5 EASY WAYS TO BOOST YOUR METABOLISM

Metabolism refers to the rate at which your body burns calories. Your metabolic rate is your personal “calories-per-hour” number. Your metabolism is lowest while you sleep and highest during and right after vigorous exercise. Here are a few tips for raising your metabolism:

1. DON’T SKIP BREAKFAST

The morning meal jump starts your metabolism and helps to prevent bingeing later in the day. A cup of coffee does not count – the caffeine and added sugar may give you a bit of energy and suppress your appetite for a little while, but generally backfires causing severe hunger and overeating later in the day. Breakfast should include a source of protein, fruits and vegetables, some complex carbohydrates like whole grain (granola or oatmeal), along with a source of healthy fat (olive oil or nuts) to keep your energy levels even and hunger in check. Think that's too much volume? Try a green smoothie with protein powder and omega-3 supplements!

2. EAT MORE OFTEN

Get into the habit of eating every three to four hours or at least four times a day. Eating frequently stabilizes blood sugar. When blood sugar drops too low you want to eat…a lot. By keeping your blood sugar stable you can control your appetite and keep you metabolic rate high. When you go many hours without eating your body will compensate by slowing down your metabolism to conserve energy.

3. EAT PROTEIN AT EVERY MEAL

Protein takes more energy and time to digest, and will leave you feeling full longer than eating carbohydrates alone. Research shows that eating more protein can help you lose weight without cutting calories. Try these protein possibilities: turkey on whole grain bread; hummus and pita; vegetarian bean chili; nut butter and veggies; or even biked eggs (6 grams of protein per egg). Avoid protein snack bars that are often loaded with unnecessary sugars.

4. HOLD OFF ON SNACKING

Many of us grab a snack for quick energy when we are feeling tired, but do not confuse true hunger with fatigue. If you are feeling tired go for a 15-20 minute brisk walk and stay hydrated with water. This will raise your heart rate and give you a boost of energy. If you are truly more hungry than tired, you may not be eating enough at your meals. Consider a protein snack like half a boiled egg or hummus and veggies.

5. CONSUME ENOUGH FOR YOUR BODY’S NEEDS

Eating too little slows your body’s metabolism the same way eating too infrequently does. If you want to lose weight, do not slash your calories. Instead, choose to eat an abundance of healthy foods and avoid things like soda, juice, packaged goods or candy. Processed foods tend to be high in fat and calories and low in vitamins, minerals and fiber. Also consider eating 3 servings of vegetables for every serving of fruit.

Although a healthy diet is one step towards a healthy metabolic rate, a healthy nervous system is even more important as it controls digestion, heart rate and the movement essential for a healthy body.

The Role of Antioxidants in Good Health

Everyone has heard about the importance of a balanced diet for maintaining good health. Similarly, everyone knows that they should be getting exercise - or at the very least adding more activity into their days. Getting a good night's sleep is essential - without it, you'll find that your immune system starts to slack off a bit and you put yourself at a greater risk for catching a cold or coming down with the flu.

We all know what we should be doing, but let's be honest: very few of us eat a balanced diet all of the time. Many of us make the choice to take the elevator rather than the stairs and we try to find a parking place that's as close as possible to our destination rather than taking the opportunity to walk a little further. We also tend to let stress, work, social gatherings and more interfere with the amount of sleep that we're able to get each night.

When we don't go the extra mile to take care of ourselves, and when our immune systems start to falter because of it, we may not feel it right away. Soon, sluggishness starts creeping in. This sluggishness not only slows us down, it also ages us prematurely.

Fortunately, there's something that we can do to counteract some of these effects. We can maintain our vigor and reduce the risk of disease simply by adding antioxidants to our diet.

What are antioxidants? The simplest answer is that antioxidants are plant-derived compounds that help prevent and repair cellular damage. Vitamin C, Vitamin E, selenium, lycopene and resveratrol are all examples of antioxidants that are found in fruits and vegetables. By making an effort to add antioxidants to our diet, we can slow the cellular damage that leads to disease.

Antioxidants are, in effect, sponges that soak up the free radicals in our systems. Excess free radicals are generated by the less healthy foods that we eat, alcohol that we drink, smoke that we're exposed, and stress that we endure.

Free radicals damage our DNA and other cellular structures at the molecular level. Antioxidants roam around the body inactivating the free radicals and also assisting in damage repair. Damage that isn’t repaired can cause a cell to die, malfunction or replicate uncontrollably (such as in a tumor).

You can fight back against free radicals by adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet.