Water
Water is a natural appetite suppressant. Drinking at least one litre a day of water will help boost the metabolism, and flush toxins out of the liver. Having a healthy liver will help with overall health and filtering toxins out of the body. You can add lemon or lime to boost the liver’s flushing function, but be careful not to add sugar and other flavourings, always try to keep it real with your water! (And everything else 🙂 )
Garlic & Onions
Garlic and onions have an extremely cleansing effect on the body and garlic in particular has a strong cleansing effect on the blood. Both garlic and onions lower blood pressure and cholesterol and promote the contraction of smooth muscles in the intestinal wall helping to move foods further along the digestive tract.
Green Tea
Green tea has long been touted for its antioxidants, or antioxidant polyphenols. It’s active ingredient catechin has been proven to improve fat oxidation and thermogenesis which is the heat produced by digestion. Green tea also protects lean muscle tissue and stabilizes blood sugar levels.
Omega 3 Fatty Acids
Salmon, herring and tuna are fish high in omega 3 fats, and omega 3 fats boost the metabolism. Omega 3s help to balance blood sugar and reduce inflammation, helping to regulate and stimulate the metabolism. They have also been shown to reduce resistance to the hormone leptin which is responsible in part to how the body burns fat.
Green Leafy Vegetables
Green leafy vegetables are full of antioxidants and fibre, both of which are very stimulating the the metabolism. Vegetables like kale, spinach, collard greens and turnip greens are rich in iron which helps red blood cells to transport nutrients throughout the body.
Nuts & Seeds
Stick to raw nuts and seeds to receive their maximum metabolism boosting effects, raw nuts and seeds boost your metabolism twice as much as when they are roasted. Nuts and seeds contain two fat burning nutrients, choline and inositol. They act to remove fat from the body so that it doesn’t get reabsorbed, in the places you don’t want it.
Eggs
Digesting protein takes up to seven times more energy than digesting fats or carbohydrates. Eggs are protein rich, packed with vitamins, easy to prepare and portable. 🙂
Grapefruit
Along with being a powerful metabolism booster, a one cup serving of grapefruit juice provides more than 100% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C. Grapefruit also reduce insulin levels which ultimately promotes weight loss.
Broccoli
Broccoli is also extremely high in vitamin C which the body needs to absorb calcium which promotes weight loss. Broccoli has high water and fibre content. This combination helps you to feel full and dramatically increases your body’s ability to burn fat.
Cayenne Peppers
Cayenne peppers speed up your metabolism and allow your body to burn more calories by releasing Capsaicin. Capsaicin is also found in bell peppers and jalapeños, which are part of the vegetable family Capsicum annuum. The body responds by releasing stress hormones that speed up your metabolism and help you to burn fat. Cayenne peppers also contribute to thermogenesis which is the heat produced by digestion which also increases metabolism.