Min menu

Pages

Top Articles

Foods That Actually Slow Down Your Metabolism

Foods That Actually Slow Down Your Metabolism
Foods That Actually Slow Down Your Metabolism

Let’s start this article on a positive note. Everything you consume during the day has the potential to naturally boost your metabolism and help you gain muscle and lose weight faster, like anything in the range from green tea to extra spicy peppers. Every time you put something in your mouth you are either heating up your metabolism or slowing it down.

The purpose of this article is to help you make the right choice. Here we will list the foods that are totally screwing up your metabolism and setting you back from your goals, even though you might have never guessed they did this until you’re having trouble buckling up. So, we present the 5 foods you need to avoid anytime you can:

1. WHITE FLOUR

White flour is the main ingredient in regular bread and pasta and even though they might have a better taste than the ones made of whole wheat, that’s about the only positive characteristic that white flour products have. White flour is made of wheat, however, during the processing, all the grains’ best characteristics, like antioxidants and fiber are taken away. All you’re left with is something that tastes better and has a better texture but has a very low amount of quality nutrients.

And to make it worse, white flour contains low amounts of fiber, which usually slows down digestion, the stomach digests it quicker than whole wheat foods. This way the body needs less extra calories to burn in order to digest these foods which make your metabolism function at a slower rate. On the other hand, foods that contain higher amounts of fiber like whole wheat foods boost your metabolism because the stomach needs to burn extra calories to break down the ingested fiber which is much harder to digest.

2. BEEF FROM FARM COWS

Traditionally farmed beef contains more antibiotics than beef fed with grass does. Nutritionists were unaware for years on the detrimental effect these antibiotics could have on people’s health. One study has found that the antibiotics that were found in beef coming from cows raised on farms can produce a harmful effect on the good bacteria in our intestines. This way their amount can decrease which would cause an increase in weight gain because it affects the food digestion in a negative way. Simply said, the antibiotics in the meat make us fat. The solution is simple, choose grass-fed beef as often as possible.

3. APPLES

We all know the saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”. Well, it has turned out that that is not entirely true. A recent study has found that a certain variety of fungicide that is sprayed on vegetables and fruits caused fat gain in mice and scientists say that the same may hold true for humans.

So, if you think you’ve finally started eating right and got yourself an apple, think again, since it might be stopping you from losing excess weight. The way you can counteract this is by limiting your exposure to various pesticides by buying organic foods of those vegetables and fruits that are more likely to soak up the pesticides and the bad bacteria. It goes without mentioning that you should always wash them first thoroughly before consuming them.

4. OMEGA-6 FATTY ACIDS

By now, everyone has heard about the amazing benefits omega-3 fatty acids provide, that are found in walnuts, chia seeds, eggs yolk, salmon etc, however, they should not be confused with the similarly sounding omega-6 fatty acids. The latter which can be found in pork, chicken, butter and various sugary foods, could be slowing down your metabolism. Our ancestors’ diet used to have the right balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, but today, modern food processing technology has left us with hydrogenated fats and vegetable oils, which are rich in omega-6, making them pro-inflammatory and correlated with obesity.

One study, in fact, has found that a high intake of omega-6 fatty acids and a high omega-6/3 ratio is connected to fat gain in both humans and animals. On the other hand, high amount of omega-2 intake lowers the risk of gaining weight. What’s even more interesting is that the study found that omega-6 increase insulin resistance, which makes our bodies convert a big amount of the ingested carbs into fat.

5. SODA OR HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP

There have been a lot of warnings in recent years that you should avoid high fructose corn syrup. Its consumption is proven to be related to “metabolic syndrome” which is a common name for a group of risk factors for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. It can be found in many foods that are processed and in many soft drinks, which people usually buy because of how seemingly tasty and cheap the products are.

It’s also been discussed among scientists that fructose that is ingested in the same amounts as any other sugar can have more damaging effects on your metabolism. One study has found that high fructose corn syrup leads to obesity because of the negative effects it has on your metabolism.