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  HelloLife Guest Topic Started October 19 2011 at 11:43 am Favorite 0

  What can affect metabolism?

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  Dr. Jeff Chamberlain, MD Answered by Health Coach Dr. Jeff Chamberlain, MD
  October 15 2011 at 12:00 am

  There are a lot of factors that can affect Metabolism or our metabolic rate:

  •The older we are the slower our resting metabolic rate. •Men tend to have faster metabolic rates than females. •Increasing your lean body mass (muscle mass) not only burns calories when you exercise, but having more muscle mass also increases your resting metabolic rate (you burn more calories even while at rest. •There are stimulant drugs and natural products which can increase metabolism, but abuse of these can put an unhealthy stress on the heart, increasing the chance of heart attacks and strokes (think about the rick stars from the 1960s who had heart attacks in their 20s and 30s because they were on various forms of speed/stimulants). •Having inappropriately low or high thyroid levels can slow or speed up your metabolism. •In the short run, stress can increase your metabolism by releasing of adrenaline, but chronic stress decreases your metabolism by increasing cortisol levels.

  Increasing physical activity level is the best way to increase metabolism. If you want to improve your health and increase your metabolism, I recommend a combination of cardiovascular and muscle building exercises.

  Stay Healthy! Dr. Jeff M.D.

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