Why can’t you speed up your metabolism with nutrition alone?

Your metabolism not only determines how quickly you absorb nutrients, but also how long you stay satiated and how quickly you digest your food. It is believed that people with a fast metabolism lose weight faster and gain weight slower. Therefore, many people want to speed up their metabolism. Some people believe that this can be done with the help of certain foods. Whether it’s really so, we examine together with nutritionist Anna Glumova.

How does metabolism work?

Human metabolism is controlled by a small area of the brain, the hypothalamus. It slows down or speeds up metabolism if it sees any deviations from the norm for a particular person. At the same time, the optimal weight and fat percentage for everyone is determined genetically.

Metabolism is always a combination of appetite and activity, not just calorie consumption, as some people are used to thinking.

It is impossible to speed up your metabolism by adjusting your diet. But to slow down – quite. Severe calorie deficit, severe “starvation” diets can slow down metabolism. In such cases, the hypothalamus receives information about the reduction of energy supplied with food and gives a signal to save it for all needs, except for brain and heart activity. Then a person feels weak, wants to sleep.

In addition, the metabolism is strongly influenced by thyroid hormones: with their lack of metabolism slows down.

Why can not accelerate metabolism only with the help of nutrition?

It is impossible to speed up metabolism with nutrition alone for several reasons. First, with a calorie deficit, the hypothalamus will signal the thyroid gland to save resources, and metabolism will slow down.

Secondly, if the amount of calories is increased, the hypothalamus, although it will give a command to increase activity, it will not significantly increase basal metabolism.

Basal metabolism is the minimum amount of energy needed to ensure normal body activity under standard conditions.

If a person is hungry and therefore lethargic, inactive, sleepy, and would rather sit than actively move, a caloric surplus will make him more energetic. But still not so much so that energy expenditure is significantly increased. To burn off the excess, you’ll have to add physical activity.

Thirdly, even if you increase the number of meals while maintaining caloric intake (so-called split meals), your metabolism will not change either. The body receives the same number of calories, but not for three times, but for five or six approaches, and the expense of their digestion does not depend on the number of meals.

How can you speed up your metabolism?

Add physical activity (for example, strength and cardio training).

Stimulate the gastrointestinal tract: eat more fiber-rich foods (greens, baked root vegetables, vegetables, psyllium), spices (cayenne pepper, turmeric, cloves, cinnamon, ginger), use enzymes and probiotics (fermented milk products, sauerkraut).

Promote thyroid health. Thyroid hormones regulate metabolism at the cellular level. It is worth preventing thyroid diseases and undergo regular checkups (ultrasound, blood tests for certain hormones, etc.) Also try to add more iodine to your diet. It is found, for example, in seaweed, cod liver, seafood, feijoa.

Increase sensitivity to the hormone leptin. The hypothalamus reacts to the amount of leptin. If the reaction is correct, with healthy levels of fat and therefore leptin, it reduces appetite and increases activity (speeds up metabolism).

In general, it is important to follow a proper diet. Your diet should include the right fats in moderate amounts: nuts and seeds, eggs, oily fish, avocados and cold-pressed vegetable oils. You should also minimize unhealthy fats: fatty red meat, refined oils, trans fats.