3 Healthy Spices That Help Jump-Start Your Metabolism

Boost your metabolism by using these healthy spices to season your holiday foods…

The holiday season is a time when most of us eat more than we should, which leads to extra pounds to burn off next year. The amount of work we will have to put into this varies from person to person and depends on a number of different factors, but one thing that determines how quickly you can lose excess weight is how quickly your body is able to metabolize fat stores. This is why you often hear about trying different exercises or substances to “boost your metabolism.”

The cool thing about speeding up your metabolism is that not only will it help take weight off, but it also helps keep it off. Some people are born with a faster metabolism than others. But just because you might not be one of those lucky people doesn’t mean you can’t make your metabolism work faster. The foods you eat, as well as the amount and type of exercise you do and the amount of lean muscle you have all can have an impact on your metabolism.

For example, certain foods have been shown to have an impact on your body’s fat burning ability. Even simple things like spices and seasonings can have a positive effect – such as the three healthy spices listed below.

The foods you use to fuel your body are really key to making it work right, so try including these three healthy spices in your diet to help boost your metabolism and naturally burn off more fat.

Cinnamon

Increased blood sugar can cause excess fat to be stored. Cinnamon may help to regulate blood sugar, making it easier to maintain or lose weight. And because it takes extra energy to metabolize cinnamon, this allows you to boost your metabolism – making you burn calories faster and making it easier to lose weight.

Cinnamon has also been found to be an appetite suppressor. It slows down the process of moving food through your stomach, making you feel fuller longer.

So try sprinkling some cinnamon over your oatmeal or yogurt, or sprinkle some in your tea, coffee, juice, or in a protein shake.

Cayenne Pepper

Spice it up to jump-start that metabolism. Spicy foods have a natural chemical that causes your body to burn more energy. By making your temperature rise with the heat, your body burns more calories while it works to cool itself down. However, keep in mind that as your body becomes accustomed to eating spicy foods, it’s going to take even more heat to have this cool-down effect take place.

Add cayenne powder to soups or stews in small amounts to start to give your metabolism that jump-start. Just a pinch of cayenne pepper has been shown to increase your metabolism by up to 25% for three hours after you eat it, and it will also help curb hunger. So it really doesn’t take a lot to get the metabolism going and the pounds to melt off.

Garlic

It’s not just good for warding off the vampires. Garlic is great at warding off the fat, too. This superfood increases the number of calories you burn and decreases the production of fat. With the ability to decrease the production of fat, this also helps regulate cholesterol. There are a ton of health benefits that come from using garlic to spice up your foods!

So mince up some garlic and add it to sauces, or put in some melted butter and spread on bread or mixed with your holiday mashed potatoes and start burning off some of those calories right away!

It’s not difficult to jump-start your metabolism without having to work very hard. Eat a healthy diet which includes healthy, whole, natural foods like these three healthy spices, and participate in short but intense forms of exercise like HIIT, and you will soon see results.