The biochemical process which converts food into energy in your body is called metabolism. In other words, it is a complex process in which your body converts what you eat and drink into energy, which is used for the normal functioning of the body.
Even when you are resting, your body needs the energy to maintain all its hidden functions such as blood circulation, breathing, adjusting hormone levels, upgrading, and repairing cells. At rest, the body burns about 70% of all calories consumed.
An Important Indicator of Vital Functions
Metabolism plays a crucial role in the processes of life. It is thanks to metabolizing, all the energy obtained from food is converted into energy to sustain life. Metabolic rate and, therefore, the amount of energy needed for normal functioning of all organs and tissues depends on many factors – age, height and weight, sex, and condition of all organs. Also, the metabolic rate is influenced by such factors as the quality of food and intensity of physical activity, lifestyle, climate, stress and nervous tension, hormone levels, and human health as a whole. In men, metabolic processes proceed faster than in women because have more muscle and less fat tissue.
Metabolism and Age
Age has on metabolism, perhaps the most significant impact. Metabolic processes in the body of an adult for every 10 years of life, slows down by 7-10%. This is partly due to a decrease in activity and a decrease in the amount of muscle mass with age as the muscles are replaced by fatty tissue with insufficient physical activity. Metabolic processes in adipose tissue occur 3 times slower than in muscle.
Speed up the metabolism and everyone can. Of course, several factors, such as (age, gender, and body type) can not be changed, but the change in diet and lifestyle is available to all. Slightly changing your habits, you can significantly increase the rate of metabolism and thus not only lose weight but also slow down the aging process.
Foods That Speed Up Metabolism
Indeed, some foods promote rapid burning of calories and prevent the accumulation of subcutaneous fat, but to speed up metabolism need to revise your diet as a whole.
To enhance the metabolic particularly important:
Eating must be at least 5 times a day in small portions – split meals are the basis of most diets, it helps maintain stable blood sugar levels and prevent overeating.
In the diet should be a sufficient amount of protein, little animal fats, and simple carbohydrates (sugar and confectionery). Protein is the source of the basic aliphatic amino acid L-Arginine, which is necessary for building almost all organs of the body and especially muscles. Arginine also acts to accelerate the synthesis of growth hormones, as well as other hormones.
It is impossible to skip breakfast – it should be dense (about 30% of the daily ratio) and include proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
It is necessary to eat small portions, and the last meal should be no later than 4 hours before bedtime.
Need to drink plenty of water – it is an essential component of human metabolism, its lack slows down the metabolic processes. If you drink cold water, your body spends more calories to warm it, which is also useful for metabolism.
Include in Your Diet Foods That Speed Up Metabolism
These include:
- lean meat and protein foods – turkey breast, lean beef, eggs (especially protein);
- oily sea fish (salmon, trout, mackerel, sardines) – it has a lot of omega-3, which have a positive effect on the metabolism and regulate leptin levels, a hormone responsible for metabolic rate
- and fat burning in the body;
- low-fat yogurt;
- red hot chili peppers: it contains special alkaloid capsaicin, which increases the production of enzymes that speed up metabolism;
- green tea;
- grapefruit;
- lemons – to enhance metabolism rate need to add lemon juice to mineral water you drink during exercise;
- ginger, especially pickled;
- apples, pears, kiwi.
Metabolism and Lifestyle
But metabolic processes depend not only on what we eat, besides, great importance in our overall lifestyle. To speed up the metabolism, you need to move more. Long walks briskly, cycling, fitness, shaping, active games, dancing, and sex also speed up the metabolism.
It is useful to visit the bath or sauna. Preferably within 5-10 minutes to take a hot bath or alternating douche. In the end, is desirable to take a cold shower.
A good massage also increases metabolic processes, and bedtime is useful to do a few stretching exercises. Night’s sleep should last at least 7 hours – lack of sleep slows down metabolism in humans of all ages.
The important metabolic accelerator is sunlight – it has a positive effect on the general condition and activates the body’s defenses and stimulates the production of vitamin D, which is also involved in the metabolic processes of the body. Fresh air, or rather the oxygen contained in it, also accelerates metabolism and promotes the burning of fat.
And finally, the main problem of humanity – stress, which also slows metabolism, so the use of relaxation techniques, self-massage techniques, and other ways to relieve stress, too, will help you speed up your metabolism.
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