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Thermogenic Foods
Thermogenic Foods such as Tea, Coffee, or Ginger can increase body temperature, speed up metabolism, and increase calorie intake. Everyone must know its fat-burning power. Thermogenic foods are becoming popular with hunters due to the fat-burning action of their diet.
But before turning into flour, to understand what is called thermogenic foods. It is essential to describe above what the natural thermogenesis process consists of. This concept refers to the ability of our body to generate heat through metabolic reactions to keep the body at an average temperature of 37 degrees Celsius.
Diet is a crucial element to achieve this inner heat. Food becomes an essential fuel that generates these metabolic reactions, commonly known as food thermogenesis. Within the wide range of nutrition, there are foods with a greater capacity to generate the necessary heat in our body.
They can be broadly defined as thermogenic foods (coffee, green tea, coconut oil, cinnamon, salmon, cocoa, mustard). “We know that thermogenic foods are those that increase the energy that our body needs to maintain an adequate body temperature. And to prolong that temperature, our body needs to consume energy through food.
Foods that have actual thermogenic effects
1. Coconut oil
- Coconut oil has a high content of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA) accelerates metabolism.
- They are easily digested and help remove fat from the body, explains Koji Nagao of the University of Saga in Japan.
2. Chilli
- Margriet Westerterp-Plantenga, from the Department of Human Biology at the University of Maastricht, in
The Netherlands states that the capsaicin (a substance that gives the spicy flavour) contained in chilli peppers increases thermogenesis, creates a feeling of satiety, and promotes oxidation of fats.
3. Black pepper
- Black pepper contains piperine, a compound that helps block the formation of new fat cells in the body.
- In addition, it is a powerful stimulant of the nervous system receptors (TRPV1) responsible for regulating body temperature, accelerating the burning of activated calories.
4. Ginger also has thermogenic effects
- Gingerol is one of the most critical components of ginger which acts as a natural anti-inflammatory.
- It is related to weight loss, as it helps increase thermogenesis, optimizes fat burning, and increases basal metabolic rate.
5. Green tea
- Green tea has thermogenic properties. It promotes fat oxidation and increases calorie expenditure thanks to its high content of caffeine and catechins.
- These substances stimulate the sympathetic nervous system. That’s why drinking two to four cups of green tea a day helps you maintain your ideal weight.
- In addition, it is a powerful antioxidant that reduces the presence of free radicals in the body, explains a study by the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands.
- It is recommended to consume 200mg to 1g. of ginger a day. It is present in tea, juices, and as a condiment in salads or desserts.
- Other foods that generate a thermogenic effect in the body contain lean proteins such as fish, shellfish, shrimp, egg whites.
- Turmeric, mustard, and ice are also among the foods that increase metabolism.
- These foods have a significant effect on thermogenesis which affects metabolism, satiety, and fat oxidation.
- They are the functional agents to achieve a positive balance between energy expenditure and nutrient intake.
6. Eggplants, tomatoes, and avocado
- Eggplant is one of the aces of diets when it comes to losing weight.
- The eggplant absorbs fat and is very rich in fibre and pectin. It destroys (literally) the toxins in our body and absorbs calories.
- It is the NEC plus ultra to lose weight without following a strict diet.
- Another of the actual fat burners is the tomato because it has a shallow glycemic level. It hardly contains
carbohydrates. - It provides us with many mineral salts (such as potassium and magnesium) and vitamins and minerals essential for our health.
- On the other hand, tomato helps us lower our cortisol levels and makes us feel better.
7. Avocados have actual thermogenic effects
- Avocados indeed have a reasonably high caloric content, but it does not make us fat, as any personal training website would explain.
- Basically, a large amount of oleic acid that avocados contain helps eliminate hunger. It is exquisite in salads and provides us with:
- 160 calories per 100 grams (while a fillet of beef would have about 270 calories).
- Vitamins (A, B6, C, and E).
- Magnesium, iron, zinc, and phosphorus, although in small amounts.
- It contains very few carbohydrates but a lot of fibre, ideal for achieving a flat stomach, curbing hunger attacks, and helping us eat less, the key to a diet that allows us to lose weight.
- However, we can eat only one avocado a day.
- The only drawback is that it would not be very ethical because it is usually imported from Mexico, where its intensive agriculture represents an ecological catastrophe.
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