Which part of your body do you think will change the most with age?

Your face (hello, laugh lines), your breasts (if gravity wins), or your tummy (post-pregnancy).

Truth is, your body is changing all the time but, if you’re clued up on healthy eating and exercise, you can enjoy wellbeing through every stage of life, preserving your appearance while “growing old gracefully.”

Weighty Matters
Our metabolic rate determines how fast we burn kilojoules and convert them to energy. To get it working at top speed, separate the myths from the facts.

MYTH: Eating three square meals a day will keep your metabolism revving.
FACT: Small meals every three hours are the best way to boost your metabolism.
Make sure your mini-meals are low in kilojoules, fat, salt and sugar.

MYTH: It takes at least an hour of continuous exercise to speed up your metabolism.
FACT: Just moving your body is important. The the stairs, not the lift, walk up
escalators and park further away from your destination.

MYTH: Your metabolism speeds up in summer.
FACT: Dehydration can slow metabolism by up to 3 per cent as your body slows to
conserve fluid. Drink 1 1/2 - 2 liters of water a day - more in hot weather or after strenuous exercise.

MYTH: Running increases metabolism most.
FACT: Weight training is equally important, as muscle burns more kilojoules than fat.

MYTH: Chillies are the best metabolism boosters available.
FACT: Chillies boost metabolic rate because they’re high in a chemical called capsaicin.
Other foods which speed up metabolism include cayenne pepper, coffee, green tea, mustard, radishes and foods high in fibre and protein (your body has to work harder to process these last two).

I hope I have cleared up these myths to your understanding.

 Be well and live life to its fullest

Rowell Bulan M.D.
Your Guide To HomeHealth Care

How to Effectively Increase your Metabolism

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 17th, 2007 at 2:10 pm and is filed under Weight loss. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.