
Factors Affecting Metabolism
Signs of a Slow Metabolism
A healthy metabolism (how your body converts calories into energy and uses them) can help ward off fatigue, unintended weight gain, hair loss, brittle fingernails, depression, anxiety, and bloating. Whether you can boost your metabolism and how may depend on genetics, body fat, health status,thyroidfunction, and physical activity.“Slow” metabolism—when it takes longer for your body to process the energy it needs—is associated with weight gain and is a risk factor for obesity.
Not all factors related to your metabolic speed are within your control, but there are still ways to speed up your metabolism naturally.
Alexander Spatari / Getty Images
How to Boost Metabolism Naturally
1. Add More Protein to Your Diet
Diets high inprotein, such as meats, eggs, fish, and nuts, increase your metabolism and calorie burn. Some research suggests that the amount of heat calories needed for metabolism (thermic effect, which is the amount of energy the body uses to digest and absorb food) is between 15% and 30% higher for protein than other nutrition sources, like carbohydrates and fat, leading to nearly 300 more calories burned daily.Some recent findings suggest that protein can speed up your fat metabolism, specifically.
2. Drink More Water
3. Try a High-Intensity Workout
4. Lift Weights
Strength training, such as resistance bands or lifting weights, can also positively affect your metabolism. In a study of sedentary women, six weeks of moderate resistance training increased their resting metabolic rate. At rest, a person who strength-trains regularly burns 265 more calories daily.
5. Drink Oolong or Green Tea
Greenand oolong tea has traditionally been touted to have numerous health benefits. Among them is that regular consumption can boost your metabolism. Though the evidence is mixed, some research suggests two compounds in this tea—caffeine andcatechins—may increase metabolic function.
6. Eat Spicy Foods
Chili peppers and spicy foods containcapsaicin, which affects metabolism. In a broad-ranging review, researchers noted evidence that diets emphasizing this substance improved the signs of metabolic disease (disorders affecting the metabolism) and helped manage obesity.There’s more research needed, but incorporating spicy foods into your diet may help raise your resting metabolic rate.
7. Get a Good Night’s Sleep
There are many health benefits to ensuring that you get enough sleep, which for adults should be seven to eight hours a night. Among them is that getting bettersleepis linked with improved metabolism, but the growing consensus is that this effect is indirect.
No matter what, you’ll feel better and be healthier if you get adequate rest. This involves:
8. Drink Caffeine
Thecaffeinein coffee, tea, or other beverages might be more than just a morning pick-me-up. In a study assessing caffeine’s effect on diabetes, researchers noted that those who drank four cups a day for six months saw an approximately 4% drop in body fat.
People in this study did not make any other lifestyle or dietary changes, further supporting the hypothesis that caffeine contributes to an elevated metabolic rate.
9. Snack Regularly
Healthy SnacksIf you snack, choose nutrient-dense options over foods like cookies, chips, and those with added salts and sugars. The healthiest snacks are nuts, fresh fruit, and vegetables.
Healthy Snacks
If you snack, choose nutrient-dense options over foods like cookies, chips, and those with added salts and sugars. The healthiest snacks are nuts, fresh fruit, and vegetables.
Other Ways to Increase Your Metabolism
Additional ways to boost your metabolism include being active, avoiding crash diets, and reducing stress.
10. Focus on Standing More
Having a sedentary lifestyle can adversely affect your health. It raises the risk of obesity, affects bone and muscle development, and impacts your metabolism. If you sit for work or are constantly seated at home, take breaks to stand or walk. One study comparing data from Southeast Asia and the United States showed that taking a break to stand or walk every 30 minutes boosted metabolic health in older adults.
11. Avoid Crash Diets
Countless dietary fads promise to boost your metabolism and manage your weight. Think critically about metabolism-boosting claims since they’re not always based on science. Crash diets focusing on severe foodrestrictionscan prevent your body from getting the nutrients it needs. Studies have found that these diets' results often don’t last.Aim to eat a variety of foods that provide sufficient calories and essential vitamins and minerals.
12. Reduce Stress
When you’re under stress, your body releasescortisol, the stress hormone. Cortisol activates your body’s fight-or-flight response, physically preparing your body to face a perceived threat. Blood flow and energy expenditure are redirected from digestion and metabolism to the muscles and the brain. This slows your metabolic rate, and if the stress persists, this can cause long-term effects.
What Factors Play a Role in Metabolism?
In many ways, your metabolism is your body’s engine. It converts calories from food to energy for cell function and reproduction.This process keeps you breathing and walking and keeps your heart pumping.
Your body converts the nutrients in food—sugars,proteins, vitamins,carbohydrates, fats, and amino acids—into a molecular form that cells can digest, known asadenosine triphosphate(ATP).This releases units of energy (calories) that your body uses immediately or stores in body fat for later use.
The thyroid gland regulates your metabolism. Overactivity of this gland (hyperthyroidism) increases metabolism to the degree that makes it hard to store body fat, often leading to unintended weight loss. And when there’s too little thyroid activity (hypothyroidism), your body stores the excess energy in body fat, often leading to unintentional weight gain.
Various factors affect your metabolism; some of these are in your control, and others are not.
Factors You Can Control
The factors influencing your metabolism you can control are called modifiable risk factors. These changeable factors include smoking and alcohol use,physical activity, diet,sleep.
Factors You May Not Be Able to Control
Many health factors that affect your metabolism are non-modifiable, meaning you can’t change them, including age, gender, andmenopause.Generics also play a role.
Various medical factors can contribute to metabolism function. Some examples includeobesity,polycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS), immune system problems, medication side effects, andthyroid disorders.
What Are the Signs of a Slow Metabolism?
So how can you tell if your metabolism is slow? Unintended weight gain or difficulty losing weight can be one sign, along with fatigue, lower body temperatures, and sugar or carbohydrate cravings. You may also experience poor wound healing, hair loss, brittle fingernails, depression, and anxiety. Constipation and bloating are two other signs to look for.
Slower Metabolism and Hypothyroidism
The thyroid is the small, butterfly-shaped gland in your neck that regulates metabolism. Hypothyroidism is when this gland doesn’t produce enough thyroid hormone, which can arise due to disease or other health factors. Low thyroid levels slow your metabolic function and raise the risk of complications, such as high cholesterol or coma.
A big part of managinghypothyroidismand preventing these complications is boosting your metabolic rate. Alongside a prescription oflevothyroxine, a synthetic thyroid hormone, lifestyle and dietary changes that promote your metabolism play a key role.
Summary
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