If sluggish metabolism is hampering your dieting efforts, you don't have to resort to prescription drugs to rev up your body's fat-burning powers. Vitamins and minerals--many found in everyday foods--can kick your digestion into weight-loss mode. Stock up on oranges, yogurt and fish, drink green tea and water, and chew on licorice root to shed pounds. Always consult your doctor before beginning a diet; make sure there are no unwanted interactions with medicines you may be taking.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C boosts metabolism, some studies show. In one, D.F. Gardiadiaz and colleagues at the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain, fed some rats vitamin C and others none, while keeping all on a high-fat diet. The rats who didn't get vitamin C gained a significant amount of body fat and developed a resistance to insulin, while the rats who supplemented their diets with vitamin C did not, according to the study, reported in 2009 in the journal Acta Physiologica. Citrus fruits, including oranges, grapefruit and strawberries, contain vitamin C, also available as a supplement.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D boosts metabolism, according to research conducted by J. Teichmann and other German scientists who examined 240 patients from 1998 until 2002. Women with slower metabolisms suffered from vitamin D deficiency. They reported their findings in 2008 in the European Journal of Medical Research. Sources of vitamin D include fish, beef, liver, cheese and egg yolks. Vegans and others who don't eat meat and dairy products may get vitamin D from some fortified breakfast cereals and orange juice. Vitamin D is also available as a supplement, often in pills that also contain calcium.
Calcium
Numerous studies link calcium, most commonly found in dairy products, to increased metabolism and weight loss. In one study, participants who ate three servings of yogurt daily lost 61 percent more body fat and 81 percent more abdominal fat than those who included low amounts of calcium in their diets. Dr. Michael Zemel presented his findings at an experimental biology meeting. Calcium can also be found in leafy green vegetables, fortified fruit drinks and fortified soy products. Adults ages 18 to 50 need two to three servings of dairy products or their equivalents. Persons young and older require one or two additional servings.
Green Tea
Drinking green tea can boost your metabolism and help you lose weight. All tea contains catechins, but green tea, which undergoes less processing than black and oolong tea, contains more. In one of numerous studies demonstrating the fat-burning properties of green tea, men who included green tea in their diets lost nearly twice as much as men who drank green tea. Kevin Maki, who led the study reported in 2009 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, said the men who drank green tea containing 660 mg of catechins also experienced greater reductions in their waist sizes than the men who drank black tea containing 22 mg of catechins.
Water and Licorice
Water keeps you hydrated, flushes toxins from your system and revs your metabolism. The Mayo Clinic says you should drink at least six glasses a day. And one study suggests that drinking water provides the fat-burning powers of ephedrine, a powerful stimulant. Michael Boschmann and other German researchers reported in a 2003 issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism that drinking two glasses of water boosted participants' metabolism by 30 percent. And people who ate 3.5 grams of licorice root daily lost fat without lowering caloric intake, according to D Armaanini, who led a study published in 2003 in the Journal of Endocrinological Investigations.
References
- "Drug Week"; Reports Summarize Metabolism Study Results from University of Navarra; (NO BYLINE) May 15 2009
- "Drug Week"; Reports on Enzyme Research Findings from J. Teichmann and Co-Researchers Provide New Insights; (NO BYLINE) May 15 2009
- Office of Dietary Supplements: Vitamin D
- University of Tennessee Knoxville: Yogurt Increases Fat Loss, UT Study Shows
- Office of Dietary Supplements: Calcium
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