Reducing calories is a must for fat loss, but slashing calories from the wrong foods might slow down your weight loss efforts. Research indicates that certain foods can help enhance weight loss, since they speed up the metabolism, or the rate by which the body burns calories, by increasing energy expenditure and fat oxidation, or fat burning.
Yogurt
In research reported in the April 2005 issue of the "International Journal of Obesity," researchers from the University of Tennessee studied the impact of dairy on weight loss in obese subjects. For 12 weeks, participants followed a reduced calorie diet with 400 to 500 mg of calcium supplementation or 1100 mg of calcium from yogurt. At the end of the treatment, scientists discovered that the yogurt group lost more body fat and lost less lean muscle compared to the control group. Preserving muscle helps boosts the metabolism, since the body burns calories in order to hold onto muscle.
Oolong Tea
Researchers from Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center explored the effects of oolong tea on fat oxidation and metabolic rate. They reported in the November 2001 issue of the "Journal of Nutrition," that subjects consuming 15 g of oolong tea for three days experienced increases in both metabolic rate and fat burning compared to those receiving water.
High Protein Foods
Eating protein rich foods, such as beef, chicken, turkey, fish and cottage cheese, might boost the metabolism, according to a review performed by scientists from Harvard School of Public Health. They concluded that high protein diets help increase the metabolism by boosting thermogenesis, or the conversion of food into heat in the body. Researchers reported their findings in the June 2004 issue of the "Journal of the American College of Nutrition."
Green Tea
Like protein, green tea also boosts the metabolism by increasing thermogenesis in the body. Researchers from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland reviewed the clinical studies regarding the impact of green tea on thermogenesis. They reported in the February 2000 issue of the "International Journal of Obesity," that green tea contains antioxidants called polyphenols, which increases thermogenesis by preventing the breakdown of the hormone noradrenaline, also known as norepinpehrine, a hormone that regulates the metabolism.
References
- International Journal of Obesity: Dairy Augmentation of Total and Central Fat Loss in Obese Subjects; M.B. Zemel et al.; April 2005
- Journal of Nutrition: Oolong Tea Increases Metabolic Rate and Fat Oxidation in Men; W. Rumpler et al.; November 2001
- Journal of the American College of Nutrition: The Effects of High Protein Diets on Thermogenesis, Satiety and Weight Loss: A Critical Review; T.L. Halton and F.B. Hu; June 2004
- International Journal of Obesity: Green Tea and Thermogenesis: Interactions Between Catechin-Polyphenols, Caffeine and Sympathetic Activity; A.G. Dulloo et al.; February 2000
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