Posts Tagged ‘raise metabolism’
We are often asked how effective is walking as an exercise. 
Walking is an effective form of exercise, and it has certain advantages over other exercises in that it is easy to do – it is low-impact, and does not require a significant amount of investment. It is possible to start today, and even such small changes in activity level add up over a period of time. In addition, it is extremely easy to vary the exercise routine to avoid getting bored – simple changes such as location, pace, walking style, or by going for a hike. There is also some scientific evidence that suggests that by incorporating some additional tools, effectiveness of walking as an exercise could be increased by as much as 20%, without becoming more tiring. Because most people live a sedentary life style, simply adding an hour to walk around the block in the evening adds a significant amount of needed physical activity. Talk to your doctor, do some planning, start easy, gauge yourself, and get going!
It is widely known that western-style diets typically contain a larger proportion of saturated fat. We previously wrote in our article on Low Carb Diets, Weight Loss, and Fat that palmitic acid, which is a fatty acid contained in meat, dairy, and other products, can negatively affect key signals from metabolic hormones. It dulls signals from insulin, and interferes with the brain’s ability to moderate the amount of food consumed. It turns out that not only does certain types of saturated fat affect your sense of satiety as we discussed in that article, but they also seem to keep you fat by slowing down metabolism. A 2005 study titled by Kien et al. “Increasing Dietary Palmitic Acid Decreases Fat Oxidation and Daily Energy Expenditure”, published in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition, finds that western-style diets, which are typically high in palmitic acid and other saturated fats, slow down metabolism. In fact, according to the authors, it is possible to speed up metabolism by switching to foods that contain healthy fats, or minimizing the proportion of saturated fats in one’s diet.
