9 things you can eat to speed up your metabolism

May 4, 2024

The secret to losing a few kilos? Give your metabolism a push in the right direction. Nine things you can eat or drink to speed up your metabolism.

Metabolism refers to all the chemical processes that take place in your body to produce energy and make the necessary substances for growth, repair and maintenance of your cells and the elimination of waste products.

Your metabolism is your metabolism. In your body cells one substance is converted into another. Your body converts the food you eat into usable snacks so that it can get energy from a meal. How your metabolism works has a major influence on your body weight. The faster you metabolism, the faster your body converts food into energy. With a fast metabolism, you burn calories faster and lose weight faster. The speed of your metabolism depends on various factors, such as gender, age, height, hereditary predisposition and hormone balance. For example, men burn faster and more calories than women. And unfortunately, the older you get, the slower your metabolism.

Functions of your metabolism

– Converting nutrients in building materials and energy
– The use of building materials and energy as a source for all biological processes
– The processing of waste materials
– The production of reserves

Fat burns fat

A diet follow where you skip fats? Bad idea. A shortage of unsaturated (healthy) fats makes it impossible for your body to break down ‘old fat’.

On your menu:

Arugula

This spicy lettuce leaf, also called rocket lettuce, contains kaempferol: a natural antioxidant that has a positive effect on the metabolism of your muscle cells. Simply put: by eating arugula you use more energy and you lose fat faster. Capers and Chinese cabbage are also kaempferol bombs.

Coffee

A cup coffee? Feel free to take two. Coffee stimulates the metabolism thanks to the caffeine it contains. Please note: this concerns black coffee. If you add milk, sugar and/or luxury syrups, the number of calories will quickly increase and you will cancel out that effect.

Chili pepper

Just scoop one more chili pepper through that meal, because spicy food also sets your metabolism on fire. 1 gram of chili powder makes your metabolism work faster. This is due to the substance capsaicin. This ensures that your body burns more calories, according to research by Maastricht scientists. Don’t like hot-hot-hot? Peppers also contain the substance.

Dark green leafy vegetable

Lay as many dark ones as possible today leafy vegetable in your shopping cart, because it contains a lot of vitamin K per portion. This vitamin, among other things, promotes the absorption of nutrients and inhibits the formation of fatty tissue, which is beneficial for your figure.

Iodine

Iodine gives your metabolism a boost. In addition, it regulates your thyroid hormones, so that any disturbed metabolism can be restored. The advice is to consume 150 mcg of iodine daily. For example, 100 mcg is contained in four slices of bread, 200 grams of oily fish, 85 grams of white fish, four glasses of milk and six eggs.

Protein

Smart: a lot protein add to your meals. Protein increases the speed of your metabolism. That’s because your body needs a lot of energy to digest proteins. And that burns energy. You can find proteins in dairy products such as cottage cheese, milk and cheese, eggs, quinoa, legumes, (soy) beans, sunflower seeds and nuts.

Fibres

We all know that dietary fiber keep your intestines healthy. But did you know that they also play a role in your metabolism? They make it easier for your body to remove harmful substances and thus promote an effective metabolism. So eat fiber! You can find them in whole grain products, rye, all vegetables, (dried) fruit, oatmeal, nuts, beans, linseed and (pseudo) grains.

Herbs and spices

Herbs and spices are ideal for making your meal a great one metabolism booster to make. Many herbs and spices are natural thermogenics. They increase heat production in your body and thus help boost your metabolism. So mainly use black pepper, turmeric, curry, cumin, cinnamon, mustard, nutmeg, anise, cardamom, oregano, dill, basil and ginger.

Water

Did you know that you metabolism slows down if your body is not sufficiently hydrated? Therefore, make sure you drink enough water. It has been scientifically proven that people who drink one and a half liters of water per day burn more calories than people who drink only four glasses of water per day.

Text: Loes van de Mosselaar

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