10 Best Metabolism Boosting Foods You Must Add To Your Diet
Celery is touted as the best negative calorie food. This means that you burn more calories to digest and metabolize celery than the actual calories present in it. When you consume celery, your cells have to work harder to break it down, which results in peaking of your metabolic rate. Scientists also found that celery extract had a lipid-lowering effect on Wistar rats (13).
Consume celery in soup, salad, smoothies, or have it as a healthy snack.
13. Garlic
Garlic is the queen of herb spices, according to me. It not only enhances the taste of any dish but also has many health benefits. Allicin is an active biocompound found in garlic that helps fight many types of cancer, reduces blood pressure, and protects you from common cold. Research shows that garlic helps inhibit the fat synthesis genes and increases thermogenesis (14). It also helps improve insulin sensitivity (15).
Add garlic to your salad dressing, soup, grilled chicken/fish, sautéed mushrooms, or lentils.
14. Apple
Apples are good for our health – we’ve all heard the adage a million times. And it is true. Apples are rich in antioxidants, dietary fiber, and flavonoids that help reduce inflammation, improve metabolic rate, lower LDL (bad) cholesterol, fight cancer, and improve lipidi XLipids are a large group of molecules that occur naturally, such as fats, sterols, waxes, and diglycerides. profile and insulin sensitivity (16).
Have one apple a day to lose weight fast and naturally without overworking at the gym or depriving yourself of good food.
15. Full-Fat Yogurt
Full-fat yogurt, a good probiotic, is what you should buy the next time you are at the supermarket. Low-fat milk and yogurt do not contain the essential nutrients and can make you feel hungry sooner as compared to full-fat milk/yogurt. Yogurt is a rich source of good gut bacteria, which aids better digestion. It also helps control your appetite and regulates blood glucose levels (17). As a result, your cells will function at optimum levels, giving your metabolism the much-needed boost.
Add yogurt to your breakfast bowl, smoothies, or salad dressings.
16. Coffee
Coffee is a great beverage to improve your metabolism. This dark, aromatic, and mood-boosting drink aids fat oxidation by increasing your body’s metabolic rate. In fact, scientists found that caffeinated coffee works better in obese individuals (18). Decaffeinated coffee is not as effective.
Drink two cups of black coffee per day. But avoid it if you cannot tolerate caffeine.
17. Mustard
Be it hot dogs, sandwiches, or salads, mustard is a must! This flavor-rich spice/condiment is a good source of healthy fats and helps to boost metabolism by accelerating fat breakdown.
You can also buy mustard powder and add it to curries. But make sure not to add too much of it as it can make your food taste bitter.
18. Goji Berries And Strawberries
Goji berries and strawberries are loaded with nutrients that help balance your body’s pH, induce thermogenesis, flush out toxins, and increase fat oxidation. Both these berries are considered to be the best foods for those trying to lose weight by boosting metabolism (19).
Add these to your breakfasts, smoothies, or eat them as a snack. But do not go overboard and over consume them as that can lead to a spike in glucose levels.
19. Citrus Fruits
Has anyone ever told you to drink a glass of warm water with the juice of a whole lime or half a lemon? Those who do it regularly know that this has an immense benefit for their overall health. Lime is a good source of vitamin C, a natural antioxidant that boosts your immunity and activates the basic cell functions (20). In fact, all citrus fruits like lemon, kiwi, grapefruit, tangerine, clementine, and pineapple are good for boosting your metabolism and shedding the fat (21).
20. Herbs
Most herbs that we use in foods, like cilantro, oregano, rosemary, thyme, dill, and fennel, are loaded with antioxidants. Antioxidants help improve the metabolic rate by nullifying the harmful effects of free oxygen radicals. So, when it comes to adding a lot of dried or fresh herbs to your food, don’t be shy. They add the perfect aroma that will soothe you and help you become slim again.
These are the 20 metabolism boosting foods that you should include in your diet. But there are a few other things that you should do to lose weight. Here’s a checklist.
Other Things You Should You Do To Boost Metabolism
- Drink 500 mL of water first thing in the morning.
- Or drink a glass of fenugreek soaked water or lime juice water first thing in the morning.
- Workout regularly.
- Take less stress.
- Do not starve yourself. Eat every 2-3 hours.
- Eat healthy, even when you eat out.
- Learn to say NO to foods that will make you step back in your weight loss journey.
- Build your social support by interacting with people with similar fitness goals.
- Sleep for 7 hours.
- No late night snacking.