Do you know a person around you who eats more quantity of food than many and still looks fit and fine without much effort? The reason behind this is metabolism, and some person has a high metabolism; that’s their body can burn calories easily, making their body fit without a lot of effort.
Metabolism is a complex process in which the body breaks down food into energy: breathing, digestion of food, thinking, moving body, growing of body, etc. Everything depends on metabolism. The faster your metabolism is, the faster your body burns calories, which makes your body lose fat easily.
Many people want to increase their metabolism, and a natural way to increase metabolism is by eating healthy and clean food and doing regular exercise. To increase metabolism quickly, a lot of people go with supplements, but now the question is, can supplements really increase metabolism? Let’s learn about that.
Supplements And Metabolism
Supplements and metabolism have a love-hate relationship because some scientific evidence says that some supplements can really help to increase metabolism, while some say that some supplements can slightly increase the metabolism but have high side effects.
Some scientific studies show that metabolism is a very complex process which includes a lot of chemical process which can not be affected by a supplement, but it is also true that till today, all of these scientific studies on supplements and metabolism is of very short-term and small, more large and long-term studies are needed to know the actual science behind this.
Ayurveda says that some supplements are really useful for increasing metabolism, which leads to increasing fat burning and weight loss. Some of the supplements which can affect metabolism are :
- Caffeine
- Conjugated linoleic acid(CLA)
- L-Carnitine
- Forskolin
- 7-keto-DHEA
- B Vitamins
- Capsaicin
How Do Supplements Work To Increase Metabolism?
Different supplements work differently to increase metabolism and tend to lose weight faster, like caffeine and green tea extract; both contain catechins, which can be responsible for increasing thermogenesis, which is a natural process of heat production in the body. Calories are also burned during the process of thermogenesis.
Conjugated linoleic acid ( CLA) is a type of fatty acid which boosts metabolism and fat loss by increasing the level of an enzyme named lipase and proteins that are responsible for breaking down fat. L-carnitine is a nutrient that helps the body to transport fat chain to cells, where they break into energy, which gives the body more energy to do more exercise or become more physically active.
Forskolin is a plant extract which helps improve glucose metabolism, and it also increases thermogenesis, leading to burning calories. 7-keto-DHEA is a hormone which speeds up the metabolism and converts more energy into heat through increasing thermogenesis instead of storing it into fat.
Vitamins B are so important for increasing metabolism because they help the body to convert food into energy and also help in producing many hormones which are essential for speed-up metabolism. Capsaicin increases thermogenesis, which increases metabolism, but its effects are small and for a short period of time.
What Are The Side Effects Of These Supplements?
Most of the supplements which claim to boost metabolism by different means have some minor or major side effects, like caffeine can increase anxiety and insomnia, and green tea extract causes stomach problems and some anxiety as well. CLA causes many types of stomach problems like gastric, diarrhoea, indigestion, etc. L-carnitine can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
Forskolin also causes stomach upset, diarrhoea and headache, and 7-keto-DHEA causes acne, hair loss and mood swings as well. Other types of supplements have some side effects.
The healthy way to boost metabolism without any side effects is by taking a healthy diet and doing regular exercise, and you must consult your doctor before starting to take any supplements.
Related Article: Identifying The Symptoms Of Poor Digestion
In Summary
Supplements can boost metabolism or not have a very complicated answer, and most of the supplements which give some effects are for a short period of time and also must contain some side effects. Living a healthy life and boosting your metabolism naturally is an ideal thing to do, but if you still want to take supplements to do so, then you must consult your doctor about the supplements and their side effects.
