3 Foods That Boost Your Metabolism Naturally

While there’s no “magic” food for weight loss, certain foods can offer a modest or temporary boost to your metabolism when included in a balanced diet.

1. Matcha

Matcha is a type of green tea that may affect your metabolism in several ways, including by:

• Increasing fat burn during exercise: Matcha may help improve fat oxidation (the breakdown of fat) during moderate-intensity exercises like walking.
• Boosting energy expenditure: Green tea’s antioxidant compounds can help increase energy expenditure (the total amount of calories burned by your body) and the amount of calories burned during activity.
• Regulating carbohydrate metabolism: Matcha contains epigallocatechin gallate, a compound that blocks starch digestion. This helps prevent the release of glucose into the bloodstream.

2. Almonds

When part of a balanced diet, almonds can support metabolism and help with overall weight loss by:

• Keeping you full: Studies suggest that eating almonds daily may help decrease body mass and fat mass. Almonds contain fiber and protein, which slow digestion and keep you full for longer.
• Increasing resting energy expenditure: Almonds can increase thermogenesis (heat production), which boosts metabolism and resting energy expenditure, or the number of calories burned to ensure bodily functions at rest.
• Improving gut health: Almonds contain fiber, which can help improve the gut microbiome. They are thought to act similarly to prebiotics (a type of specialized fiber) by promoting the production of good bacteria, which is important for supporting metabolism.

3. Coffee

Coffee alone won’t lead to weight loss. However, due to its caffeine content, coffee can enhance your metabolism in the following ways:

• Helping you burn more calories: Coffee can temporarily increase your metabolic rate by 5–20% for about three hours. This leads to more calories burned.
• Aiding fat breakdown: Caffeine intake can also help improve fat oxidation, particularly in people with more lean body weight.
• Staving off hunger: Some studies have suggested that drinking coffee before a meal may reduce the amount of calories you may eat. However, these effects were only seen in the men, not the women, in the study.