Metabolism Myths

Health is of major concern and issue today. More and more people are becoming health conscious and turning to healthier living options every day. Naturally with the herd and mass, there are many myths spreading among the facts. These myths can not only harm a person’s well being but also essential hamper the growth and development of the person. Many organizations try to use these myths as gimmicks for their ad campaigns to attract customers. The customers or the general public should learn first about the facts about health and their body before enrolling into any sort of health programmed. The best choice is often the most well researched one and most unhealthy regime is the one that is filled with half backed knowledge.

One of the major concerns among people in this world today is obesity. Being fat not only makes you look less attractive but it is also unhealthy. With higher cholesterol levels you have more chances of heart attack than a normal person. Also being overweight can lead to quick physical exhaustion and various other heart related diseases. This awareness now is making people lose weight as fast as possible. And the drive to losing weight as fast as possible is leaving the person venerable to various myths which only serve to extract money out of their pockets by various product franchises which capitalize on this mentality of the market.

The first thing that you should know while reducing your weight is about metabolism. Now metabolism generally means or more appropriately refers to the act of burning up your calories. This is done through daily activities such as walking jogging cycling etc. Rate of metabolism is how much calories you burn every day just to keep your body functioning under normal conditions.

It is a common belief that if you are overweight you have a lesser rate of metabolism then what you would have if you were healthy. However this is not true. Scientists have conducted many studies that involved overweight and healthy people both sitting and lying quietly. They all were measured with hoe many calories they burnt in the day. This measurement was precisely carried out by recording the amount of oxygen breathed in and the amount of carbon die oxide breathed out. It was found that overweight people have the same rates of metabolism as healthy people. This is despite the fact that overweight people use more energy to maintain their bodies in working order because of the larger organs that they possess. However, due to the difference in the sizes of the bodies, overweight people more or less posses the same rate of metabolism as healthy people.

The basic rate of metabolism is influenced by the composition of the body. The muscles in the body will require more energy to function. The fat is not necessary. But as we grow old we tend to gain more fat. As a result we lose muscle. This is one of the reasons why metabolism rate decreases with age.

Another important aspect of metabolism rate is the amount of physical work a person does in a day. Doing work required you to burn up calories. More the work more calories are burnt. Therefore if you undergo a lot of physical labor during the day then You are likely to burn more amount of calories and your rate of metabolism will be higher. It is important to eat healthy if you are undergoing a lot of physical activities in your daily routine to compensate for the energy that is used.

Many people think that they have the slow metabolism syndrome. This is especially when people claim to say that they eat very little and still they put on weight. The marketers cleverly brand this as slow metabolism. This in actuality is nothing. It is scientifically proven that people tend to eat more than they think. When they are asked to chart down they are food habits they are often forgetful of mentioning several things that they would have consumed. This may be due to various reasons like impressing the researcher or even genuine absent mindedness.

Speeding up your metabolism artificially is difficult. In the market today there are several of the pills that claim that they will help you speed up your metabolism rate and decrease your body fat. Most of these pills are unproven. To many degree these pill may have dangerous side effects and should not be consumed at all. Many chemicals like nicotine and caffeine have a small effect. But these should not be taken in overdose due to the harsh side effects. Also a sudden increase in the rate of metabolism results in increase in the functioning of the heart. This sudden change in heart activity is not advisable. Therefore these pills are never recommended as a cure for obesity.

The best way to burn your calories and set your metabolic activity in order is to increase the level of your physical activity. The amount you burn depends on your age and the level of physical exercise that you do. However this does not mean that you should over strain yourself with a particular exercise. A total body workout along with a balanced and a healthy diet will aid you in shedding your body weight faster than any miracle pill on TV.

There is no miracle pill that will make all your body weight disappear. Also there is no way that you can completely reduce and eliminate you body fat in a matter of days. The best way to stay healthy with a proper metabolic rate is to live healthy. This includes regular exercise and a proper and healthy diet. You can hire a dietician or even consult your doctor to work out a diet routine for yourself. The dedication to this regime will determine how much body weight you can actually lose. The only way to shape perfect bodies is through hard work. And this is a fact.

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1 Comment(s)

Please proof read, several spelling errors
By: Julie 13 years ago

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