Natural metabolism boosters

The human body runs on energy. The rate that energy is burned or used is called the metabolism rate. The body needs a certain amount of calories or energy just to do its basic functions such as breathe, eat, sleep, move around and do daily activities. The metabolic rate can be slow or fast depending on how much energy that person needs at that particular time.

Athletes or people who are very active such as long distance runners have metabolic rates that are much faster than someone who is mainly sedentary. Younger people have higher metabolism rates than the elderly as well. The reason the young have higher metabolic rates are due to the fact that children are constantly growing. When a person becomes an adult their metabolism rate starts slowing down. Statistics show that by the time a person is the age of 30, the metabolic rate has slowed down 10% then it averages slowing down another 5% for each decade the person has lived. By the time a person is 50 years of age, they do need less calories than they did when they were in their 30’s. If they do not change their eating habits to reflect this, they may start to gain weight at this point and time.

Statistics also show that men on average have a higher metabolic rate than women. A man’s metabolic rate is usually 10-15% higher than a woman’s of the same age. Researchers say that this is due to males carrying around more lean muscle mass than women do.

There are several factors that can slow down the metabolic rate even further. These include living a sedentary lifestyle, eating large amounts of foods that are high in sugar or carbohydrates, an under active thyroid gland, drinking large amounts of drinks that have high amounts of sugar, and fasting.

There are ways to make the metabolic rate increase. The experts recommend that a person eat five to six small meals during the day to keep the metabolic rate high. They also recommend not skipping any meals. Exercise on a daily basis can help to boost metabolism rates as well. Weight training and body building programs can be beneficial for this as increasing lean muscle mass can actually increase the metabolic rate. It has been shown that one pound of muscle burns 50 calories every day while one pound of fat only burns 2 calories per day. So the leaner the body is, the higher the metabolic rate will be. They also recommend drinking eight to 10 glasses of water daily to flush the body of toxins and to help keep the body hydrated. Avoid drinking alcohol, high sugary foods and fasting to keep the metabolism rate from falling off. Eat foods that are high in nutritional value to help keep the body in peak form.

There are some herbs that can be used to help boost the metabolism. One of the best herbal supplements that can help to boost metabolism is green tea. It also works as an antioxidant which protects the body from free radicals and reduces the chances of heart disease and cancer. Coconut oil has been used for several years now as a weight loss supplement and to boost the metabolism as well. Two teaspoons can be taken before meals and at bedtime or 2 tablespoons can be taken once daily if weight loss is not an issue. Kelp is another plant that can be used to boost metabolism rates. It has a natural occurring iodine in it. Some foods that can help with metabolism are chili, tea, coffee, water, mustard greens, lean proteins, and foods that are high in fiber.

Last updated on Jan 11th, 2010 and filed under Alternative Medicine. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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