Monday, 06 April 2009

• The "Good Kind" of Fast Food

  
  

  
  I don't mean McDonald's and Burger King salads when I talk about the "good" kinds of fast food.  Instead, after reading an article from Men's Health, I found out that there are specific foods that will act as speed (aka: "fast foods") for your body and brain - causing a metabolism pick-me-up.
  
  These powerhouse speed foods come in five basic "Booster Packs" (not to be confused with these: link).  The packs are determined not just by food category, but also by their effects on the body. 
  
  Booster Pack #1 contains milk, whole-grain cereals and oatmeal.  Besides these all being great additions to your breakfast menu, all three of these contain a great deal of calcium and fiber, which help keep your insulin levels low post-meal.  If your insulin levels peak, your body thinks that it is time to start producing fat from your foods, thus turning into... well, fat.  The calcium in milk has also been proven to help quicken weight loss, almost doubling the amount of pounds shed in a study about men who consumed between 1,200 and 1,300 mg of calcium a day.
  
  Pack #2 is the home of some of my tongue's least favorite flavors- jalapeno, habanero and cayenne peppers.  Unfortunately, the same chemical that gives these little balls of fire their heat is the same chemical that speeds up your metabolic rate.  It's not the sweat that you shed from the chemical Capsaicin that makes you lose weight faster, although that probably doesn't hurt.  Instead, any spicy meal helps boost your metabolism for up to three hours after your last bite.
  
  The third pack contains only Green Tea and coffee, but this dynamic duo is basically unstoppable when it comes to helping your metabolism out.  Caffeine is an actual speed-like cheimcal that quickens both your heart rate and breathing rhythms, in turn your metabolism to speed up.  When combining caffeine and ECGC (Green Tea's extract), people are likely to burn 80 more calories at rest than without the two.  However, be careful when seeking your means to caffeine - that Pepsi has more calories in it than you'll burn off if consuming the recommended amount.
  
  Booster Packs #4 and #5 contain all the meats, starting first with lean beef, pork, turkey and chicken, and then followed up with salmon, tuna and sardines.  The lean meats pack serious proteins, which needs more energy to burn off.  After you dine on any of the lean meats, your body has to work even harder to prevent them from storing as fat, which will end up burning more calories in the process.  c
  
  Salmon, tuna and sardines are great for their omega-3 fatty acids.  These little acidic fish change the levels of leptin in your body, which help determine whether or not your body burns off, or stores the food you eat as fat.  People with high levels of leptin are more likely to have their foods turn into fats, while people with lower leptin levels burn their calories off more easily.
  
  I'm thinking a glass of Green Tea, with a little grilled surf and turf (salmon and chicken), with sprinkled cayenne pepper for that spicy flavor will be great for dinner tonight.  And how will I kill that treacherous burning sensation in my tongue?  With a great glass of milk, of course.
  
  Do you ever think about how your meals will alter your metabolism?  Do you incorporate any of these foods into your daily calorie intake?
  
  

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