Although the process of increasing your metabolism involves some hard work -- getting enough exercise and eliminating unhealthy foods from your diet -- it can also be fun, when you eat certain foods and juices that can help you reach your goal. You don't have to sacrifice great taste when you indulge in foods and juices that you enjoy, but also contain nutrients that increase your body's metabolism.
Lean Protein Foods
Eating a variety of different types of lean foods that are rich in protein may help increase your metabolism, reports Women'sHealth.gov, which suggests choosing from among protein-packed foods such as nuts, beans, fish, lean poultry, lean meats, and seeds. Family Doctor.org says that both nuts and fish contain polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats that are better for your body's metabolic process than the saturated fats often found in meat.
Vegetables
Vegetables are low in calories but high in nutrients like vitamins that support the cells that do the work of metabolizing your food. Certain kinds of vegetables are especially helpful at increasing metabolism, Women's Health.gov says, and those include green vegetables such as spinach, kale, and broccoli; orange vegetables like winter squash and carrots; peas; and all types of beans.
Grapefruit Juice
Grapefruit juice lowers insulin levels, which increases metabolism because when insulin levels are low, your body works harder to metabolize food for energy, reports Fitness Tips for Life.com. Scripps Clinic research study participants who ate half of a grapefruit with each meal for 12 weeks lost an average of 3.6 lbs during that time, Fitness Tips for Life.com says.
Orange Juice
Orange juice is which in vitamin C, which has been shown to increase metabolism by fighting the stress that substances called free radicals cause to the body's metabolic system, reports Science Daily.com. Adults between ages 60 and 74 who took vitamin C intravenously saw their metabolic rates rise by nearly 100 calories per day when resting, Science Daily.com says. When shopping for juice, however, it's important to choose products that contain 100 percent juice rather than those that are sweetened artificially with added sugar, since natural juice contains more nutrients like vitamins than processed drinks. Family Doctor.org cautions that consuming juice drinks that have been artificially sweetened adds too many calories to your diet for the amount of nutritional benefit that they offer.
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