Combination of Foods to Increase Your Metabolism

Combination of Foods to Increase Your Metabolism
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Eating a diet that features healthy ways to combine foods can increase people's metabolism, helping their bodies efficiently turn what they eat into energy. That can help people avoid gaining unwanted pounds or lose extra weight they're currently carrying. When choosing a diet to increase metabolism, it's important for people to pay attention to the carbohydrates, fiber, and fats they eat.

Adjust Carbohydrates

The Cleveland Clinic recommends that people who want to achieve a healthy metabolic rate limit their carbohydrate consumption to no more than 50 percent of the total calories they consume. Choosing complex carbohydrates such as whole-grain bread and brown rice over simple carbohydrates such as white bread and white rice also helps to rease metabolism, says the Cleveland Clinic; so does avoiding foods made with refined sugars,such as crackers and cookies.

Increase Fiber

By increasing the amount of fiber they eat, people can increase their metabolism. Important dietary sources of fiber for those trying to increase their metabolism are: vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes such as lentils and beans, according to the Cleveland Clinic. MSNBC.com suggests that people aim to consume about 25 milligrams of fiber every day, which is about the amount that they can get from eating three servings of vegetables plus three servings of fruits. When people eat that much fiber, reports MSNBC.com, they can increase their metabolism to the point of burning up to 30 percent more fat per day than they can eating less fiber.

Choose Healthy Fats

While 30 to 45 percent of people's daily calories can come from various fats, they should choose healthy fats such as those found in nuts, olive oil, canola oil, and flax seed oil, the Cleveland Clinic says. Saturated fats such as those found in meat are unhealthy for the body's metabolic process, reports the Cleveland Clinic, so people trying to increase their metabolism should reduce their intake of red meats and poultry. However, MSNBC.com says people should keep in mind that meat contains protein that their bodies need to build lean muscle that increases metabolism. People should aim to consume some protein in every meal, MSNBC.com states, in ways such as three-ounce servings of lean meat, eight-ounce servings of yogurt, or two tablespoons of nuts. When people eat protein at a meal, their bodies can burn up to 35 percent more calories afterward than they can if they don't include protein in a meal, according to MSNBC.com.

References

Article reviewed by GlennK Last updated on: Sep 25, 2010

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