The natural way to boost your metabolism.

We know how you feel. Luckily, all you need to do is take a look at what you’re eating, say goodbye to your inner fast food junkie and go for food that boosts your metabolism naturally instead.

Enzymes – the sparking plugs that get your metabolism up to speed

Enzymes are really important if you want your body to function well. Without them, you wouldn’t have a metabolism at all because your body wouldn’t be able to make use of vitamins or minerals. Enzymes play a role in everything that goes on inside our bodies.
 
There are three main categories of enzymes:
1. Digestive enzymes – your body produces these itself
2. Food and plant enzymes – these are found in fresh, raw, uncooked food
3. Metabolic enzymes – your body produces these too

Here’s where to find them and what you need to know:
1. Digestive enzymes are produced in the salivary glands, stomach, pancreas and small intestine. They help break food down into simple molecules.
2. Food enzymes are a natural ingredient of raw food. However, heating food to over 42°C kills these enzymes. Digestive enzymes and food enzymes do the same job: both digest food so it can enter the bloodstream. The difference is that food enzymes are found in fresh, raw and uncooked food (such as fruit, vegetables, salads etc.), whereas digestive enzymes are produced in our own body.
3. Metabolic enzymes are produced in our body cells and occur throughout our body – in organs, bones, blood and the cells themselves. Metabolic enzymes maiantain the function of our brain, heart, lungs, kidneys etc., so our body needs them in large quantities.

Boost your metabolism with these foods

You don’t need us to tell you which foods are healthy and which contain too much fat. So here are some suggestions for your shopping list or the next time you eat out.

These foods can boost your metabolism:

• fish
• nuts & seeds
• kohlrabi
• green salad
• grated carrots
• bean sprouts
• avocado
• fruits, e.g., pineapples or papayas
• melons
• apples
• mangoes
• kiwis
• grapes
• natural honey
• kefir
• wheatgrass juice
• coconut water
• bee pollen

Incidentally, all ingredients in processed food that contain long-chain carbohydrates are classed as ‘metabolically inactive’ because the enzymes described above have to work so hard to break them down. So our advice is to stay away from fast food and ready meals, and prepare your own healthy food fast instead, using suitable kitchen tools.

The bottom line: Balanced nutrition, sufficient exercise and an appropriate calorie intake are all it takes to get a beach body without having to follow a diet. A healthy natural look is sexy – and over time, too little or to much weight is bad for your organs.

If you’re not sure how to cook delicious food using all those healthy ingredients, why not check out our magazine. If your blender, has a Steam mode, you can boost your metabolism the natural way even faster because steaming preserves all the natural enzymes. If you have any questions about this or any other topic related to healthy eating, our Powerfood-Expert hotline will be happy to help.