Yoga and healthy lifestyle are the keys to increase metabolism and decrease Obesity. Metabolism is essential for the maintenance of healthy life. In this article, we discuss the effect of yoga, fasting and other healthy lifestyle for higher metabolism, optimum weight loss, and obesity control.
1. Metabolism, Yoga and the Nervous System
The liver is a key metabolic organ which governs body energy metabolism, and its metabolic activity is tightly controlled by insulin and other metabolic hormones. Liver metabolic processes are tightly regulated by neuronal and hormonal systems. Glucose and insulin are regulated by a feedback cycle that is controlled by autonomic nervous system. Autonomic dysfunction is one of the main reasons of obesity, weight gain, low metabolism and many other health problems. Yoga has tremendous power to eliminate the autonomic dysfunctions.
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) has two branches that work in conjunction: the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). The parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) and sympathetic nervous system (SNS) work together to help us cope with the requirements of our daily life. The sympathetic system stimulates, whereas the parasympathetic system suppresses, hepatic gluconeogenesis. Gluconeogenesis (GNG) is a metabolic pathway that results in the generation of glucose from non-carbohydrate carbon substrates. Gluconeogenesis is essential for providing glucose to the brain. The parasympathetic nervous system typically functions in actions that is central during rest, sleeping, and digesting food, and lowering metabolic rate. The sympathetic nervous system boosts heart rate and blood pressure and directs blood flow away from digestion to maintain glucose in the blood stream so that it can be used for immediate energy for the well-known “fight or flight” response. Yoga brings calmness by activating the parasympathetic nervous system as well as stimulating sympathetic nervous system so as to enable it to reach an optimum state of equanimity. Yoga helps to develop a well-rounded nervous system what enables one to remain level headed in stressful situations. Cat-Cow pose, Twisted Chair pose, Forward bending, Backward bending, Camel Pose are the vital poses to increase metabolism.
2. Weight loss by drinking water before meals
Drinking about half a liter (about two glasses) of water half an hour before meals can help with weight loss for obese adults, new research suggests [2]. Researchers observed that drinking water significantly elevates the resting energy expenditure (REE) in adults, and that low water intake is associated with obesity and lesser success in weight reduction.
3. Metabolism by Fasting – Short term calorie restriction
A diet that cuts food intake by up to 40%, known as calorie restriction, increases longevity in a variety of organisms and forestalls cancer, heart disease, and other late-life illnesses. For many species, eating between 10% and 40% less than normal not only prolongs life, but also improves metabolic measures such as insulin sensitivity and defers age-related ailments. There are thousands of scientific papers which touch upon or dig into the relation of meal frequency, energy expenditure and weight loss.
Once you eat high protein or high carb diets, your insulin will spike, your growth hormone levels will drop and you will increase your fat level. You can go for low-carb ketogenic diet. There are indications that the way the ketogenic diet produces “ketones.”
For optimum calorie restriction, you first need to measure your BMR. BMR (Basal metabolic rate), is the amount of calories you need daily to maintain your body weight. The formula is generalized as weight x 12. If you want 10% caloric cut, then calculate your total caloric intake and reduce the food intake by 10% of the relevant foods.
4. Green Tea to Increase Metabolism
There are three main varieties of tea — green, black, and oolong. The difference is in how the teas are processed. Green tea is made from unfermented leaves and contains the highest concentration of powerful antioxidants called polyphenols. Antioxidants are substances that fight free radicals — damaging compounds in the body that change cells, damage DNA, and even cause cell death. Tea polyphenols and the caffeine content in tea increase energy expenditure and fat oxidation, providing benefits for achieving and maintaining an ideal body weight. According to a research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a decent amount of green tea coupled with about three hours of exercise every week over a three-month period, helped people lose fat from abdomen [4]. A cup of green tea without any sugar fires up your metabolism causing your daily calorie burns to increase by 100 calories. AJCN published 12 new articles on the relationship between tea and human health.
5. Laughter to Increase Metabolism
Not only your mood will lighten up but your metabolism will be fired too. As reported by a study in the International Journal of Obesity [5], during a genuine laughter we increase our usual energy expenditure (which means the calories burned) by about 10%. This means that if we have had a good laugh for about 10 minutes, we can burn about 10-40 extra calories. So go ahead, lend your ears to the colleague who loves to share good jokes and keep your metabolism high.
References:
2. Parretti et al. 2015. Efficacy of water preloading before main meals as a strategy for weight loss in primary care patients with obesity: RCT. 2015; 23(9): 1785-1791.
3. G Dubnov-Raz et al., Influence of water drinking on resting energy expenditure in overweight children, International Journal of Obesity 35, 1295-1300 (October 2011)
4. Ingestion of a tea rich in catechins leads to a reduction in body fat and malondialdehyde-modified LDL in men
5. Buchowski et al. ,Energy expenditure of genuine laughter, International Journal of Obesity (2014) 38, 1582.