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Foods That Increase Metabolism

How to Raise Your Metabolism By Eating Certain Foods

Eating foods that increase metabolism can help you in your weight loss program. Metabolism boosting foods are a healthy addition to your diet.

Many of the foods that increase metabolism are classed as thermogenic foods. These foods make the body hot and energy is consumed in order to lower the body's temperature. These foods are:

cinnamon
hot peppers
horseradish
mustard
curry

Cinnamon and hot mustard are easy to add to your diet. Sprinkle a little cinnamon in your morning tea or on your whole wheat toast at breakfast. It can be added to diet smoothies. Cinnamon also is said to reduce sugar cravings.

Use mustard in vegetable dips, as a condiment for meat, or mixed with pickle relish to spread on an open faced sandwich. Make your own relish so you know there is no sugar in it.

Low carb dieters are familiar with what they call the "whoosh" effect that happens after eating horseradish. It not only increases your body temperature but acts as a diuretic as well. The next day the pounds have "whooshed" away. It appears that this is not a temporary result with the pounds reappearing later in the day after heavy water consumption. Horseradish actually seems to cut short a weight loss plateau.

If you love eating hot peppers, this is an easy one for you. Just keep a jar of hot peppers in the refrigerator and eat one every few hours. The Greek banana peppers that are so popular on deli sandwiches are good for this. They are hot but not too hot.

Other ways of eating hot peppers are using Mexican salsa as a raw vegetable dip or as a meat condiment. Make a cold Gazpacho Soup with Jalapeno peppers and eat a cup before lunch and dinner. Add Tobasco sauce or cayenne pepper to other diet dishes. Make your own hot chili by adding plenty of chili powder. Read more about the Health Benefits of Cayenne Pepper.

Horeseradish is high in vitamin K. People who are taking warfarin or other anti-coagulants need to avoid eating horseradish. These drugs are taken in order to lower the concentration of vitamin K in the blood.

Foods to Boost Metabolism Include High Fiber Foods

The body has to work harder to digest high fiber foods. Digestion takes longer and you feel satisfied longer which means you won't want to eat as often.

Eat whole grains instead of foods made with processed white flour. Check the ingredient label of bread before you buy it. What is on the shelf at the grocery store labeled whole wheat or whole grain may contain mostly white flour and just because it says brown bread doesn't mean it has a single whole grain in it.

High fiber foods to speed up metabolism include:

beans
oatmeal
apples
blueberries
grapefruit
raspberries
strawberries
avacado
carrots
peas
spinach
sweet potato
winter squash
whole wheat pasta
brown rice
lentils
pumpkin seeds

Have a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. It will keep you satisfied for several hours. It is important to make oatmeal from rolled oats or steel cut oats. You won't get the same effect with instant oatmeal.

I have found that whole wheat pasta made in Italy is the best. With a low-cal sauce on it, you can hardly tell the difference to the pasta made with white flour.

Grapefruit interferes with some medications. Do not eat a lot of grapefruit or drink a lot of grapefruit juice until you have consulted with your pharmacist or doctor.

How to Raise Your Metabolism with High Calcium Foods

Calcium aids in weight loss and vitamin C helps calcium absortion. So foods that are rich in both calcium and vitamin C can be added to the foods that increase metabolism list. They are also high in fiber. These vegetables are in the brassica family.

broccoli
cauliflower
brussel sprouts
cabbage
kale
turnips

Use these vegetables as side dishes, add to soups, or use raw and eat with dips.

Nuts!

Eating 10 to 12 almonds a day can help increase metabolism. Eat the raw kind that you find in the baking section or buy the whole nut and shell them yourself.