Metabolic Effect of Food

Metabolic Effect of Food on the Human Body 

A lot of scientific evidence currently exists to support the fact that the frequency of intake of food does have a profound impact on body metabolism, and consequently in the long-term on body weight, holding all other factors constant. 

Our bodies’ largest contributor to metabolic rates is the amount of energy that the body expends while at rest, also referred to as Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR. This measures the amount of calories your body would need to sustain you alive and perform the body’s basic functions such as breathing, keeping the heart beating as well as maintaining body tissues functioning.

Owing to differences in genetic make-up, the levels of metabolic rates vary across different people. Muscle mass is also a crucial factor when it comes to the determination of your BMR, with people who take more proteins having better muscle build-up than those who take less.

Muscles are also more active and thus demand more energy than fat, so having higher percentages of muscle mass in comparison to fat leads to a higher BMR value. This means more energy is required to maintain the body tissues thus the body needs more proteins and fiber than healthy fats.

The natural differences between men and women also have a metabolic effect, i.e. women generally do have higher body fat percentages and less muscle, thus they have lower BMRs. Human beings also lose their muscle mass as they age. This is why it is more difficult to keep off weight gain as they age. The energy needs of a human body slowly go down as its muscle mass decreases; therefore you gain weight even if you maintain the intake of the same amounts of food like before.

Our daily diet also does have a metabolic effect on our bodies. If your body does not get sufficient amounts of calories, its metabolism could be slowed by up to 30%! Higher amounts of proteins in the diet have a major metabolic impact.

Recent research findings have shown that it has satiating capabilities and thermogenic fat-burning characteristics. Proteins have a higher thermic effect than healthy fats and carbohydrates, with this difference believed to be due to the fact that our bodies lack a storage capacity for proteins.

Taking food itself has a metabolic effect because energy is required to digest all the food that we eat. For instance, 10 calories are needed to break down 100 calories of the food you eat. Though a very minimal component of the overall metabolic effect on the body, it still is crucial to consider.

Written by: Kelly Rolissen