Dialing up the heat
Dialing Up the Heat: Foods That Raise Metabolism
There are several energy sources that our body uses to function on a 24/7 basis. In all, this is known as our Total Energy Expenditure, or even more commonly, metabolism.
First, the body burns calories around the clock for energy. You don’t need to give it these instructions because generating energy is as critical to life—and as involuntary—as breathing. In fact, the average individual uses 60% of daily calories for normal bodily functions. Second, the level of physical activity we engage in on each day accounts for an additional 15-30% of the calories we burn, and this is highly variable based upon how much we choose to move our bodies. The last 10% comes from those calories burned in order to digest, absorb and store nutrients from the food we eat. What you may not know, though, is that this can be dialed up, when you choose the right foods.
Burning Extra Calories—and Fat—with Dietary Components
It would be a normal response to be skeptical about the idea that certain foods can help burn calories, but researchers do have the ability to measure the truth behind this statement. And the science does support that some foods can generate a greater calorie burn when they are digested, which could, in turn, come from stored fat in the body. So which foods may help burn fat for energy?
1) Protein-Rich Foods – Eggs, lean meat like chicken, beef and pork, nuts, seeds and dairy have all been shown to increase calorie expenditure.[i] This is above the calorie burning potential of dietary carbohydrates or fat. Lean protein food sources also have properties that can support weight management including building and keeping lean muscle tissue, sustaining your feeling of being full after a meal and providing a low-fat source of calories.
2) Coffee and tea – Caffeine in coffee and special components in tea called catechins may also help boost metabolic rate. Research on coffee shows that three cups of coffee each day may burn an extra 100 calories per day, depending upon the individual. Oolong and matcha green tea have been shown to increase metabolism by up to 17%. [ii]
3) Red Chili Peppers - The heating sensation you taste and feel when you eat chili pepper comes from natural components of the pepper called capsasicinoids—capsaicin is a common type of capsaicinoids. That heating property goes another step further, to kick-start your metabolism, generate greater body heat, and burn additional calories.[iii] While it might be a difficult task to eat enough of these spicy peppers to make a difference—and truthfully, your stomach might really object—you can also find these same benefits through a nutrition supplement that includes a concentrated source of chili pepper extract.
Capsimax is a nutritional ingredient that provides a daily dose of 2 mg capsaicinoids (100 mg Capsimax) and has been shown to burn an additional 129 calories, even at rest. Capsimax branded capsaicinoids are produced with Omnibead Tech, a controlled release encapsulating technology that delivers effective levels of capsaicinoids without stomach upset that may result from unprotected extracts of red chili peppers.
If you’re looking to manage your weight, these foods may help provide support in calorie burning and may help make a difference, even if in 100 calorie incremental improvements each day. Give them a try and dial up your own heat levels.
[i] Nutr Metab (Lond). 2014; 11: 53. Published online 2014 Nov 19. doi: 10.1186/1743-7075-11-53
[ii] Int J Obes (Lond). 2010 Apr;34(4):659-69. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2009.299. Epub 2010 Feb 9.
[iii] Srivastava S et al. (2021) Journal of Obesity and Therapeutics (MRII Study)