6 Vitamins, Minerals, and Supplements to Boost Your Metabolism

Andrea is giving you all things metabolism, offering powerful strategies to enhance their metabolic rate through specific vitamins, minerals, and supplements. Andrea breaks down the role of B vitamins in metabolism and introduces other key nutrients like and explains how they assist in energy production and fat metabolism. The episode is peppered with practical tips and an approachable style that will encourage you to boost your metabolism effectively.


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Transcript

[00:00:00] Well, hey there. Today we're going to be talking about the metabolism. I feel like the metabolism is like the holy grail while people are always trying to fix it and manipulate it and figure out what's going on with it. And today I'm going to break down some really simple ideas for you to be aware of different vitamins, minerals, and even supplements that can help boost your metabolism.

Yes. Increase your metabolism.

We're going to keep it really, really simple. When I talk about these, I'm going to give you ways to have it through foods. And then obviously you can also choose a supplement if you wish.

So get a piece of paper, open up the notes on your phone and make sure you're writing down some of the ideas that I'm going to give to really just help give you that little extra option. Umph to get your metabolism going. And if you find this episode helpful, don't forget to write a review. Let me know, share it on social media, share it with your friends.

Don't forget to tag me. I love to see those. It makes such a difference. And I love to hear your reviews on the podcast as it helps the podcast [00:01:00] grow and it helps us continue to get amazing guests.

 And before we get into today's episode, of course, you know, I talk about sleep all the time. I am a huge fan of it. Honestly, any problem we have, I swear sleep is part of the solution. And one of the ways we can make sure we're getting quality sleep is by having quality, comfortable sheets to sleep on where you feel amazing.

This is why I love Cozy Earth bamboo sheets. They are temperature regulating. They were on OPA's 2018 list. I just ordered a pair of their pajamas and I love them. So I'm really excited about that as well. Their sheets last forever. They have a amazing warranty.

I've had mine for probably two years and they're still extremely soft, extremely comfortable. They have more than just sheets. They have bedding sets and all different blends of fabric, But I love their classic bamboo sheet. I promise you will definitely not regret getting a set of Cozy Earth sheets, especially because today they're giving my listeners 40 percent [00:02:00] off site wide. Yes, 40 percent just use the code SIMPLE40 at checkout.

Again, 40 percent off site wide. You will not regret it. I've had mine for so long and I truly love them so much.

All right, let's get into it and talk about the metabolism. [00:03:00] So before we talk about the vitamins and minerals and supplements, I do want to break down kind of what the metabolism is and some other factors that affect it. And I'll try to make this quick, but I think this is really important to not forget about before we talk about any additions through food. The metabolism is simply the chemical reaction that your body cells are doing to convert food into energy.

So it is literally just your body converting proteins, fats, and carbs into energy, Your metabolic rate is the amount of time it takes your body to process and burn energy from the foods you eat. And your basal metabolic rate, which is your BMR, is the amount of energy or calories, you can say either way, that your body needs to Maintain your basic functions when you are resting. So this is basically how many calories your body needs to survive.

If you laid in bed and did nothing all day, like if you did not move at all, a [00:04:00] majority of the calories that our body uses does come from your BMR. So your BMR does make a difference. That's your basic, basically your basal, your basic metabolic rate. And that is the minimum that you should be having.

Before I talk about any supplements today, I do want to say that I can't promote those without mentioning bigger changes that would help strengthen and boost your metabolism. So I want to point out that strength training is huge for increasing your metabolism. It helps add muscle. When you add muscle, your body has to burn more calories to maintain the muscle, which means that your BMR, which we just talked about, if you're doing nothing all day, your BMR becomes higher because it's got to maintain all that muscle at rest.

Adding protein can be another really big one. I know I talk about protein a lot, but protein builds the muscle. Remember, muscle speeds the metabolism. Not only that, but protein has the highest thermogenic effect, which means your [00:05:00] body has to work a little bit harder to break down protein than fats and carbs.

The thermogenic effect of protein is 20 to 30 percent compared to carbs, which is only five to 10 percent and compared to fat, which is anywhere from zero to 3%. So basically your metabolism, your body has to work harder to even metabolize that protein that you're going to use to build the muscle. So it's like a double whammy right there.

Something else to be aware of that's a bigger change you could make to boost your metabolism is reverse dieting. If you are constantly dieting, constantly trying to eat as little as possible, constantly going from diet to diet to diet, and just. Trying to honestly always be in a deficit. You are going to slow down your metabolism

What happens is when you are not consuming enough food to meet your needs your body is smart your BMR Will start to suffer and decrease because it knows you're not getting enough food and this is called metabolic Adaptation. [00:06:00] So if you are constantly dieting and wondering why you can't lose fat or even maintain weight, it probably is because you're living your life in a deficit and you need to reverse diet which simply means you need to increase your food intake and get to a higher range where you're sitting at maintenance and that is going to help increase your metabolism.

I have a ton of episodes on reverse dieting, literally tons and tons. So if you scroll back in the podcast and you look through any of the topics, you will see me. Okay. Probably 10 episodes that include information on reverse dieting.

I know even one of my earliest episodes is called reverse dieting. I believe it's episode 10 or 11 back when I very first started a couple of years ago, but those are all going to be very helpful. Even drinking water is going to be helpful for increasing your metabolism. So those are all ideas that I do want stewing in your head because it doesn't matter what you're eating.

What vitamins and minerals or supplements we take if we aren't being aware of lifestyle changes to really strengthen our [00:07:00] metabolism, we're not going to see that boost that we're looking for. So think about those first and also obviously decreasing stress and increasing sleep. Now, with all of that said, let's talk about some actual other things that you can add into your diet, which is going to make a difference for your metabolism.

The first one is B vitamins. The main function of the B vitamins is to help your body metabolize carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, and to use the stored energy in the food.

So, a healthy metabolism basically is able to break down those proteins, fats, and carbs, and then also pull the nutrients out of the food for your body to use. There are definitely a lot of B vitamins and there's also obviously the B vitamin complexes. So we're going to go over just a few B vitamins that you could be aware of and just make sure that you're getting enough of whether it's in your foods, in a multivitamin, in your AG1 shake or whatever it is, making sure that you're having enough.

And [00:08:00] if you ever do get any tests done, checking to see where your vitamin and mineral levels are. So first let's talk about B6. Vitamin B6 is water soluble. And it acts as a coenzyme for breaking down proteins, fats, and carbs. When I say coenzyme, I'm basically saying it's a partner in crime. Like, it's needed for your body to break those down.

B6 also enhances your metabolism's ability to burn more calories, which is going to help you lose weight quicker, if that is your goal. It also helps your body get the energy from the food that we talked about earlier as one of the pros of a B vitamin. B6

And another really great benefit of the B6 vitamin is it can help with hormone balance.

B12 is another B vitamin and it plays a huge role in fat metabolism. And something else to think about is a lot of these B vitamins, they need each other to work well. So in order for B12 to work really well to help with the fat metabolism, [00:09:00] it needs B6 to work optimally. So you do want to have both of those vitamins.

Niacin or B3 is also another really important B vitamin. If you don't have enough niacin, then you're going to have lower energy levels. If your energy levels are lower, you're not going to move as much, which means you're going to burn less calories. So it's important to make sure you aren't in a deficiency of niacin or B3.

They kind of are interchangeable for what you want to call them. A couple of other really important ones are

riboflavin or also known as B2, folate.

thiamine also known as B1. And there's a couple other ones as well. In general, deficiency in your B vitamins can really affect a person's metabolism because all of these vitamins help literally break down food.

That is like the base of what your metabolism does.

 not only are they essential for breaking down the food, but a healthy metabolism really ensures that the nutrients from the food is being [00:10:00] used as energy rather than being stored as fat. So that's really important. The B vitamins make a huge difference. Let's talk about a couple of foods that you can get B vitamins from.

And there is kind of a big gamut because there are so many B vitamins as I've listed a bunch of them. Any lean meats or seafood, whole grains, dairy products, eggs,

some fruits such as bananas, apples, grapes, and watermelon, nuts and seeds, and some vegetables including spinach, potatoes, squash, peas, and broccoli. I do also want to point out that B12 is present only in animal products. So if you are a vegetarian or a vegan, you might want to take a supplement for a B complex because it's going to help make sure that you're getting enough of those since that is only present in animal products.

the next mineral to be aware of that is going to help boost your metabolism is Magnesium, magnesium. I'm telling you magnesium is like I feel like it's like the catch all [00:11:00] like whenever I'm like Oh, I have low energy. I like do some research. It's like increase your magnesium. Oh, I'm not sleeping Well increase your magnesium.

Oh, my metabolism is struggling increase your magnesium. I'm not kidding Magnesium is amazing. Not saying that the other ones aren't, but I just realized the powerhouse that magnesium is in the last year or so. This is a really vital mineral for energy production in the body. So it works as a partner. We talked about the coenzyme.

I'm going to say partner because that's a little bit easier to understand. It basically works as a partner for 300 enzyme systems. Like it's everywhere. It's doing all the things. Basically. Magnesium helps control blood glucose levels. It helps maintain blood pressure. It helps maintain strong bones. It helps nervous system functions. And it also helps in weight loss and maintaining weight.

without magnesium, the body is going to have a harder time producing energy, which is going to obviously affect our metabolism [00:12:00] because if we have less energy, we're moving less, which means we're obviously not needing as much food, which is going to affect our metabolism. So they do go hand in hand, energy and energy production and the way our body breaks down food, they're friends.

And if magnesium is missing, it's going to affect our metabolism and affect our energy.

You can get magnesium in a ton of different foods and there are different forms of magnesium, but some easy foods to make sure you're having is nuts and seeds, legumes, spinach, bananas, salmon and halibut, whole grains and potatoes. A supplement of magnesium is also a really great idea. I'm going to link in the show notes the supplement that I'm currently taking for magnesium and have been for about six months.

My magnesium supplement is called Magnesium Breakthrough by Bio Optimizers and it has

Seven different kinds of magnesium in one supplement. I like it. It's just two pills and it helps. Obviously, I think we should try to eat all of our vitamins and minerals, but this is [00:13:00] just an easy one. So I will link that in the show notes. I don't have a code or anything.

I'm not an affiliate. It's just the one that I've really, really liked because I feel like it covers all the gamuts of magnesium.

The next one I want you to be aware of is L carnitine. Now this is a natural occurring amino acid that helps your metabolism. It also has been shown in studies to impact your brain function.

Basically, L carnitine is a substance that helps your body turn fat into energy. So it helps you metabolize fat. Your body does naturally produce it in your liver and your kidneys, but you can also find it in meats, dairy products, nuts, and legumes. I found a really cool study in the Journal of Medicinal Fibers. food, which found that L carnitine might provide some anti obesity benefits. There obviously is mixed research on how much, but basically they thought it could help with the supplement of weight loss along with other things.

The best sources for L carnitine are beef, pork, chicken, milk, and hard [00:14:00] cheeses. And something else to think about is L carnitine works together with niacin, Vitamin B6 and iron because those help increase the body's production of L carnitine to help you burn fat.

So again, remember all of these kind of work together. It's not about just supplementing one thing. We kind of already went over niacin and B6. So realizing like there's a kind of a couple players that are going to help you, but anytime you're aware of all of them, it's going to help and it makes it easier when we can see how to do it through food.

Something else about a carnitine is. There have been a couple of studies that have showed that it's better absorbed through food anyway. One study said that 57 to 84 percent of L Vulcarnitine was absorbed when consumed as food compared to only 14 to 18 percent when consumed as a supplement.

So this is one where if you can eat it, eat the items, it's going to be better. The only time a supplement might be useful for L [00:15:00] carnitine is if you are a vegetarian or a vegan, because if you notice, a lot of those things were obviously animal based.

But if you're in that situation, I would say to ask your doctor the right supplement for you and make sure that's a fit. But it's an easy one to eat through food

if you are not vegetarian or vegan.

The next vitamin we're going to talk about is vitamin D. Vitamin D helps control your blood sugar and improves insulin resistance in people with diabetes. The cool thing about vitamin D is you can get it from sunlight, obviously safe exposure. You don't want to be overdoing it, but it is the fastest way to get it.

bump up your vitamin D. Something else to think about though is if you live in a state where there's not a lot of sunshine or a country where there's not a lot of sunshine, you might want to take a vitamin D supplement if you're not getting a lot of sun or even just a normal amount. You can also have foods that contain vitamin D such as egg yolks, fatty fish such as salmon or sardines or [00:16:00] mackerel.

Cod liver oil, beef oil, fortified plant based milk, and some types of mushrooms. So you kind of have options with that one. You can obviously get a little bit more sun, you know, doing it safely, add it with your foods, or you can take a supplement.

I know in Arizona, it sounds crazy because the sun shines year round here, but in the summertime, it's really, really, really hot and we're not always in the sun in the summertime. So shockingly, I have read a couple of times that Arizona is a state that has higher issues of low vitamin D because people are always covered up or staying out of the sun for long periods of time, even though it is basically a very sunny state.

So just being aware that you have options of how to increase your vitamin D.

The next one is iron. Iron helps carry oxygen to your red blood cells. Your red blood cells then carry it to your muscles and the tissues in your body. So if a person has low iron and they're trying to send that oxygen to their muscles, they're going to struggle. And if [00:17:00] their muscles are not getting the oxygen they need, they're not going to be able to burn fat as fuel as well as they should.

So low iron interferes with your metabolism because it interferes with the oxygen going to your muscles. And we know your muscles, the more muscle you have, the stronger your metabolism. So it's all interconnected.

We also talked about how iron along with vitamin B and niacin together, that trio does help your body produce more L Cartene to help burn fat. So they're all interconnected. If you noticed a couple of these need each other to be able to be the most effective for your metabolism.

Some easy ways to make sure you're getting iron in food is meat, beans, vegetables. brown rice, nuts, dark green leafy vegetables, tofu, and soybeans. You can take an iron supplement, but again, that's kind of your choice. If you think you can't get it through foods, then the supplement is obviously an option.

The last thing I'm going to suggest for you to be aware of to just kind of naturally boost your [00:18:00] metabolism is turmeric. Turmeric is legit. Not only does it help with anti inflammatory issues, but it helps your metabolism. The way that it helps your metabolism is when your body is breaking down food, it uses this bile in your stomach, which is basically like digestive juices, and that emulsifies and breaks down the fat for using your metabolism.

And turmeric helps increase that bile. So it's basically helping your metabolism break down that food better with those digestive juices, those enzymes.

And really, like I said, turmeric is also amazing for your joints and lots of other anti inflammatory things. I actually love turmeric. You can do turmeric as a supplement, or you can drink it in turmeric tea. You can also add it easily in as a spice into curries, or rice dishes, or desserts, or just different kind of delicacies.

I have mixed in turmeric into like a green juice, where I juiced and did like celery and an [00:19:00] apple and turmeric and ginger and a couple other things and I would just juice it and then I would drink it in the morning and I did that for a series of time and I actually really liked it and I still have it sometimes it just kind of depends on my mood but it's really easy to add in that way

or just take it as a supplement.

Now, as I mentioned before we started, if someone is struggling with weight loss or maintaining weight, obviously these vitamins and minerals and supplementation ideas alone are not going to change that by themselves. We do want to be aware of the behavioral factors like I talked about, making sure you're getting enough strength training, making sure that we're increasing our daily movements, just not even exercising, but moving around daily, making sure you're having enough water and all of those things, they all make a difference. But when we're doing all of those things and we're still feeling a little stuck, maybe these couple of supplements or vitamin mineral awareness can make a huge difference in just giving you a little extra oomph for getting your [00:20:00] metabolism rocking and rolling

and working like a champion.

I do also want to add that working to improve your metabolism, whether it's through the habits I said, or some of the ideas with the vitamins and minerals, it does take time. It's not going to happen overnight, and that's okay because You've got your whole life to live. So if you just slowly start thinking about adding some of these things and creating awareness and doing it step by step and not being overwhelmed, hopefully you wrote down some of the foods that you think you might want to add more of interior routine or adding a supplement, whatever it is, a solid multivitamin, any of those things can be a huge game changer.

So don't overthink it. Don't think, Oh my gosh, she just listed so many different things. I don't know where to start. Pick one or two things, add it in, and then go back and pick one or two more things and add it in. Slow steps always win the race. All right, that's it for today. Your metallism is gonna be on fire in a couple months with all of the changes that [00:21:00] you're gonna make slowly.

You're doing amazing. I promise. You are doing so much better than you think you are. we'll chat next week.