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While a well rounded diet should be the primary source for the majority of nutrients needed to sustain a healthy lifestyle, it’s only natural that sometimes there are gaps. Whether you’re lactose intolerant and have to avoid dairy, or simply opt for a plant based diet instead of eating meat, supplements can be a wonderful addition to your daily routine to bridge the nutritional gap that may have appeared in your day to day dining.
If you’re working towards healthy weight loss, your metabolism is one of the most important factors in determining how quickly the pounds come off. A healthy metabolism controls the rate at which you burn calories, so a faster metabolism means you will burn more calories in a day, making a healthy deficit for weight loss easier to maintain. Fortunately, while not simple, there are adjustments that you can make to your routine to speed up your metabolism and allow your body to lose weight with ease. Need a boost? These are the four best supplements to integrate into your routine to accelerate your metabolism and lose weight in a healthy and sustainable way.
B Vitamins
B vitamins can be naturally found in meat and dairy, meaning that people on a plant based diet are often deficient and could be affecting weight loss. PharmaD Jason Reed explains, “B vitamins are a supplement you need to metabolize the food you eat and turn it into energy. These vitamins are involved in the steps of turning carbohydrates into energy. Specifically, B1, B6 and B12 are crucial to these processes.”
If you’re eating a plant based diet composed of mainly whole foods and are still struggling to lose weight, a B vitamin supplement may help to improve the function of your metabolism and allow for a more efficient use of energy within your body. Over time, this will allow you to lose weight naturally and with ease as you use food as fuel more effectively.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is often absorbed through direct sunlight, but it can also be found in fish and some dairy products. If you don’t regularly consume these foods, your metabolism, as well as bone strength may suffer. “Vitamin D is not just good for bone health. This vitamin that can be made by the skin, but not in nearly high enough doses. In fact, it is estimated that 75% of the population is vitamin D deficient. Vitamin D acts as a hormone in the body and regulates the immune system. It is especially found to be deficient in obese patients. Subsequently, increasing vitamin D levels has been found to help these obese patients lose weight,” says Reed.
Add a vitamin D supplement to your lineup each morning to increase fat burn and create a more efficient metabolism. You’ll still need a healthy diet and lifestyle to do most of the legwork, but this supplement will certainly help!
Yohimbine
A lesser known supplement which may also give your metabolism a boost is Yohimbine. Reed explains, “Yohimbine is a supplement that is used today and comes from the bark of an evergreen tree. It has been shown to improve fat loss. It is thought to work on fat cells directly. Scientists think it suppresses signals to the fat cells that would suppress fat release from the cell.”
According to Healthline, mixed results have been reported, but a study has shown, “One study examined the effects of yohimbine in 20 obese females who consumed a 1,000- calorie diet for three weeks. The women taking yohimbine lost significantly more weight than those taking a placebo — 7.8 pounds (3.6 kg) vs. 4.9 pounds (2.2 kg).”
Capsaicin
If you have a taste for spicy foods, this may be the ideal supplement for boosting your metabolism. “Capsaicin or hot peppers have been shown to increase metabolic rate. They speed up the chemical processes going on in the body by increasing the temperature that the reactions occur thus releasing energy. It has also been shown that capsaicin can decrease appetite,” explains Reed. Even if you don’t like the idea of eating hot peppers to propel you towards weight loss, a capsaicin supplement will do the same job in stoking your metabolism without the burn.
