Fast carbohydrates make your blood sugar level rise rapidly, but ultimately slow your metabolism, while slow carbohydrates have a minimal effect on your blood sugar level and ultimately enhance your metabolism. A diet comprising regularly spaced meals made up of primarily slow-digesting carbohydrates, lean protein, fruits and vegetables will speed up your metabolism.
Significance
The glucose from fast carbohydrates is absorbed quickly into your bloodstream, which causes a large production of insulin from your pancreas. Insulin quickly shuttles the glucose in your blood into your cells, causing your blood sugar to drop even lower than what it was before you ate the fast-digesting carbohydrate. Fluctuating blood sugar levels decrease your metabolism. A rapid drop in your blood sugar level causes your body to produce cortisol, a stress hormone. Prolonged, high levels of insulin and cortisol circulating in your blood will eventually lead to abdominal obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Slow carbohydrates, on the other hand, have a small effect on raising your blood sugar. This means your blood sugar levels remain steady, staying within an optimal range, speeding up your metabolism.
Low-Glycemic Carbs
The glycemic index is used to classify fast carbohydrates and slow carbohydrates. Foods with a glycemic index of 55 or less have a minimal effect on raising your blood sugar. Low-glycemic grains include cooked fettuccine and spaghetti noodles, fresh rice noodles and all bran cereal. Apples, oranges, pears, sweet cherries, dried apricots and unsweetened apple juice are low glycemic fruits and fruit juices. Skim milk, boiled chickpeas, roasted peanuts and boiled soybeans are a few examples of low-glycemic protein. If you are hungry and need something quick to snack on, grab a low-glycemic carbohydrate for energy, speeding up your metabolism.
High-Glycemic Carbs
The only time you should eat high-glycemic carbs, with a glycemic index of 70 or more, is immediately after a long or moderately to vigorously intense workout, with a little bit of lean protein to rev up your metabolism. Such carbs quickly replenish the energy you used during your workouts, stimulating muscle tissue remodeling, growth and repair and speeding up your metabolism. Obvious high-glycemic carbs include sugar candy, white bread, graham crackers and white rice. Other high-glycemic carbs include pineapple, watermelon, brown rice, pretzels and cornflake cereal.
Protein
It takes more calories to break down protein into amino acids than it does carbohydrates into glucose. Hence, consuming the recommended 1g of protein per kilogram of your body weight per day will speed your metabolism. If you are exercising and eating to increase your muscular strength or your muscle mass, you should eat between 1 ½g to 2g of protein per kilogram of your body weight per day, according to Thomas Baechle, Ph.D., and his colleague in their book, "Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning."
Vitamins and Minerals
Vitamins and minerals like vitamin D, calcium, iron and magnesium enhance oxygen delivery and muscular contraction. A diet including foods from all food groups ensures you consume a sufficient amount of vitamins and minerals for your cells to function properly, speeding up your metabolism.
References
- "Exercise Physiology, Energy, Nutrition & Human Performance"; William McArdle, Frank Katch and Victor Katch; 2007
- "ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal"; Glycemic Index: An Educational Tool for Health and Fitness Professionals; Stephen Wong, Ph.D., et al.; November/December 2003
- "ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal"; Applying Concepts of Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load to Active Individuals; Melinda Manore, Ph.D., et al; Septemeber/October 2004
- "Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning"; Thomas R. Baechle and Roger W. Earle; 2000
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