Can Foods Increase Metabolism?
By Elena Mauceri

Many foods increase metabolism, and that's great news. Why? Because you can eat delicious foods AND boost your metabolism at the same time!

The following foods increase metabolism by raising your body temperature. The scientific name for this is "thermogenic" ("therm" means heat, and "-genic" means to create). Some studies show that these foods triple your body's ability to burn calories for fuel instead of storing them for fat! That's pretty impressive.

Here are the most well-known foods that increase metabolism.

Cayenne Pepper

This spicy pepper is used in many Mexican dishes, but you can incorporate it into just about any recipe. Its most common form is a powder.

It's probably most obvious with cayenne pepper that spicy foods increase metabolism by raising your body temperature. So here's a tip: just use a pinch to achieve its metabolism-boosting benefit, and to ensure that you don't make your recipe TOO spicy! I use a pinch in my deviled eggs, add it to salsa, and I've even made a spicy chocolate sauce for duck that uses cayenne pepper.

Get creative, and you'll find that this spice adds nice "heat" to many recipes.

Ginger

Ginger provides another way that spicy foods increase metabolism. It is used in a lot of Asian recipes, but I use it in most of my baking recipes, as well as smoothies and fruit recipes. It adds a nice zing to many recipes.

You can use ginger in its fresh (root) form or in powder form. You can find the fresh root in the produce section of your grocery store. Always peel it before you use it. Just break off a 1 to 2-inch piece, and use a paring knife or peeler to remove the skin. Then you can either grate it or slice it. If you grate it, try adding it to smoothies or salad dressings.

Cinnamon

This spice can be used in just about anything sweet, but it also adds an exotic flavor to savory recipes.

Recent studies have shown that cinnamon helps to control insulin levels, which directly affects whether your body stores or burns fat.

You can be quite creative with this spice, and you'll find that you're adding it to everything! Try putting about 1/2 a teaspoon in your coffee grounds before you brew the coffee. Sprinkle it over ice cream, or over your toast. I create a mix of cinnamon and stevia powder and use that for my toast and lots of other sweet treats.

Foods that Increase Metabolism by Detoxing

There are also other foods that increase metabolism by cleansing toxins from your body. A detox diet will accomplish this very well. In a detox diet, you will eat primarily vegetables, plus certain fruits and herbs that encourage the elimination of toxins.

By cleansing your body of toxins, you allow your natural metabolism to return to its proper level.

Most detox programs last for several weeks (some even longer!), which makes it difficult to stick with the program that long. The ideal length for a detox is about a week. Most people can stick with a restricted diet for that long.

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Article Source: EzineArticles.com