Metabolism: Foods To Speed Up Metabolism And Lose Weight

What is metabolism. Causes, symptoms and consequences of improper metabolism

Let us consider in more detail what is metabolism or metabolism. Metabolism is a complex of chemical reactions in the human body that break down food and convert it into energy. Special enzymes take part in the metabolism, which speed up the process of digestion of food, the assimilation of nutrients. Resting metabolism is conditionally distinguished - this is the exchange of energy and substances used for the main tasks and functions of the body. Further, we can distinguish between the metabolism of food digestion and the metabolism of physical activity. Surprised that the body can burn energy during rest? Even the fact that you just live requires serious costs: energy (60-70 percent of daily intake) is spent on regulating body temperature, forming cells, heartbeat, blood circulation, breathing, etc.

As for food intake, the energy that the body uses to digest food is 5-10 percent of the total daily intake. It has been proven that if you eat often, little and healthy food, then the rate of metabolism and calorie burning will increase. The formula is simple.

A constantly functioning metabolism, in fact, maintains life in the human body, allowing it to develop and multiply, adequately respond to environmental influences and maintain all its functions.

Fats, carbohydrates, proteins and other elements take part in metabolism, each of which plays its own role in metabolism.

• An irreplaceable "building material" is proteins, which became famous thanks to Engels' historical phrases about life as a form of existence of protein bodies. Proteins are really very important for our body, as they are part of the structure of blood plasma, hemoglobin, ferritin, which stores iron reserves in the body, is a protein complex. Also, all our immune cells, hormones, proteins are built from proteins, they are responsible for the water-salt balance and fermentation processes.

• Carbohydrates are considered a source of energy resources for the body, among the most important are glycogen and glucose. Carbohydrates are also involved in the synthesis of amino acids, lipids.

• Fats accumulate energy reserves, and give energy only in combination with carbohydrates. Fats are vital for the production of hormones, the absorption of certain vitamins, they are involved in the construction of the cell membrane, and ensure the preservation of nutrients. Do not forget, of course, that fats must be correct, healthy.

Metabolic disorder is a change in one of the stages of metabolism - anabolism or catabolism. Catabolism or dissimilation is the process of oxidation or differentiation of complex elements to the state of simple organic molecules that can participate in the process of anabolism (assimilation) - synthesis, which is characterized by energy consumption. The metabolic process takes place throughout life according to the following steps:

• Nutrients enter the human body.

• Nutrients are absorbed from the digestive system, fermented and broken down into the blood and lymphatic system.

• Tissue stage - transport, redistribution, energy release and absorption of substances.

• Removal of metabolic decay products that the body has not absorbed. Excretion occurs through the lungs, with sweat, urine and feces.

The causes of metabolic disorders are most often hereditary, but there are also acquired causes, which include:

• Pathological changes in the function of the thyroid gland, in the work of the pituitary and adrenal glands.

• Frequent alcohol consumption, smoking.

• Wrong nutrition.

• Influence of environmental factors.

• Deficiency of micro- and macronutrients.

You can identify a metabolic disorder in the body by the following symptoms:

• Increased appetite or lack of it.

• Sudden weight loss or weight gain while eating normally.

• The appearance of pigment spots.

• Destruction of tooth enamel.

• Rash on the skin.

• Constipation and diarrhea.

• Deterioration of the condition of hair, nails, premature appearance of gray hair.

• Edema of the lower extremities.

• Irritability, frequent stress.

• Indifference and apathy to what is happening.

• Poor condition and health.

Also in clinical practice, diseases are described in detail, which are inevitably accompanied by signs of metabolic disorders.

1. Gout is a violation of the regulation of uric acid metabolism, in which salts accumulate in the kidneys and cartilage tissues, provoking an inflammatory process.

2. Hypercholesterolemia - disorders of dissimilation, catabolism of lipoproteins, when the level of cholesterol in the blood rises significantly, and cholesterol also accumulates in tissues. This imbalance is one of the reasons for the rapidly developing cardiovascular diseases worldwide.

3. Phenylketonuria - metabolic disorders of hereditary etiology, when the body lacks a specific enzyme - phenylalanine hydroxylase, which leads to mental disorders (developmental delay).

4. Gierke's disease is an excess of glycogen in organs and tissues, which leads to hepatomegaly (enlargement of the liver), developmental delay - in growth, hypoglycemia.

5. Alkaptonuria is a metabolic disorder due to a gene mutation, when the gene responsible for the synthesis of oxidase does not perform its function. This is a typically male disease that affects cartilage tissue (spine, joints).

6. Albinism is the absence of the necessary pigment - melanin. The disease is caused by the inability to synthesize tyrosine and phenylalanine and has a hereditary etiology.

How to normalize the metabolism in the body

It is very important to monitor your body and notice the slightest changes in order to prevent diseases. Of course, taking medications is possible only under the supervision and prescription of a doctor, but you can do a lot of things on your own, for example, adjust your diet, increase physical activity, give up bad habits and make up for vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

A nutritionist or dietitian will help you select the necessary vitamins and minerals based on the identified deficiencies. The most basic deficiencies that occur in humans are:

• Omega - 3 fatty acids - regulate the level of leptin in the body. According to many researchers, it is this hormone that is responsible not only for the metabolic rate in the body, but also for fundamental decisions about whether to burn fat at the moment or accumulate it. The best foods high in omega-3 fatty acids are fatty fish, flaxseed and flaxseed oil, broccoli, beans, bok choy, cauliflower, and walnuts.

• Iodine - activates the thyroid gland, that is, it also speeds up the metabolism. A lot of iodine is found in seaweed, seafood, and even apple seeds. If you chew only 6-7 seeds a day, you will get the daily norm.

• Chromium - improves the functioning of the stomach, helps maintain blood sugar at the right level, according to some reports, reduces cravings for sweets;

• Vitamin B6 and other B vitamins. They really speed up the metabolism in cells. Include foods that contain these little helpers in your diet: meat, liver, fish, eggs, wholemeal bread, legumes, bananas, brown rice, nuts, and yeast extract.

• Folic acid. It speeds up the metabolism in the body, strengthens the immune system and helps cleanse. Found in carrots, green leafy vegetables, liver, legumes, eggs, wholemeal products, yeast, orange juice, and wheat bran,

• Probiotics - remove toxic substances from the body.

If you lead a sedentary lifestyle, you will not be able to normalize the metabolism by the methods described above. Experts advise every day to perform physical exercises and useful procedures:

• Running, brisk walking, swimming, cycling. You can join the gym. Any physical activity with regular performance will benefit.

• Cold and hot shower.

• Massage for preventive purposes.

• Push-ups, squats. These exercises will help strengthen the muscles, they can be performed independently at home.

• Long walks in the fresh air.

It is important to learn to control your emotions, to be restrained, to be able to cope with depression and stressful situations. A mentally balanced state contributes to the normalization of the hormone responsible for appetite. It is worth giving up bad habits, such as smoking, frequent drinking. These habits have a negative impact on health and disrupt metabolism.

Any type of massage (anti-cellulite, sports, vacuum, even self-massage at home) perfectly stimulates blood circulation, lymphatic drainage, which significantly speeds up metabolism.

Sauna, as well as a conventional or infrared bath, enhances cellular activity, provides free breathing of the skin as an independent organ, warming up the body, opens pores, increases circulation in cells and stimulates metabolism. In addition, taking hot baths (lasting 5-10 minutes) and a contrast shower also speed up the metabolism.

Principles of nutrition for the normalization of metabolism

Let us dwell in more detail on the diet and principles of nutrition for the normalization of metabolism, because no physical activity and vitamin and mineral supplements will help without a base - proper nutrition.

Don't forget to drink water. Clean water removes toxins from the body, and a couple of glasses of warm water on an empty stomach starts our body and helps it wake up. There are several options for how to calculate the required amount of fluid intake: 30 ml per 1 kg of ideal weight, or 1 ml of water per 1 kcal of food consumed. If you drink a lot of coffee or black tea, remember to increase your water intake.

In addition, it is very desirable to consume protein foods every day, since the body needs a lot of time to digest it and a lot of energy to digest protein. According to American nutritionists, the process of protein digestion activates the body's energy consumption (that is, burning calories) almost twice. But there are also nuances here - a good acidity of the gastric juice and the normal operation of all enzymatic systems are necessary in order for the protein to be assimilated with high quality.

The diet should be rich in plant foods and fiber. Vegetarians are known to have a fast metabolism. At the same time, more energy is spent on raw foods. Include up to 80% plant foods in your diet. Fruits containing fruit acids and plant enzymes also allow you to lose extra pounds, help the body's metabolism. Grapefruit and lemon improve digestion, promote fat burning and speed up metabolism.

Also, quite often, to speed up the metabolism, nutritionists prescribe treatment table No. 8. The general characteristic of this treatment table is to reduce the calorie content of the diet due to carbohydrates, especially easily digestible, and to a lesser extent - fats (mainly animals) with a normal or slightly increased protein content. Restriction of free fluid, sodium chloride and appetite-stimulating foods and dishes. Increasing the content of dietary fiber. Dishes are boiled, stewed, baked. Fried, pureed and chopped products are undesirable. Use sugar substitutes for sweet foods and drinks (xylitol and sorbitol are taken into account in the caloric content of the diet).

Excluded foods and dishes:

• products made from wheat flour of the highest and 1st grade, rich and puff pastry;

• milk, potato, cereal, legume soups, with pasta;

• fatty meats, goose, duck, ham, sausages, boiled and smoked sausages, canned food;

• fatty species, salted, smoked, canned fish in oil, caviar;

• fatty cottage cheese, sweet curds, cream, sweet yogurt, fermented baked milk, baked milk, fatty and salty cheeses;

• scrambled eggs;

• cereals: rice, semolina and oatmeal, pasta, legumes;

• fatty and spicy snacks, sauces; mayonnaise, all spices;

• grapes, raisins, bananas, figs, dates, very sweet varieties of other fruits, sugar, confectionery, jam, honey, ice cream, jelly;

• grape and other sweet juices, cocoa;

• meat and cooking fats.

Recommended meals:

• Bread and flour products: rye and wheat bread from wholemeal flour, protein-wheat and protein-bran bread - 100-150 g per day.

• Soups: up to 250-300 g per reception, from different vegetables with a small addition of potatoes or cereals; cabbage soup, borscht, okroshka, beetroot. 2-3 times a week soups on low-fat meat or fish broths with vegetables, meatballs.

• Meat and poultry: up to 150 g per day. Low fatness beef, veal, rabbit, chicken, turkey, limited - lean pork and lamb - mostly boiled, as well as stewed, baked in large and small pieces. The meat is fried after boiling. Beef jelly, beef sausages.

• Fish: low-fat species up to 150-200 g per day. Boiled, baked, fried, seafood.

• Milk and sour-milk drinks of low fat content. Sour cream - in dishes, low-fat cottage cheese and 9% fat (100-200 g per day) - natural and in the form of cheesecakes, puddings. Low-fat varieties of cheese - limited.

• Eggs: 1-2 per day, hard boiled, protein omelets, omelets with vegetables.

• Cereals only for adding to vegetable soups. Loose cereals from buckwheat, pearl barley, barley groats due to the reduction of bread.

• Vegetables are used widely, in all forms, some of them must be raw. All types of cabbage, fresh cucumbers, radishes, lettuce, zucchini, pumpkin, tomatoes, turnips are desirable. Sauerkraut - after washing. Limit dishes from potatoes, beets, green peas, carrots, rutabaga (total up to 200 g per day), as well as salted and pickled vegetables.

• Snacks: salads from raw and pickled vegetables, vinaigrettes, vegetable salads with boiled meat and fish, seafood. Aspic of fish or meat, low-fat ham.

• Fruits and berries of sweet and sour varieties, raw and boiled. Jelly and mousse on methylcellulose, xylitol, sorbitol, unsweetened compotes.

• Sauces and spices: tomato, red, white with vegetables, weak mushroom, vinegar.

• Drinks: tea, black coffee and coffee with milk. Unsweetened fruit, berry, vegetable juices.

• Fats: butter (limited) and vegetable oils - in dishes.

Products to improve metabolism

The best metabolic foods are those that contain certain substances, such as capsaicin. This compound actively affects the pain receptors in the human body, causing people to sweat a lot. Thus, blood circulation increases, metabolism increases, extra pounds are quickly burned. This substance is found in very spicy foods, for example, in all varieties of hot peppers. According to studies, eating hot peppers improves metabolism by as much as 25%. This indicator applies equally to chili peppers, cayenne peppers, and jalapenos.

In the diet of any diet, there are always cereals and whole grains. This choice is based on the fact that whole grains contain many nutrients, complex carbohydrates and vitamins that accelerate metabolism and normalize insulin levels in the blood. Thus, foods that improve metabolism are wheat, corn, rice, buckwheat, oats and many other cereals. It is necessary to eat them daily, because in addition to metabolism, they improve the activity of almost all body systems. For the gastrointestinal tract, they are extremely useful, because they are able to stabilize and improve its work. And with the proper functioning of these organs, the problem of excess weight, poor health, and the complexity of the cardiovascular system automatically disappear.

Among the products that increase metabolism, it is impossible not to single out broccoli. This vegetable is a valuable source of calcium, which, in turn, actively affects the process of accelerating metabolism. In addition to calcium, broccoli contains vitamins A, C and K, folate or vitamin B9, dietary fiber that is good for the gastrointestinal tract, and antioxidants. Even if broccoli doesn't sound very tasty, eating it on a daily basis is a must, if only because it's a recognized detox food that makes you feel great on any diet or dietary restriction.

To the question of what foods speed up metabolism, many experts give an unequivocal answer - it's red beans. This product is the best in this matter, because it consists of resistant starch that is indigestible by the body. The advantage of this composition is that when eating red beans, a high-quality and quick cleansing of the intestine occurs. In addition, there is a lot of fiber in beans, so eating bean dishes, a person remains full for a long time. Red beans contain a lot of B vitamins and zinc, which actively contribute to the production of testosterone in the human body. Testosterone is simply necessary for the active formation of muscle tissue in both men and women. Don't forget to soak the beans before cooking.

Well-known products to speed up metabolism are green tea and natural coffee. These drinks are quickly absorbed into the bloodstream and begin to accelerate all the processes of stagnation that existed in the body at the time of eating the products.

Drinks should be consumed daily, but it is important to monitor the quality of food and the amount of coffee and tea you drink.

Among the products that help metabolism, many experts call pears and apples, also known for their ability to fight extra pounds due to their low calorie content. Scientists from Rio de Janeiro conducted a series of studies, as a result of which it became clear that those women who eat 3 apples or pears a day lose weight faster and easier than those who neglect these products in their diet.

Foods that increase the metabolism of the body do not have to be consumed in large quantities. Sometimes, to speed up the metabolism, it is enough to simply use mustard, garlic, black pepper, ginger, turmeric and other spices in the preparation of all kinds of dishes. Spices work similarly to hot peppers - they increase blood circulation and maintain metabolism at the proper level. It has been proven that spices alone in the composition of ready meals can burn about 1000 calories per day without additional physical exercise.

When it comes to metabolism-boosting foods, leaving out lemons, oranges, or grapefruits is a crime. To lose weight, it is enough to eat citrus fruits daily, which burn fat and increase metabolism. Citrus fruits are also included in many diet menus because they are rich in vitamin C, which helps regulate insulin levels.

Dairy products, fish, fruits, and legumes are just a few of the calcium-rich foods that can boost your metabolism. They speed up the metabolic processes, thanks to the calcium they contain. And calcium, in turn, contributes to rapid weight loss. It has been established that people who consume 1300 milligrams of calcium daily lose weight 2 times faster than those who receive less of it from food.

Closes the list of foods that speed up the metabolism, fish and nuts, which varieties contain a lot of omega-3 fatty acids. Also, these substances are found in flax seeds and oil. Omega-3 fatty acids lower the level of the hormone leptin in the body, which provokes a surge in metabolism. Metabolism is the most important mechanism for health and well-being, which is why foods that positively affect it must be eaten daily.