How to Boost Metabolism Through Food

While there are a number of reasons that affect your metabolism functioning over time, certain foods can indeed increase our body’s ability to break down foods, making our metabolism more efficient. 

Certain factors, such as age and genetics, play a huge role in the decreased functioning of metabolism over time, however, there are some healthy diet changes you can make to boost your metabolism and help you to maintain a healthy weight. 

Before we dive deep into what foods can increase your metabolism, we first want you to understand what metabolism is and why it’s important. 

So, what is Metabolism?

In a nutshell, metabolism is your body’s ability to convert the foods you consume into energy. But, it gets more complicated than this. This process occurs within every cell in the body, and the energy produced gets used for important processes that occur all throughout the body and is also used for the synthesis of new organic material. 

Healthy metabolism is vital to keep you energized and active, otherwise, decreased metabolism can have drastic consequences on your body including weight gain, diminished energy, and increased risk of chronic diseases. 

Luckily, you have the power to boost your metabolism through foods you eat with Pure Plates. We want to share with you these following tips to help you feel your best self and maintain a healthy weight:

 

Increase your intake of protein-rich foods

 

Higher protein intake helps you burn more calories. Yes, you read that right. Foods like meat, fish, eggs, legumes, nuts and seeds are all excellent sources of protein that can help boost your metabolism. 

The reason for this is simple. Eating higher amounts of protein will require your body to burn more energy in order to digest it. This process is otherwise known as the thermic effect of food or “TEF.” 

Another great plus of eating protein-rich foods is that they can help you to stay fuller for longer, meaning less overeating and more digestion! 

Make sure to check out Pure Plate’s delicious taco bowl to get that right protein hit to help increase your metabolism. 

 

Eat more fiber-rich foods

 

Like we’ve discussed in earlier blog posts, fiber is the non-digestible part of the plant that plays an incredibly important role in maintaining healthy digestion. When you consume fiber, your body attempts to digest it, and in doing so, your body is actually burning more calories than it would digesting other foods. How amazing is that?

Here are some important fiber-rich foods to add to your diet:

• Apples

• Broccoli 

• Berries

• Nuts and seeds

• Whole grains

Pure Plates offers many fiber-rich foods on their plant-filled menu, including fruit options, vegetables, and homemade bars packed with nuts and seeds.

 

Eat Chili Peppers

 

It’s becoming more evident that spicy foods can help increase metabolism. Research has shown that chili peppers contain an active compound known as capsaicin, which helps speed up the rate of metabolism by converting white adipose tissue (fat tissue) into brown adipose tissue, triggering fat metabolism and energy expenditure. 

 

Drink more Green Tea

 

Green tea is known to contain an ingredient called catechins, which is believed to help boost metabolism and promote weight loss. In addition to this ingredient, green tea also contains caffeine. Caffeine increases heart rate, which in turn burns more calories in the process. 

We recommend starting your day with a hot cup of green tea alongside your breakfast to help optimize your metabolism!

The Big Takeaway… 

Although metabolism can be affected by factors that are out of your control, such as age or genetics, there are still foods you can eat to help increase the function of your metabolism and maintain a healthy weight. Eating with pure Plates can help you to take your metabolism into your own control.

Eating protein-rich foods, increasing your fiber intake, eating chili peppers, and drinking green tea are all part of the equation. Now that we’ve shared these tips with you, we hope that you can implement some of them into your daily routines and that you can share with us whether you notice any difference in your metabolism! Head over to Pure Plates meal plans to see which foods you want to get started with!