Boost Your Metabolism With 3 Foods
As we age, our metabolism slows down, which can lead to weight gain. But small dietary adjustments can help minimize unwanted pounds in our middle years. Try these suggestions:
- Choose healthy carbohydrates.Replace refined, high-glycemic index flour-based carbs with unrefined, low-glycemic choices such as sprouted grain breads or beans and lentils. The latter do not cause the spikes in blood glucose and insulin levels that encourage the craving for more as well as the storage of fat.
- Use spices. Capsaicin (the compound that gives chili peppers their bite), black pepper and ginger all boost the generation of heat in the body, leading to more calories burned.
- Drink green tea.The main antioxidant polyphenol in green tea, known as epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG, stimulates the body to help burn calories. Dr. Weil recommends drinking a few cups of organic green tea every day. Limit intake to before noon if you have any issues with sleep.
You should also strive to embrace hunger, but do not starve yourself. Many people believe that eating five or six small meals daily boosts metabolism, but recent research indicates that’s probably false. To increase fat metabolism, allow yourself to be slightly hungry now and then. The best way may be to eat two or three modest meals daily, with no snacks within a 12-hour window of time or less. For example, eating your meals between 7am and 5pm. Be certain that this does not and should not translate into very low calorie eating, as doing this for weeks or longer will have a negative impact on your metabolism.
And don’t forget regular physical exercise – with some sessions being as intense as your body allows, like interval sprinting in the yard or on a bike or lifting weights. It’s another way to keep your metabolism functioning at a higher level properly.
Today’s Health Topics
Editor's Pick
Health Focus
Ask Dr. Weil's Q&A
| sponsor | ||
 |
||
|
||
|
