Physiol Rev. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Metabolic syndrome: causes and risk-factors. Clegg DJ, Mauvais-Jarvis F. An integrated view of sex differences in metabolic physiology and disease. Mol Metab. Kastenmüller G, Raffler J, Gieger C, Suhre K.

Genetics of human metabolism: an update. Hum Mol Genet. Yoo J, Fu Q. Impact of sex and age on metabolism, sympathetic activity, and hypertension. FASEB j. Pesta DH, Samuel VT. A high-protein diet for reducing body fat: Mechanisms and possible caveats.

Nutr Metab Lond. Vij VA, Joshi AS. Effect of 'water induced thermogenesis' on body weight, body mass index and body composition of overweight subjects. J Clin Diagn Res. Wingfield HL, Smith-Ryan AE, Melvin MN, et al.

The acute effect of exercise modality and nutrition manipulations on post-exercise resting energy expenditure and respiratory exchange ratio in women: a randomized trial. Sports Med Open. Stavres JR, Zeigler MP, Bayles MP.

Six weeks of moderate functional resistance training increases basal metabolic rate in sedentary adult women. Int J Exerc Sci. Esmaeelpanah E, Razavi BM, Hosseinzadeh H. Green tea and metabolic syndrome: A year research update review.

Iran J Basic Med Sci. Ao Z, Huang Z, Liu H. Spicy food and chili peppers and multiple health outcomes: Umbrella review. Molecular Nutrition Food Res. So-ngern A, Chirakalwasan N, Saetung S, Chanprasertyothin S, Thakkinstian A, Reutrakul S.

Effects of two-week sleep extension on glucose metabolism in chronically sleep-deprived individuals. J Clin Sleep Medi. Alperet DJ, Rebello SA, Khoo EYH, et al. The effect of coffee consumption on insulin sensitivity and other biological risk factors for type 2 diabetes: a randomized placebo-controlled trial.

American J Clin Nutrition. Ohkawara K, Cornier MA, Kohrt WM, Melanson EL. Effects of increased meal frequency on fat oxidation and perceived hunger.

Obesity Silver Spring. Yates T, Edwardson CL, Celis-Morales C, et al. Metabolic effects of breaking prolonged sitting with standing or light walking in older South Asians and White Europeans: A randomized acute study. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Healthy eating for healthy weight. Coping with stress. Wilson SA, Stem LA, Bruehlman RD. Hypothyroidism: diagnosis and treatment. Am Fam Physician. By Mark Gurarie Mark Gurarie is a freelance writer, editor, and adjunct lecturer of writing composition at George Washington University.

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If so, is it possible to speed up the process? It's true that the rate at which the body breaks down food is linked to weight. But a slow metabolism isn't usually the cause of weight gain. Metabolism does help decide how much energy a body needs.

But weight depends on how much a person eats and drinks combined with physical activity. Metabolism is the process by which the body changes food and drink into energy. During this process, calories in food and drinks mix with oxygen to make the energy the body needs. Even at rest, a body needs energy for all it does.

This includes breathing, sending blood through the body, keeping hormone levels even, and growing and repairing cells. The number of calories a body at rest uses to do these things is known as basal metabolic rate, also called basal metabolism.

Besides the basal metabolic rate, two other things decide how many calories a body burns each day:. How much a body moves.

Any movement, such as playing tennis, walking to a store or chasing the dog, makes up the rest of the calories a body burns each day.

This can be changed a lot, both by doing more exercise and just moving more during the day. Daily activity that isn't exercise is called nonexercise activity thermogenesis NEAT. This includes walking around the house.

It also includes activities such as gardening and housework, and even fidgeting. NEAT accounts for about to calories used daily. You might want to blame a medical condition for slow metabolism and weight gain. But rarely does a medical condition slow metabolism enough to cause a lot of weight gain.

Conditions that can cause weight gain include Cushing syndrome or having an underactive thyroid gland, also known as hypothyroidism.

These conditions are uncommon. Many things affect weight gain. These likely include genes, hormones, diet and lifestyle, including sleep, physical activity and stress.

You gain weight when you eat more calories than you burn — or burn fewer calories than you eat. Some people seem to lose weight more quickly and more easily than others. But everyone loses weight by burning more calories than are eaten. The bottom line is calories count. To lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories or burn more calories through physical activity.

Or you can do both. You can't easily control the speed of your basal metabolic rate, but you can control how many calories you burn through physical activity. The more active you are, the more calories you burn. In fact, some people who seem to have a fast metabolism are probably just more active — and maybe fidget more — than others.

Aerobic activity. As a general goal, aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity every day. If you want to lose weight, maintain weight loss or meet specific fitness goals, you may need to exercise more. Moderate aerobic exercise includes activities such as brisk walking, biking, swimming and mowing the lawn.

Vigorous aerobic exercise includes activities such as running, heavy yardwork and aerobic dancing. Don't look to dietary supplements for help in burning calories or losing weight.

Products that claim to speed up metabolism usually don't live up to their claims. Some may cause bad side effects. The U. Food and Drug Administration doesn't ask for proof that dietary supplements are safe or that they work.

Question the claims that are made. Always let your health care providers know about supplements you take. There's no easy way to lose weight.

To take in fewer calories than you burn, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends cutting to calories a day to lose 1 to 1. Add more physical activity to get to your weight-loss goals faster and maintain your weight loss. A health care provider, such as a doctor or registered dietitian, can help you explore ways to lose weight.

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This content does not have an Arabic version. Appointments at Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic offers appointments in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota and at Mayo Clinic Health System locations. Here are some of the top metabolism boosters to try. These are signs of your metabolism becoming more sluggish — in other words a decrease in your basal metabolic rate.

On the other hand, keep your body properly fueled and it will perform much better in all areas of life for many years to come. This is a long-term solution instead of a quick fix.

If you live in a calorie deficit because your exercise level is too high and your food intake is too low, your metabolism gets the message that it must slow down all functioning to conserve energy.

Which metabolism booster is good for weight loss then? I recommend you stop counting calories and instead focus on nutrient density. Eating enough every day, especially when you consume calories from a variety of unprocessed whole foods, is critical for metabolic health. It also supports cognitive, hormonal, sexual and digestive health.

People who are well-fed and avoid yo-yo dieting often experience better digestion, positive moods and more motivation, stronger desire to be active, better mental health, stronger sex drive, and more stable blood sugar levels. Eating enough also usually means you have more motivation to be active, gain strength and muscle mass quicker , and feel less fatigued.

This is why sleep deprivation can contribute to trouble with weight loss. According to the one meta-analysis, sleep restriction decreases insulin sensitivity and causes changes in brain activity in response to food stimuli, meaning food especially unhealthy types becomes more rewarding.

Make it a priority to get seven to nine hours of sleep every night in order to keep hormone levels in check, including cortisol. High cortisol levels associated with a lack of sleep are tied to poor mental functioning, weight gain and becoming more resistant to insulin that controls blood glucose levels.

Another way to maintain hormonal balance is to rest enough between exercise days. Overtraining repeatedly causes fatigue, muscle loss and a lower basal metabolic rate, not the opposite as you might think.

Exercise impacts your hormonal status, and intense workouts without rest elevate cortisol levels. Exercise of any kind is important for keeping metabolic function working into older age.

Therefore, a decline in metabolism seems to be related most to age-associated reductions in exercise volume and calorie consumption than aging itself. What is a good metabolism booster when it comes to exercise? High-intensity interval training HIIT , a form of exercise that features intervals that vary between all-out effort and short periods of rest, is known to especially jump-start metabolic functioning better than steady-state workouts can.

One of the best things about HIIT workouts is that they require less time than traditional cardio workouts, yet they have more profound benefits. This phenomenon is due to the way the body uses higher levels of oxygen to recover following intense physical activity.

HIIT burns more fat over the duration of the day, builds more muscle and improves metabolic function compared to steadier exercises. It can also generally improve cardiometabolic functions and even hormonal balance, such as in women with PCOS.

Strength training — whether lifting weights or using your own body weight — can support your resting metabolic rate because it builds lean muscle mass , which naturally uses more calories than body fat does. To improve your body composition, I recommend ideally doing heavy weight training of six to 12 reps, five days a week, for about 45—75 minutes for the best results.

Certain foods slow down digestive processes and increase free radical damage, which is one major cause of aging. This increases inflammation and stress hormone production, which slows down metabolic functioning.

When trying to boost your metabolism, I recommend avoiding the following foods as much as possible:. Certain foods might help the body use and expend energy better. This has to do with the thermic effects of some foods, especially those high in protein, meaning the body works harder to break down and metabolize certain fat-burning foods.

Eating enough protein, for example, is tied to a strong metabolism, as are some spicy foods. Packing in healthy high-protein snacks and sources throughout the day is one the simple metabolism boosters that also keeps you full for longer.

Protein is beneficial for keeping energy and blood sugar stable while also helping build calorie-burning lean muscle mass. Drinking natural forms of caffeine in moderation, like coffee or green tea, is also supportive of a healthy metabolism. Green tea consumption has been considered a natural metabolism booster for centuries thanks to special antioxidant compounds in addition to low levels of caffeine.

Naturally warming foods like cayenne pepper, chili and other spicy ingredients are known to increase heat in the body thanks to an active compound called capsaicin. These antioxidant-packed spices also might help decrease appetite and slow the growth of fat cells.

As mentioned above, very low-calorie diets can actually interfere with your ability to burn more calories. Therefore you want to avoid most fat diets when trying to boost your metabolism.

The authors believed the body reduces metabolic rate to conserve energy when a person sleeps less. They noted this could lead to weight gain in people who do not get enough sleep. The need for sleep varies between individuals, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC recommend that adults aged 18—60 should have at least 7 hours per night.

What should you do if you have trouble sleeping? The results of a rodent experiment from suggested that a low intake of various B vitamins could impact the rate at which the body metabolizes lipids, including cholesterol and triglycerides. More research may be needed to understand the relationship between vitamins, metabolism, and weight loss.

A complete guide to B vitamins, types, sources, and more. Some research has suggested that eating spices such as chili, which contains capsaicin, can increase metabolic rate, including the rate at which the body burns fat and uses energy.

A study from China found that people who ate spicy food every day were more likely to have a high body mass index BMI than those who did not. The researchers noted that more investigations are needed to find out why this happens.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics says that while eating hot chilies might boost metabolic rate temporarily, it is unlikely to have a significant impact. What are some healthy herbs and spices? Thyroid hormone stimulates the production of substances that increase oxygen consumption, respiration rate, and body temperature.

This involves a higher rate of energy consumption. Conversely, the body of a person with hypothyroidism is likely to burn energy at lower rate. Their metabolic rate may be slower, and they may have a higher risk of weight gain and obesity.

For those with hypothyroidism, taking medications that increase the levels of thyroid hormone can increase their resting metabolic rate. Seeking help for hypothyroidism can help speed up metabolic rate and reduce the risk of complications linked to this condition.

What is hypothyroidism and how can you recognize it? Metabolic rate refers to the rate at which the body uses energy and burns calories. The body uses most of its energy this way.

Metabolic rates vary widely between individuals, so it is not possible to specify a standard or high metabolic rate. However, the higher the rate, the quicker a person will use the energy they take in from food, which may reduce the chance of weight gain. It is not always possible for a person to change their metabolic rate, but exercise and dietary measures may help.

A good metabolic rate may help with weight management. But for those seeking to lose weight, it is better to focus on eating a varied diet with plenty of whole foods and being physically active.

While some foods, such as spices, may help boost rates temporarily, they are not a long term solution. It is always best to speak with a doctor before adjusting the diet or making changes to an exercise routine.

Metabolism is the process the body uses to break down food and nutrients for energy, as well as to support different body functions. What people eat…. Metabolism involves biochemical reactions in the body and is central to maintaining life. What are the myths and facts of metabolism?

Can you speed…. The Everlywell Metabolism Test measures the levels of cortisol, thyroid stimulating hormone, and free testosterone in the body.

Learn what the results…. Recent evidence suggests that a plant-based diet can aid weight loss by improving metabolism and reducing the amount of fat that accumulates around…. Researchers say bariatric surgery can help with weight loss, but it can also help improve cognitive functions including memory.

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Medical News Today. Health Conditions Health Products Discover Tools Connect. How to increase your metabolism. Medically reviewed by Adam Bernstein, MD, ScD — By Rachel Nall, MSN, CRNA — Updated on December 9, Eat at regular times. Eat enough calories. Eat more protein. Drink green tea.

Do resistance training. Drink enough water. Reduce stress. Get enough sleep. Get enough vitamins. Spice up your meals. Seek treatment for hypothyroidism. Frequently asked questions. How we reviewed this article: Sources. Medical News Today has strict sourcing guidelines and draws only from peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations.

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Eating more protein can also reduce the drop in metabolism often associated with losing fat. This is because protein helps prevent muscle loss, which is a common side effect of dieting. High-intensity interval training HIIT involves quick and very intense bursts of activity.

If this type of exercise is safe for you, it can help indirectly speed up your metabolism. Your muscle cells will burn energy at rest, which helps you burn fat and build muscle.

This effect is believed to be greater for HIIT than for other types of exercise. To get started, choose a modality, such as biking or running, that you are already familiar with. Mixing up your exercise routine and adding in a few high-intensity workouts can boost your metabolism and help you burn fat.

Muscle is more metabolically active than fat. Building muscle can help increase your metabolism to help you burn more calories each day, even at rest.

Lifting weights can also help you retain muscle and counter the drop in metabolism that can occur during weight loss.

Lifting weights can help build and retain muscle. Higher amounts of muscle will result in a higher metabolism. Sitting too much can have negative effects on your health, partly because long periods of sitting burn fewer calories and can lead to weight gain.

However, stepping rather than standing resulted in greater improvements to lower systolic blood pressure and insulin resistance. If you have a desk job, try standing up and walking for short periods to break up the length of time you spend sitting down.

You can also try going for walks during the day or invest in a standing desk. In a study , researchers found that doing this resulted in reduced blood insulin and sugar.

Sitting for a long time burns few calories and may negatively affect your health. Try standing up or taking walks regularly or investing in a standing desk. Green tea and oolong tea help convert some of the fat stored in your body into free fatty acids, which may indirectly increase fat burning when combined with exercise.

However, some older research suggests that these teas do not affect metabolism. Therefore, their effect may be small or only apply to some people. Drinking green tea or oolong tea may affect your gut microbiome, which may be influencing the way your body breaks down fats, but research is mixed.

Peppers contain capsaicin , a compound that can boost your metabolism. For instance, one review evaluated the effects of capsaicin at acceptable doses. It predicted that eating peppers would burn around 10 additional calories per meal.

Over 6. Alone, the effects of adding spices to your food may be quite small. However, it may lead to a slight advantage when combined with other metabolism-boosting strategies.

Eating spicy food could be beneficial for boosting your metabolism and help you maintain a moderate weight. However, the metabolism-boosting effect of spicy foods is quite small. Lack of sleep is linked to a major increase in the chance of obesity.

This could explain why many people who are sleep-deprived often feel hungry and may have difficulty losing weight or may gain weight. In a study , researchers also found that a lack of sleep for four nights or longer may slightly decrease how the body metabolizes fat.

Lack of sleep can affect the levels of your appetite-regulating hormones and may slightly affect how your body metabolizes fat, which may lead to weight gain. Research has shown that caffeine can trigger the body to release neurotransmitters like epinephrine , which helps regulate the way your body processes fat.

However, this effect may vary based on several factors. For instance, one study found that caffeine was more effective at increasing fat burning during exercise in individuals with a less active sedentary lifestyle in comparison with trained athletes.

Drinking coffee can significantly increase your metabolism and may help you lose weight if that is your goal. They may explore underlying causes and offer you a tailored plan.

Managing any condition that slows down your metabolism, like hypothyroidism , can help make other efforts more productive.

Jumpstarting your metabolism may also require you to change a few habits like a nutrient-dense diet with limited processed foods, regular physical activity , and optimum sleep hygiene that allows your body to rest and recharge.

You may also avoid doing things that slow down your metabolism like restricting too many calories or not doing any strength resistance training. Every body is different. Signs of a slow metabolism may vary individually but may include fatigue, digestive upset, not losing any weight despite your efforts, and easily gaining weight.

Only a healthcare professional may accurately assess your metabolism and the underlying causes of these symptoms. Restrictive diets may sometimes lead to a slow metabolism, among other health effects. Although for weight loss and fat burning you do want to consume fewer calories than you burn, your body still needs to get enough fuel and nutrients to perform body functions.

Instead of eating less, you may want to focus on nutritious foods and move more. Foods that boost your metabolism typically include protein such as meat, dairy, or legumes. Read more about the 12 best foods to boost your metabolism.

Learn about these and other foods you can eat before bed. To lose weight, you need to create a calorie deficit. This means you need to eat fewer calories than you burn, or better, burn more calories than you eat. You may want to focus on healthy eating habits while you consume enough calories to support your body functions.

Consider reducing processed foods, sugar and alcohol intake, and saturated fats. Resistance training and eating an adequate amount of protein can help preserve lean body mass.

Muscle growth helps you burn more calories at rest. Making small lifestyle changes and incorporating these tips into your routine can help increase your metabolism.

However, more research is necessary to determine what exact conclusions can be drawn between diets and metabolism. Mcmurray RG, Soares J, Caspersen CJ, Mccurdy T. Examining Variations of Resting Metabolic Rate of Adults: A Public Health Perspective. Can you boost your metabolism? Atakan MM, Li Y, Koşar ŞN, Turnagöl HH, Yan X.

Evidence-based effects of high-intensity interval training on exercise capacity and health: a review with historical perspective. Tan J, Krasilshchikov O, Kuan G, et al. The effects of combining aerobic and heavy resistance training on body composition, muscle hypertrophy, and exercise satisfaction in physically active adults.

Muscle cells vs. fat cells. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. How much physical activity do adults need? Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Metabolism myths and facts. Martin A, Fox D, Murphy CA, Hofmann H, Koehler K.

Tissue losses and metabolic adaptations both contribute to the reduction in resting metabolic rate following weight loss. Int J Obes. American Council on Exercise. World Health Organization. Indicator metadata registry details.

Chen Y kun, Liu T ting, Teia FKF, Xie M zhou. Exploring the underlying mechanisms of obesity and diabetes and the potential of Traditional Chinese Medicine: an overview of the literature.

Front Endocrinol. Saito M, Matsushita M, Yoneshiro T, Okamatsu-Ogura Y. Brown Adipose Tissue, Diet-Induced Thermogenesis, and Thermogenic Food Ingredients: From Mice to Men. Fekete ÁA, Giromini C, Chatzidiakou Y, Givens DI, Lovegrove JA. Whey protein lowers blood pressure and improves endothelial function and lipid biomarkers in adults with prehypertension and mild hypertension: results from the chronic Whey2Go randomized controlled trial.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Górecki M, Hallmann E. The antioxidant content of coffee and its in vitro activity as an effect of its production method and roasting and brewing time. Torquati L, Peeters G, Brown WJ, Skinner TL. A Daily Cup of Tea or Coffee May Keep You Moving: Association Between Tea and Coffee Consumption and Physical Activity.

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Zhang S, Takano J, Murayama N, et al. Subacute ingestion of caffeine and oolong tea increases fat oxidation without affecting energy expenditure and sleep architecture: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded cross-over trial.

Hodgson AB, Randell RK, Jeukendrup AE. The Effect of Green Tea Extract on Fat Oxidation at Rest and during Exercise: Evidence of Efficacy and Proposed Mechanisms.

Advances in Nutrition. Ways to burn more calories every day. Zhang Y, Li S, Donelan W, et al. Angiopoietin-like protein 8 Betatrophin is a stress-response protein that down-regulates expression of adipocyte triglyceride lipase. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta BBA - Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids.

Ness KM, Strayer SM, Nahmod NG, et al. Four nights of sleep restriction suppress the postprandial lipemic response and decrease satiety. Journal of Lipid Research. How much sleep do I need?

El-Zayat SR, Sibaii H, El-Shamy KA. Physiological process of fat loss. Bulletin of the National Research Centre. Bo S, Fadda M, Fedele D, Pellegrini M, Ghigo E, Pellegrini N.

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learn more. One of the most effective forms of exercise is high-intensity workouts, also known as high-intensity interval training HIIT. HIIT is when exercise involves quick and very intense bouts of activity, such as sprints or fast push-ups. Another excellent way to speed up your metabolic rate is to strength train 39 , In addition to the direct effect of the exercise itself, strength exercises promote the growth of muscle mass.

The amount of muscle you have is directly associated with your metabolic rate. Unlike fat mass, muscle mass significantly increases the number of calories you burn at rest 5 , One study showed that doing strength exercises for 11 minutes a day, three times per week, resulted in an average increase of 7.

Old age is generally associated with muscle loss and drops in metabolic rate, but regular strength exercise can partially counteract this adverse effect 42 , Similarly, a calorie-reduced weight loss diet often results in the loss of muscle mass and metabolic rate.

Again, strength training may help prevent this decline 44 , Eating adequate amounts of protein is essential if you want to build or maintain your muscle mass. But dietary protein also has other important qualities. All food leads to a temporary increase in metabolic rate, known as the thermic effect of food TEF.

However, this effect is much stronger after eating protein compared to carbs or fat This boost in calorie expenditure may help promote weight loss or prevent weight regain after a weight loss diet 49 , 50 , TEF is highest in the morning or during the first few hours after you wake up.

For this reason, eating a large proportion of your daily calories early in the day can maximize the effect 52 , Eating high amounts of protein can also help counteract the loss of muscle mass and metabolic rate associated with weight loss 54 , 55 , While eating less is a key weight loss method, eating too little is usually counterproductive in the long term.

This effect is known as starvation mode or metabolic adaptation. Research shows that consistently eating fewer than 1, calories daily leads to a significant drop in metabolic rate that sticks around even after you stop dieting 57 , 58 , Studies in obese people suggest that the starvation response may significantly reduce the number of calories burned.

For instance, one study indicates that this slowdown in metabolic rate spares up to calories per day 60 , Interestingly, intermittent fasting seems to minimize this effect 62 , Many studies show that drinking water leads to an increase in the number of calories burned, an effect known as water-induced thermogenesis 64 , 65 , Drinking cold water has an even greater effect than warm water, as this requires your body to warm it up to body temperature.

Studies on this phenomenon provide varying results. It seems that increasing your water consumption is also beneficial for your waistline. Several studies show that drinking 34—50 ounces 1—1. You can maximize these benefits by drinking water before meals, as it also fills you up and reduces calorie intake Although plain water is good on its own, caffeinated, low-calorie beverages, such as coffee or green tea , are useful as well.

However, this effect is smaller in obese people, as well as older adults. Additionally, seasoned coffee drinkers might have built up a resistance to its effects 75 , For weight loss purposes, sugar-free beverages like plain, black coffee are best.

Like water, cold coffee may be even more advantageous. Getting inadequate sleep is not only bad for your general health, but it may also slow down your metabolic rate and increase your risk of weight gain 77 , One study showed that metabolic rate decreased by 2.

Accordingly, lack of sleep is associated with an increased risk of weight gain and obesity 79 , 80 , 81 , There are numerous things you can do to boost your metabolism. These include drinking cold water, sipping on coffee, getting more sleep, exercising, and eating protein.

Although your basal metabolic rate is largely beyond your control, there are various ways to increase the number of calories you burn. Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

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A stronger metabolism can help you on your weight loss journey and burn fat more easily, but is three days enough to get your metabolism running…. From carrots to potatoes to onions, root vegetables have long been enjoyed as a delicious part of a healthy diet — and for good reason.

Here are 13 of…. What you eat affects your metabolism, making it either easier or harder to lose weight. Here are the 11 best foods to boost your metabolism. Many supplements — including 7-Keto — claim to boost metabolism and aid weight loss.

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By Atli Arnarson BSc, PhD — Updated on April 25,