Are you looking for foods that speed metabolism? This will probably surprise you. All foods speed metabolism.

“How is that possible?” you ask.

Let’s take a quick look at just what is metabolism and how does it works. This explanation might help you to better understand the process and how it can affect your body.

When you eat a meal, your body begins the process of digesting the food, drawing out the nutrients and processing them to create energy that keeps your body functioning properly and effectively. It takes approximately 4 hours just to absorb the nutrients. This is repeated with every meal you eat. In a day, that amounts to 12 hours that your body is busy absorbing each meal’s nutrients.

In short, during the digestion process, our bodies burn calories. This is especially true of foods containing carbohydrates and protein which take longer than other foods to digest. Simply by eating, digesting and absorbing nutrients from the food, you speed your metabolism.

Does this mean you should eat more to constantly stimulate calorie burning?

Here’s another answer that might surprise you. Yes. But hold on before you park yourself in front of the refrigerator, bib in place, knife and fork at the ready.

If you skip breakfast and other meals, you will reduce how quickly your body burns calories. In this case, eating more food will help speed metabolism. In fact, by eating smaller meals more often throughout the day, you can keep your metabolism working so that your body is constantly in the state of calorie burning.

As mentioned, there are some foods that require more of your body’s energy to burn. The degree to which they affect your body’s metabolism depends on the particular food choice. Caffeine, coffee, tea, chocolate and a chemical found in chillies are some foods that speed metabolism, but only minimally.

Carbohydrates and protein trigger the highest rate of metabolism. In fact, a protein meal can burn as much as 25% of that meal’s calories through digestion and absorption.

While a high protein meal might sound appealing, consider that it would not provide your body with its required round of nutrients. Adding vitamin and mineral supplements is not the answer either, because they do not provide the same quality of nutrients that are found naturally in foods.

Your best choice is to eat well-balanced meals regularly that contain protein, non-starchy vegetables, fats and carbohydrates. This can minimize fat production while keeping your blood sugar at a level that helps to burn fat and build muscle.

Focus on these 10 specific foods that help speed metabolism and burn fat.

Whole grain bread
Chicken
Salmon
Eggs
Fresh Cheese
Green Beans
Summer Squash
Cabbage
Asparagus and other non-starchy vegetables
And, of course, protein rich meats

To temporarily boost your metabolism by as much as 30%, drink cold water.

Remember, there are other factors beyond your control that can affect your body’s speed of metabolism, including your age, sex and any medical conditions.

While these foods can speed metabolism, the best way to lose weight is with a healthy combination of regular meals and physical exercise, especially those that build muscle because muscle burns calories too.

Exercise regularly, stick with a diet of protein, non-starchy vegetables, fats and carbohydrates, and be sure to add some of those foods that speed metabolism, and you’ll soon see the results you want.

Unchaining Yourself from an Unhealthy Food Addiction
Protica Research

The cry of I have no willpower! often emerges from the consumers who jokingly surrender to their lack of will when it comes to eating something clearly unhealthy. However, scientific nutritional research has identified that something much more serious much more dangerous is often at work here. For many people, what they perceive as a harmless lack of willpower is actually an addiction an addiction to chemicals that the brain secretes in response to stimulation by certain foods, such as chocolate or cheese[i].

As dangerous as this addiction is, however, recent studies suggest that it is actually much more frightening than it first seems. According to one notable study, the human brain can release dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter linked with feelings enjoyment, when a person merely sees or smells certain foods[ii]. As such, people who may be sensibly avoiding foods that release serotonin and other chemicals (such as chocolate) may still be susceptible to a sight and smell-based addiction to unhealthy food.

Understanding this complex problem begins with understanding the word addiction. Defining a clear-cut definition of addiction is in itself a challenge and a rather hotly debated pursuit at the moment. Still, there is enough unity among credible social and biological scientists to say that a person who is powerless to stop an action is addicted[iii]. When applying this rather grave concept to eating, it becomes starkly clear that choosing an extra slice of pizza or bar of chocolate may be the expression of a very serious addiction to unhealthy food.

Remarkably, unlike how addictions to things like alcohol, drugs, and sexual activity viewed biological and psychological illnesses, addiction to eating is often ignored or, at the very least, diminished to be something that is based on willpower. The insulting advice of just dont eat it if you dont want to get fat! that some obese people actually hear from their doctors, relatives, or colleagues is one of the most common manifestations of this often well-meaning, but potentially harmful, ignorance.

The bottom line fact and one that more medical professionals are accepting based on scientific evidence is that obesity and related eating disorders are often the results of an addiction they are a serious health condition that must be approached methodologically like other diseases[iv].

Understanding that food addiction is indeed a problem a severe disease, in fact is a fundamental key in addressing this unique health challenge. At the same time, the notion of willpower should be removed, in most cases, from the eating disorder vocabulary, and replaced with the word addiction. This will make that extra piece of pizza or that third slice of chocolate cake be seen for what they often are: the means to satisfy a bonafide addiction.

Once the eating disorder as an addiction paradigm is in place, then and only then can both unhealthy eaters and those supporting them take steps to solve the problem. While there are no overnight solutions, there are paths that eaters can take that head in the right direction: freedom from eating addiction. The first step on this path is to eat a complete and balanced source of nutrition.

Taking this first step, like so much else associated with the addiction to unhealthy food, is easier said than done. Eating sensibly is unusually difficult in a time-starved culture and even more difficult when there are arrays of self-described nutritious dietary sources to choose from. Whether it is energy bars or fad diets, finding a simple, convenient, and practical source of balanced nutrition is hard to find.

However, some exceptional products are garnering serious positive attention from scientific community. These products deliver complete protein in a vitamin enriched formula. Furthermore and of critical value is that these products contain no carbohydrates, no unsaturated fat, and few calories none of which are from fat. These products are helping people unchain themselves from food addictions, and reflect a trend towards nutritious and ethical nutritional supplement manufacturing.

Of ultimate importance, however, is that these products return eating choice control back to where it must always remain: with conscious and empowered consumers, and not to some hidden and potentially destructive addiction.

About Protica

Founded in 2001, Protica, Inc. is a nutritional research firm with offices in Lafayette Hill and Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Protica manufactures capsulized foods, including Profect, a compact, hypoallergenic, ready-to-drink protein beverage containing zero carbohydrates and zero fat. Information on Protica is available at www.protica.com

You can also learn about Profect at www.profect.com

References

[i] Source: Thats Why We Call it Junk Food. MSNBC. http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3606198/

[ii] Source: Food on the Brain. Forbes.com. http://www.forbes.com/home_europe/free_forbes/2005/0110/063.html

[iii] Source: Addiction. eHealth Connection. http://www.ehealthconnection.com/regions/ehealth/health_information/ 00036220.asp

[iv] Source: Obesity as a Disease. MPR News. http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/03/29_bensonl_desease/

Copyright 2004 – Protica Research – http://www.protica.com

About the Author

About Protica

Founded in 2001, Protica, Inc. is a nutritional research firm with offices in Lafayette Hill and Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Protica manufactures capsulized foods, including Profect, a compact, hypoallergenic, ready-to-drink protein beverage containing zero carbohydrates and zero fat. You can learn more about Protica at www.protica.com — Information on Profect is available at www.profect.com

Copyright 2004 – Protica Research