Boost Metabolism Naturally with Vitamins and Supplements

Good nutrition, hydration and exercise are all important for a healthy metabolism. Taking a daily multivitamin and/or minerals supplement can help to meet the daily nutritional needs and help maintain your energy while your system adjusts to consuming less calories. But more pointedly, select supplements have demonstrated the specific ability to enhance metabolism. For instance, calcium is necessary for bone health and has demonstrated benefits for helping to maintain weight.

In this article, we discuss three steps involving select supplements to add to your daily regimen to get your metabolism in gear quickly and easily. Here's how to boost metabolism naturally.

1. Add green tea to your diet. People have known about the benefits of green tea for ages. Green tea also boosts your metabolism in a few ways. First, substituting green tea for coffee will prevent your body from producing extra insulin. Insulin slows your metabolism and adds that extra weight to your belly and around your middle. Secondly, green tea tricks your body into thinking it is full. Third, it accelerates cell function, which speeds up your metabolism. Dr. Nicholas Perricone of Yale University, better known for his Perricone skincare line and anti-aging book, stated on Oprah in 2004 that just the simple change of substituting your morning cup of coffee with a cup of green tea would cause you to lose ten pounds in six weeks. How can you lose this much weight safely? The medical reasoning according to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (December 1999) says, "Green tea has thermogenic properties and promotes fat oxidation beyond that explained by its caffeine content per se." In laymen's terms, green tea helps burn fat. Considering all of its benefits for your heart and skin and overall health, green tea makes for a very easy way to jumpstart your metabolism.
   It is readily available. If you do not like the taste of green tea, some resources for quality flavored teas include Adagio Teas and Stash Tea, who feature flavors such as strawberry, tiramisu, peach, chocolate and pina colada, taking away the bitter taste. Green tea also comes in a vitamin supplement form both in a pill and in a concentrated liquid drop form. Resources include Dr. Brandt's water booster green teas (including Lo-han, which reduces sugar cravings), and Pure Inventions Tea drops as well as store brands produced by Vitamin Shoppe and GNC. Green tea vitamin supplements are made by companies such as Natrol and Nature's Bounty.
2. Add natural supplements that enhance muscle tissue activity. The second way to boost your metabolism via supplements is the use of vitamins that help the development of muscle. Two supplements include DMAE and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), both of which increase muscle tissue without steroid use. DMAE causes increased energy levels. PsychologyMagazine (2001) says that by supplementing with DMAE while engaging in muscle-building activity, the user may notice "shorter recovery times and improved athletic performance. DMAE also plays a role in muscle contractions (by being a precursor to ACh)." Two reputable companies selling DMAE include TwinLabs and Vitamin Shoppe. CLA Studies have shown a body fat-lowering effect. Some studies suggested that CLA may have a tendency to increase lean body mass. Muscles burn more calories than fat, so the higher ratio of muscle steps up your metabolism exponentially. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, even when you are at rest.
   DMAE and CLA are also popular as beauty and skin tone enhancing vitamins, so these are often expensive supplements. However, you can find these cheaper at GNC, and brands such as Nature's Made, Nature's Bounty and Natrol.
3. Use antioxidant vitamin supplements to maximize your muscles' calorie burning capacity. The third way to boost your metabolism is to help your muscles with antioxidants. Healthy muscles burn the most calories, even when at rest. Vitamins C and E are powerful antioxidants that help to fight free radicals and protect the cells in your muscles. The removal of these wastes from your cells means your body can function more effectively and accomplish more, as well as feel less sluggish. The B vitamins are also important to support metabolism and help with energy production so you are not exhausted while dieting. Perhaps one of the most powerful antioxidants that are readily available is alpha lipoic acid. Dr. Bruce Ames, a Professor at the University of California at Berkeley says that while the production of energy in the mitochondria in your cells is highly efficient, the minor element of inefficiency that releases free radicals slows down of your metabolism. To help combat this, Dr. Ames pairs alpha lipoic acid with acetyl-l-carnitine. While this combination is intended to combat the effects of aging, the benefits demonstrated in this pairing show great benefits to using alpha lipoic acid as part of your metabolism-boosting regimen. Alpha lipoic acid is available from Nature's Made, GNC, and a host of brands available at your local drugstore.

These ways to increase metabolism all lead to natural weight loss. Remember that losing weight takes time and can't be rushed. Good luck.

Caution:

• While nothing substitutes for a healthy diet and exercise, these supplements provide both short-term and long-term metabolism benefits with very little effort.
• Do remember that just because a vitamin is a "natural" product, it can still cause an interaction with other medications or supplements, and it is possible to overdose on a good thing.
• It is important to check for medication conflicts before starting any regimen.
• These supplements have proven safe and effective and are an easy way to maintain a healthy regimen for weight maintenance.

Quick Tips:

• Vitamin supplements can enhance metabolism especially when paired with exercise.