How to boost your metabolism. Benefits of carrot
The carrot (Daucus carota) – carōta in Late Latin or karōton in Greek, is weight friendly root vegetable, originated from Afghanistan.
For each 100 delicious grams, the carrot has to offer almost 89 gram of water, 7.6 gram of carbohydrate, 0.98 gram of protein, 0.24 gram of fat, 30 milligram of calcium, 0.6 milligram of iron, 18 mg magnesium. It is also a good source of fiber (3 g), vitamin B1 (0.039 mg), vitamin B2 (0.053 mg), vitamin B6 (0.09 mg), vitamin C (7.1 mg), vitamin K, biotin, potassium (240 mg), thiamine and provides a generous amount of beta-carotene (3.62mg). Everything for 35 calories.
Besides the list of nutritious numbers included by the carrot, this common vegetable which lies on the kitchen counter is considered by some nutritionists a thermogenic food, which is a food that influences the metabolism to burn calories.
What is metabolism and how it is influenced by thermogenic food?
Each cell of living organisms makes the subject of a set of life-sustaining chemical transformations known as metabolism. This process refers to all enzyme-catalyzed reactions which allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. It actually includes all chemical reactions that occur in living cells, and the digestion and the transport of substances into and between different cells make no exceptions.
Metabolism involves two processes: catabolism and anabolism. Catabolism breaks down organic matter to obtain energy. Using bigger things to make smaller things and releasing energy in the process, catabolism provides the energy needed for any kind of physical activity, from a cellular level right up to whole body movements. Anabolism uses energy to construct components of cells such as proteins and nucleic acids.It allows the body to grow new cells and maintain all the tissues. Anabolic reactions (biosynthesis) utilize a few simple chemicals and molecules to manufacture (synthesize) a vast array of finished products.
The human body burns calories and releases energy to fuel three aspects of live which are metabolism related: Basal Metabolism, Unrestricted Physical Activity and Thermic Effect of Food.
Basal Metabolism (Base Metabolic Rate or BMR). This is the amount of energy expended daily by humans and other animals for the normal functioning of vital organs at rest. BRM is determined by a series of factors such as age, sex, proportion of lean body mass, heredity, diet (starvation or fastening lowers BRM!), environmental temperature, stress, thyroid function, body size (surprisingly, the more the body weighs, the faster the metabolism is).
Unrestricted Physical Activity (UPA). This is the amount of energy the body uses during daily physical activity.
Thermic Effect of Food (TEF). This is based on the fact that converting energy from one form to another is never 100% efficient. Digesting, absorbing, transporting and storing the food also takes calories. Eating throws off a certain amount of energy as heat. This represents on average about 10 percent of the calories used each day. Foods with a high thermic effect increase the metabolic rate because is harder for the body to digest, process and utilize the food.
Here comes the carrot!
The “colorful” carbohydrates from this vegetable require the metabolism to burn up to 20% of their calories just through the digestive process. The calories are also low,The carbohydrate in carrots is 49.5 percent sugar, but the starch and fiber in it cannot be ignored. The starches contained by the carrot are complex carbohydrate and breaking the bonds between its molecules by digestive enzymes, takes time and more energy. For the dietary fiber from the carrot, the body, during metabolism process, cannot make the enzymes necessary to break molecular bonds so it just passes through digestive tract intact. But even if fiber cannot be digested, trying to transform them uses more energy, burns calories and speeds up metabolism.
Carrots are also really high in antioxidants. Ingesting them helps the body to improve its biochemistry and determines the metabolism to work efficiently. A low level of antioxidants affects brain chemistry (neurotransmitters) interfering with appetite control and proper hormone regulation.
Do you need a carrot?
If learning all these convinced you that you need a carrot and you’ve already checked your kitchen for this vegetable to boost your metabolism, you should also look for some fruits and vegetables that work almost the same way as carrots: apples, asparagus, broccoli, lettuce, green cabbage or cranberries. Nobody wants to wake up in the morning with an orange complexion from too many carrots…
Until next time, Keep Fit and Have Fun! BR!
