How to increase metabolic capacity Benefits of increasing metabolism

This article will introduce you to metabolism, how to improve metabolism through diet, exercise and acupressure.

What is metabolism?

The term metabolism refers to all the chemical reactions in an organism that are related to the maintenance of survival, cell and organ functioning, and growth and reproduction, including digestion, material transfer between cells, etc. These chemical reactions require energy supply, which comes from the calories generated through the intake of food. Roughly speaking, metabolism can be divided into two parts. 1. Catabolism: the breakdown of large molecules into smaller units for energy. For example, glucose is broken down into pyruvate, a form of glycolysis. Catabolism occurs when dietary nutrition does not provide enough energy for basal metabolism and daily activities, and body tissues begin to break down to provide energy. 2. Synthesis: The act of synthesizing the various complexes required by cells. For example, the synthesis of nucleic acids to form proteins. Synthesis occurs when dietary intake provides sufficient calories for basal metabolism and daily activities, and promotes the repair and synthesis of damaged muscle tissue. In other words, the "breakdown" of metabolism releases energy; the "synthesis" produces energy. The metabolic rate of the human body varies according to gender, age, physiology, daily activity and genetics.

Slow metabolism vs. fast metabolism

Factors that affect the speed of metabolism include gender, age, physiology, daily activity and genetics, so each individual's metabolic rate is different. The metabolism of an individual is governed by the following three factors: basal metabolic rate, dietary thermogenesis and daily activity. Basal metabolic rate is the amount of energy required to keep the body functioning (e.g., heart beating, lungs breathing, maintaining body temperature) and burns about 65% of the body's total calories. In addition, dietary thermic effect refers to the calories consumed by the body in the process of digestion, absorption, synthesis...etc. after ingesting food, which accounts for about 10% of calorie consumption; daily activities account for about 25% of total calorie consumption.

Slower metabolism

If you have been consuming the same amount of food every day for decades, but have noticed that your weight has quietly increased since a certain period, then it is likely that your metabolism is slowing down. Muscle tissue can burn calories faster than the speed of fat tissue, when the body is getting older at the same time, mobility may slowly decrease, fat-burning muscle followed by fat, so that the metabolic rate gradually slowed down. This is why women's metabolic rate is generally slower than men's, because on a genetic level, women have less muscle than men. Too little calorie intake may also be a factor in slowing down the metabolism.

Faster metabolism

Having a faster metabolism is a gift from heaven for many people. We often hear people say, "Wow! I envy how you can eat and not gain weight!" In fact, this is usually because the other person's genes have a faster metabolism, so they can "eat but not fat". And a more muscular body type to take an example, in terms of physique, faster metabolism occupies the most influential factor, coupled with the acquired hard exercise makes fat burning faster, so this is why many athletes or gym goers need to take a lot of food.

How to boost metabolism

In general, the fast and slow metabolism, excluding genes, age ... and other uncontrollable factors, we can improve the metabolism by changing the amount of calorie intake, increase the body's muscle mass and exercise. If you are reducing your calorie intake to achieve the purpose of fat loss, you need to draw a bottom line for yourself, if the calorie intake below 1200 calories for women and 1800 calories for men may lead to a gradual slowdown in metabolic rate, which will lead your body into a slow metabolic state. Therefore, if your current calorie intake is below these two figures, it is recommended that you make up for these calories to increase the fat burning energy for your body. As we mentioned earlier, muscle tissue burns calories faster than fat tissue, so people who want to increase their metabolic rate can also increase muscle mass through exercise, such as free weights twice a week or body resistance exercises (squats, lunges, push-ups...etc.) to train muscle strength; increasing cardio is also an option, or improving your Body power, walking 30-60 minutes a day, office workers can get up every hour to walk or move, standing to answer the phone or reply to email ... and so on, are good small ways.

Increase metabolism diet

Nutrients are the key elements of metabolism. Metabolism depends on the breakdown of nutrients to produce energy, which is also necessary for the body to synthesize new proteins and nucleic acids (DNA, RNA). The three main elements that provide energy to the body are carbohydrates, fats and proteins. The body is usually the first to break down carbohydrates for energy, followed by fats, and only when these two are in short supply does it begin to break down proteins. The ketogenic diet, which has become popular in recent years, is a dietary control method that limits the amount of carbohydrates consumed so that the body can be forced to burn fat for energy when it needs it. So after understanding the relationship between these three nutrients and metabolism, here's what you can do to boost your metabolism.

1. Consume more protein-rich foods

According to research, protein has the highest effect of increasing the thermic effect of the diet, about 15-30% of the metabolic rate, compared to 5-10% of carbohydrates and 0-3% of fat, while helping to maintain muscle mass.

2. Eat more chili, ginger, onion and garlic

Chili alkaline, ginger phenol, allicin and other antioxidants can promote smooth blood flow and help boost metabolism.

3. Drink coffee, green tea and oolong tea

According to research, caffeine can effectively boost metabolism by about 11%; catechins can boost about 4-10%.

4. Zinc-rich foods

Seafood is rich in zinc, can promote the operation of many body enzymes, strengthen the digestion, absorption and metabolic function, help improve metabolism.

5. Coconut oil

In recent years, the popularity of the ketogenic diet, coconut oil also caused a buzz, contains a high proportion of medium-chain fatty acids, can help digestion, improve metabolism about 12%, can also help weight control.

Exercises to increase metabolism

The older you get, the slower your metabolism will get. The most effective way to improve your metabolism is to keep your body active and healthy, and the more muscle you have, the more effective it is at speeding up your metabolism. Here are a few recommended moves you can't miss, so get them on your exercise menu!

1. Sprint Bobbi jump

Starting action: Put your hands on the floor and make a push-up movement. Feet jump forward to land next to the hands, and then use both hands and feet to apply force to jump up, jump up when the hands and feet to make a sprint action, and then quickly back to the starting action. Make a sprint action when the front foot as far as possible to lift the chest, the back foot is kicked back butt. Each jump will exchange the front and back feet.

2. Dumbbell arm bend

Feet shoulder-width apart, hands holding dumbbells on both sides of the body, and do dumbbell squats. Squat down to the lowest point, do biceps curls once. After standing up, the dumbbells will be brought upwards using hip strength to do overhead shoulder thrusts. Once the hands are extended overhead, do a triceps extension.

3. Step Exercise

Feet wider than shoulder width, knees slightly bent, body slightly tilted forward. Run quickly in place, like the floor is on fire. Advanced version: every 10 seconds to perform a knee jump or deep squat jump.

4. Running and jumping lunge

Right foot in front, left foot in the back of the lunge position, the left knee can be placed on the floor. Quickly lift the back foot to a high leg raise position, then switch to the right knee on the floor. Then quickly return to the original action and repeat.

5. Jumping knee lift movement

The starting movement is the deep squat. Step back with the right foot to make a lunge, knee on the ground, and then switch to the left foot knee on the ground. Then step your foot back in turn to the original action, and then join a jump. Down, down, up, up, jump, and then continue to repeat. Massage acupuncture points is a recent popular way to improve metabolism, through the four points can open up the "qi" flow.

Other ways to improve metabolism: acupressure

The best way to improve metabolism is to take a lot of nutrient-rich healthy diet and moderate exercise, if you are already used to such a healthy lifestyle, now you want to try some new and different ways to further enhance metabolism, then you can try acupressure. Acupressure has been practiced in Chinese medicine for years, according to the theory of energy "qi" in the body with the flow of meridians, acupressurists believe that when there are substances blocking the flow of qi, it will cause disease, so strengthening the flow of qi in the body can make the organs work more efficiently, so that your nutrients are absorbed more effectively. Traditional Chinese medicine also believes that a good metabolism, driving the smooth transfer of energy in the body is also a kind of qi. Each meridian corresponds to a different organ, press the right point can unblock the blood and Qi, stimulate the operation of the corresponding organs to enhance metabolism, there are studies show that acupressure can inhibit the secretion of obesity hormone. To enhance metabolism, you can try these 4 acupuncture points.

Ren Zhong

In the upper lip and nose in the middle of the location, massage a few minutes a day. Massage this area can reduce anxiety and control hunger, for people who are prone to emotional instability and overeating or often over-eating accidentally is very helpful.

Arms

This is the area on the outside of the elbow that bends up. A large amount of energy passes through this point, and massaging this area can help the body eliminate heat sources and stimulate the intestines to improve digestion. Massaging this point with your fingers in a counterclockwise direction can also help to calm anger.

Foot San Li point

To find this point, you can use the palm of your right hand to cover the back of your left knee, about the depression between the fourth and fifth finger shoulders. Massaging the Foot San Li point more often can stimulate digestion and reduce inflammation in the body, but do not press this point excessively, otherwise it may lead to insomnia.

Ears

To find this point, you can open your mouth and use your thumbs to gently press on the position of the depression in front of the ear canal, which can help stimulate the small intestine.

Metabolic syndrome

Although the speed of metabolism, whether fast or slow, does not mean absolute good or bad, but if abnormal conditions occur, it may be a major warning sign for the body. Metabolic syndrome is a general term for metabolic abnormalities in the body, and is related to blood lipids, abnormal blood sugar, high blood pressure and obesity. The main contributing factors are abnormal lifestyle including incorrect diet and lack of regular exercise, so it is very important to establish normal and healthy lifestyle habits.