How To Increase Metabolism: 10 Natural Ways

Writer and expert2 years ago

What is Metabolism?

Metabolism is a chemical reaction that occurs within your body to create energy that cells, and organisms require to function1. Your metabolism is extremely important to your health, as it controls how much energy your body uses; therefore, affects your normal bodily functions. There are many factors that can affect your metabolism such as; age, diet, sleep and genes - but there are many ways you can naturally boost your metabolism.

In this article, we will be discussing 10 top tips to naturally speed up your metabolism:

Eat at Regular Times
Eat More Protein
Get Enough Sleep
Drink Water Consistently
Exercise Often
Reduce Stress Where You Can
Taking the Right Amount of Vitamins
Take Regular Screen Breaks
Avoid Trans-fat and Processed Foods
Eat a Healthy and Balanced Diet

How Does Metabolism Affect Our Wellbeing?

Metabolism is one of the most important chemical processes that occurs in our body. It is a complex process that turns the food and drinks we ingest, into energy, that our body uses to function 2. Even when you are resting, your metabolism doesn’t stop, it continues to keep your body moving for you to breathe, grow, repair cells, and circulate blood 3.

Signs Of Low Metabolism

When your metabolism is slow, your whole bodily functions are impacted. Your confidence, muscle growth, weight management and energy levels can be heavily impacted when your body isn’t processing the right nutrients 4.

Here are 5 signs of low metabolism:

Weight gain or difficulty losing weight
General tiredness
Dry skin and thinning hair
Difficulty concentrating
An imbalance in hormones

10 Natural Ways To Increase Metabolism

Eat at Regular Times

Firstly, eating smaller meals more regularly is a great way to boost your metabolism.

“What time you eat could be just as important as what you eat when it comes to metabolic health,” says Jonathan Jun, M.D. 7.

Eating a healthy meal throughout the day can allow your body to distribute energy better but more importantly, researchers have found that eating dinner later can result in a 10% reduction in fat burning as when you’re asleep your body's metabolic rate slows down 6. Studies have shown that those who eat later are more prone to high blood sugar, slower fat breakdown and increase stress hormones, all contributing to weight gain 7

Eat More Protein

High protein diets do not only fill you up faster as it suppresses the ghrelin hormone, but they naturally support a faster metabolic rate 16. Combined with exercise, protein is a great way to support your muscle growth. Enhancing muscle mass means your body can burn more calories which then speeds up your metabolism. Foods such as meat, fish, eggs, and dairy products are great sources of protein that you can include in your daily diet.

Get Enough Sleep

Sleep is one of the most crucial factors affecting your metabolic rate. If you are finding it difficult to incorporate any new habits in your routine, even getting an extra 30 minutes of sleep can have incredibly positive benefits.

Nutritionist Seth Santoro says, ‘lack of proper sleep can cause you to burn fewer calories, lack appetite control and experience an increase in cortisol levels, which stores fat 10.’

Drink Water Consistently

When you are not drinking enough water, you may be causing your metabolism to slow down. A study previously showed that drinking 17 ounces (500 ml) of water increases resting metabolism by 30% for about an hour 11. Water plays an essential part in burning fat; therefore, helps with using and distributing energy, as well as helping your body remove its waste. The suggested intake of water for women is 2.7l and 3.7l for men.

Exercise Often

Building muscle is an extremely important factor that affects your metabolic rate. No matter what you are doing, your body is constantly burning calories. However, people with a higher muscle mass have faster metabolism 8. Research has suggested that a great way to increase your muscle mass is doing HIIT workouts and lifting heavier weights 9. Your metabolism is affected by your type of workouts and doing cardio alone will not be as beneficial as doing a mixture of exercise to help you gain muscle.

Reduce Stress Where You Can

Stress can be a big factor affecting your metabolism as it can disrupt eating and sleeping habits. Expert research suggests that it can cause your hormone cortisol to rise, which increases glucose into your system. This in turn increases your appetite as it creates a rush of energy into your body 12.

There are many things in our lives that we can‘t control, so try to avoid stressing about them! Adopt good habits such as meditation to counteract stress and avoid situations that lead to stress.

Taking the Right Number of Vitamins

Vitamins are an essential part of the functions of your enzymes and over 20% of people in the UK indicate a deficiency10. Vitamins contribute largely to the distribution of energy and how it's stored in the body as they help digest carbohydrates to avoid it turning to fat. Therefore, if you lack the suggested intake of minerals, your metabolism is slowed down.

Vitamins such as Vitamin B are essential to digest lipids and Vitamin D helps with absorbing calcium and managing blood sugar levels 14.

Take Regular Screen Breaks

Putting your phone or laptop down and stepping away is a good thing to do in general, but it can affect your metabolism too. Studies have shown that bright blue light late at night and early in the morning can cause a rise in your glucose levels and increase insulin resistance 16. It can also affect your sleep as blue light convinces your brain to stay awake which in turn also affects your metabolism.

Before you go to bed, avoid scrolling through your phone or change settings on your devices from blue light to yellow light.

Avoid Trans-fat and Processed Foods

Trans-fat foods like frozen pizza, doughnuts and commercial baked goods are extremely detrimental to your general health. Trans-fats contain unsaturated fatty acids which are harder to breakdown15. The more efficient your body is at breaking down the food you eat the less likely you are to gain weight.

Eat a Healthy and Balanced Diet

We are sure you have heard of this one before, but your diet is one of the biggest contributors to help speed up your metabolism. Eating less does not mean your metabolism will increase, you need to be eating the right amount of each type of foods for your body to receive the right energy levels.

When you fill yourself up with super foods such as fruit, vegetables and protein, your body won’t need to eat more than you need and will control how you use energy.

Talk To Your Doctor

This article provides you with information and is not to be followed against your doctor's medical advice. Please speak to a medical professional if you need further information about increasing your metabolism.

Take Home Message

We burn energy constantly to keep our bodies functioning. There are basic aspects of your routine you can change speed up your metabolism. Your metabolism can be very impactful to your health and living a balanced lifestyle such as eating whole foods, exercising and sleeping well can change your energy levels.

If you find it difficult to live that balanced lifestyle, taking supplements can support your nutrients levels. You can shop our range here.

FAQs

What are signs of slow metabolism?

Fatigue, weight gain, dry skin, brittle hair, nails and mood swings are all signs of slow metabolism.

How can I increase my metabolism?

Living a healthy lifestyle by eating a balanced diet and being active will not only improve your general health but will naturally increase your metabolism.