Metabolism is a process by which the body converts the food and drink that a person consumes into energy that the body can use. An abnormally slow metabolism is a medical possibility, even though it is very rare. Even when we are sleeping, the body uses energy for basic functions such as breathing, which means that metabolism never stops.
There are several things that people do every day that can slow down metabolism, or to put it more accurately, prevent their metabolism from performing at its peak. Below are some of the things that people do that slows down their metabolism.
1. Avoiding caffeine
Caffeine is often used in diet pills and supplements and the reason is quite simple. Caffeine is a CNS stimulant that raises the body’s metabolic rate. Caffeine consumption can increase the body’s metabolic rate by 4 to 5 percent. Excess use of caffeine may have bad affect on your health.
2. Too much alcohol consumption
Aside from packing on extra weight by way of excess empty calories, alcohol also slows down metabolism. While one drink does have some health benefits as seen in other studies, more than that should be avoided.
3. Deficiency of Vitamin D
Known as the “sunshine” vitamin, Vitamin D is essential for the absorption of calcium. But it is also essential for the development of healthy muscle tissue, which really revs up metabolism. However, it’s estimated that just four percent of the population gets enough vitamin D in their diets.
4. Deficiency in proteins
Proteins can increase metabolism by up to 35 percent. Every meal should contain some type of protein, but this can come in a variety of forms such as lean meat, nuts or tofu.
5. Refined carbs
Refined carbs are notoriously low in fiber and cause blood sugar to spike. Refined carbs are things like white sugar, white flour or pasta. Stick to fiber rich whole wheat varieties of bread and pasta. Fiber can also be found in fruits and vegetables.
6. Low muscle mass
It is a known fact that muscle uses more energy than fat, therefore those that have greater muscle mass also have an improved and faster metabolic rate. However, even if a person loses weight in an effort to decrease fat, they also lose muscle mass. So increasing muscle mass with weight training will increase your body’s metabolic rate.
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