Supplements are everywhere — they’re all around us, being sold at all kinds of prices with claims attached to them that they can’t always keep. The FDA doesn’t regulate supplements, which makes it more difficult to decide which to take for optimum results, and that’s why it’s so important to take the advice of health experts like nutritionists.
When it comes to giving your metabolism a nice boost, this is one natural supplement you’ll want to keep in mind.
Selenium
It’s not as well known in the supplement world as green tea extract or omega-3 fatty acids, but selenium plays an important role in controlling the effects of thyroid hormone on fat metabolism, according to researchers at Dartmouth Medical School.
According to the report: “The researchers report that the key enzyme responsible for activating thyroid hormone in the brain and in brown fat, a heat-producing type of fat tissue, contains the rare amino acid selenocysteine that is formed in the body using dietary selenium.”
When an expert panel came together to collaborate on a list of the best. Supplements for women for Women’s Health Magazine, it was determined that selenium is the number one most crucial supplement to increase metabolism.
According to Women’s Health: “Metabolism booster pills that actually work are hard to come by, but selenium is the top ingredient you should look for when shopping metabolism booster supplements. Without sufficient selenium, your body can’t utilize metabolism-controlling hormones from your thyroid.”
Our modern diets can be low in selenium, according to Psychology Today. Not only is selenium important to thyroid hormone production (along with iodine), but a selenium deficiency is thought to have links to gastrointestinal cancer, liver cancer, and prostate cancer.
If you choose to take selenium in supplement form, the recommended dose is no more than 750mcg each day, which won’t disrupt your hormone balance, according to Women’s Health.
Of course, you can also get your daily recommended intake of selenium from foods. One of the foods that is highest in selenium is Brazil nuts (in fact, one or two Brazil nuts a day are all you need to replace supplements). And other great sources of the metabolism-boosting nutrient include tuna, mushrooms, and sunflower seeds.
No matter how you opt to get selenium into your diet, don’t neglect this important nutrient, which can help keep your metabolism working at its maximum speed.