Power up

The news is filled with miracle pills and potions to help you boost your metabolism and lose weight without trying. So is this possible? We all know someone who can seemingly eat whatever they want and never put on weight. But what is the truth behind the headlines?

Firstly we need to understand what metabolism actually means. When you eat food your body needs to break down proteins, carbohydrates, and fats into the fuel your body needs. You metabolise foods through a series of chemical reactions. These reactions can't be made to go faster, so what do they mean when they claim to be able to boost your metabolism? They are referring to your Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR.

Your BMR is the rate of energy expenditure measured in kilojoules per hour per kilogram of body mass. Put simply how many calories you need per day to keep your body ticking over. We all know the basic guidelines for women is 2000 calories a day and for men is 2500. But that figure is based on an average person. There have been a rise in popularity of online BMR calculators that let you know what calories you need to consume based on your height, weight, age and gender. The calculations are based on some reliable science, but don't take in to account the difference between lean body mass and fat cells. These two cell types have vastly different energy requirements, lean muscle needs much more energy than fat cells. So whilst my BMR is higher than the average 2600, it is not as high as online calculators would suggest.

So how can we 'boost' our metabolism? The solution is simple, make your body consume more energy than you put in. Reducing the calories you eat is the first obvious step. Eat good food is step two, a balanced diet will help as your body uses many processed to metabolise different foods. Fiber is good as the body has real problems absorbing it completely, but still expends a lot of energy trying.

Muscle cells need more energy per hour than fat cells, so exercise is another metabolism boost. Not only does it actually burn calories, but it builds muscle mass, increasing your daily energy requirements. Some studies have shown that a single 20 minute high intensity workout can not only burn calories but induce something called excess post-exercise oxygen consumption or 'afterburn', which raises your BMR by up to 10% for several hours after the workout.

Temperature also has an effect on your metabolism. We have a built in response to being either hot or cold as our bodies need to operate within a limited temperature range. To regulate our internal temperature our body burns fuel, if we are cold, the body burns more fuel. Dutch and Japanese studies have shown that people exposed to lower temperatures have increased BMR. The studies were conducted at temperatures that were above those that caused the test subjects to start shivering. So turning down your thermostat will help you lose weight and save the environment.

Canadian researchers have found that EPA and DHA, the omega-3 fatty acids found only in fish oil, may have the power to boost your metabolism by about 400 calories per day. Fish oil increases levels of fat-burning enzymes and decreases levels of fat-storage enzymes in your body. For the best metabolism boosting benefit, choose capsules containing at least 300 milligrams of EPA and DHA total.

Researchers are working on more ways to boost metabolism, such as the effect of capsaicin in spicy foods, drinking iced water and a whole host of other methods. But as with anything, do a little research yourself, especially before you part with your hard earnt cash