It is a myth that there are actually foods that will burn fat by themselves. But certain foods can boost your metabolism and help your body burn off that excess fat. By incorporating these fat-burning foods into your daily diet along with any exercise, you will notice a difference and start to lose the excess fat.
Foods that Raise Your Metabolism
No food actually burns fat, but certain foods can boost our metabolism which in turn will cause us to store less fat. When you combine fat-burning foods with gaining muscle, you will burn more fat.
Leptin is the hormone in our body that tells us when we are full and to stop eating. Processed foods, empty calories and being overweight can disrupt the proper function of leptin and cause leptin resistance. Fat-burning foods can help leptin function properly which helps with fat burning. Here are the best fat-burning foods.
Chili Peppers
Chili peppers like cayenne and jalapenos are one of the best fat-burning foods. Chili peppers contain capsaicin which can increase the metabolism by as much as 25%. You can also add red chili flakes to food.
Green Tea
Green tea is the best fat-burning beverage to drink throughout the day, hot or cold. Green tea contains caffeine and tea catechins which can increase the activity of the central nervous system causing more calories to be burned. Tea catechins have properties that can reduce the size of fat cells preventing obesity. If you don’t like green tea, you can drink yerba mate tea, which is also great for fat burning.
Salmon
Salmon, tuna and other cold water fish are high in omega-3 fatty acids and can raise your metabolism and are considered fat-burning foods. These high omega-3 foods can reduce leptin resistance helping you to lose weight.
Turmeric
Turmeric is not only a great for anti-inflammation and anti-cancer food and it is also a great fat-burning food. Turmeric boosts thermogenesis which leads to increased fat burning. Turmeric also detoxifies the liver and the liver is the most important organ for fat burning. Since ginger is related to turmeric, it is also a good fat-burning food.
Turkey
Turkey is low in fat and high in protein and one of the best fat-burning foods. Calories are energy, and it takes more energy to digest protein than it does to digest fat or carbohydrates.
Pomegranates and Berries
Pomegranates and berries contain an antioxidant called anthocyanins.Anthocyanins can limit the number of fat cells a person forms. These fat-burning foods could be a very important part of a teens diet as the number of fat cells can increase during these years.
Berries, especially blueberries are great in the fact they level out the sugar spike when eating them along with higher glycemic index foods, this limits the amount of calories stored as food. A perfect example would be blueberry pancakes.
Yogurt
A recent study found that those who ate yogurt before a meal while dieting lost 81% more belly fat than people that didn’t eat yogurt. Look for real Greek yogurt. Yogurt also improves the digestive system.
Supplements
Some people do not like eating hot peppers, or drinking green tea but would still like the benefits of the fat-burning ingredients in these foods. You can always buy the supplement form of the fat burning ingredients.
About the Author
Sam Montana is a certified Food Over Medicine instructor from the Wellness Forum Health Center and certified in optimal nutrition from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Copyright © 2014 Sam Montana
About the Author
Sam Montana is a certified Food Over Medicine instructor from the Wellness Forum Health Center and certified in optimal nutrition from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Copyright © 2014 Sam Montana
