Top 5 Natural Foods For Fat Burning

Fat burners are some of the most controversial supplements on the market.

They’re described as nutrition supplements that can increase your metabolism, reduce fat absorption or help your body burn more fat for fuel (1 Trusted Source).

Manufacturers often promote them as miracle solutions that can solve your weight problems. However, fat burners are often ineffective and may even be harmful (2 Trusted Source).

That’s because they’re not regulated by food regulatory authorities (3 Trusted Source).

That said, several natural supplements have been proven to help you burn more fat.

This article provides a list of the 5 best supplements to help you burn fat.

1. Caffeine

Caffeine is known to boost up your metabolism and is present in coffee, green tea, and cocoa beans. If you want to burn more fat then caffeine works best for you. Because of its fat-burning benefits, it is a popular ingredient in the commercial supplement market.

Caffeine is generally considered to help burn more fat as fuel which is often seen as more efficient in lean people than obese people.

In addition, several studies have shown that caffeine can help your body burn more fat as fuel. However, this effect appears to be stronger in lean people than obese people. You do not need to invest in any kind of supplement, drinking a cup or two of coffee or green tea will provide you the benefits of caffeine required by the body.

Consuming more than the requirement of caffeine in your body will make it tolerant to its effect.

Avoid high-calorie sweeteners, milk, and cream if you are inclined towards burning more fat. Instead, opt for low-calorie coffee like black coffee or green tea.

As per some studies, caffeine is known to temporarily boost your metabolism up to 16% over an hour or two. (4 Trusted Source )

2. Green Tea Extract

Green tea is known as a great option to stimulant a person’s metabolism. And green tea extract is nothing but simply a concentrated form of green tea. Consuming green tea extra that comes in a form of powder or capsule is easy to use and is efficient to boost up your metabolism.

It is rich in caffeine and the polyphenol epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), both work effortlessly in burning fat through thermogenesis. It is a process of burning calories to produce more heat in your body.

With the analysis of six studies, it was concluded that green tea extract and caffeine are beneficial in burning more fat by 16% than a placebo.

Another research depicts the combination of caffeine, green tea extract, and placebo was efficient in burning 65 more calories each day than caffeine alone and 80 more calories than placebo. (5 Trusted Source )

Consuming green tea extract every day with an intake of 250-500 mg will provide you with the same result as drinking 3-5 cups of green tea each day.

3. Protein Powder

If your goal is towards fitness then protein is a must in your fitness regime. Your body requires a protein that boosts your metabolism, reducing your appetite and burn more fat.

Protein is considered extremely efficient to burn fat.

Protein can reduce your appetite as it increases the levels of fullness hormones like GLP-1, CCK, and PYY, simultaneously reducing the levels of the hunger hormones called ghrelin.

According to a study, conducted on 60 overweight and obese people, it was concluded that a high protein diet was twice as effective as a moderate-protein diet at burning fat. A high protein diet has the capability to preserve muscle mass. (6 Trusted Source )

It is a struggle for some people to keep up their daily protein intake which can be easy to fulfill with the help of protein-rich foods. That’s where protein powder comes to the rescue. Protein powder is handy and easy to increase your protein intake.

There are lots of variants of protein powder in the market as there is a craze for it in the fitness world. Whey, casein, soy, egg, and hemp are some options of protein powders that you can reach out to. Avoid choosing a protein supplement with a high level of sugar and additives you’re your goal is to burn fat.

Always remember protein is filling itself and should be replaced with your snacks or a part of the meal but do not include it on top of your diet. Calories are still important.

If you are struggling with your protein intake then consuming 1–2 scoops (25–50 grams) of protein powder for each day will work best for you.

4. Soluble Fiber

There are two different kinds of fiber- soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber supplements are great for burning fat and reducing your appetite. It reduces your calories intake. It focuses on absorbing water in your digestive tract and a viscous gel-like substance.

Soluble fibers are efficient in increasing the levels of fullness hormones like PYY and GLP-1. It curbs your appetite by reducing the level of hunger hormones called ghrelin.

Glucomannan and psyllium husk is an alternative for those who find it hard to include soluble fiber food in their diet.

Soluble fiber functions by slowing down the delivery of nutrients to the gut. When this process takes place your body automatically takes longer to digest and absorb nutrients, leaving you full for longer.

They are great for burning fat by reducing the calories intake of calories you absorb from food. According to a study conducted on 17 people, it was concluded people who consumed a diet with more fiber absorbed less fat and fewer calories from their diet as they consume different amounts of fiber and fat. (7 Trusted Source)

5. Yohimbine

Yohimbine is a substance extracted from the bark of Pausinystalia Yohimbe, a tree found in Central and Western Africa. It is great to burn fat by making sure of keeping your adrenaline levels high and blocking receptors that usually restrain fat-burning.

It’s commonly used as an aphrodisiac, with properties to burn fat. It functions by restricting receptors called alpha-2 adrenergic receptors.

What do these receptors do? Well, they basically bind adrenaline to hold back its effect which includes encouraging the body to burn fat for fuel. Yohimbine works by blocking these receptors as it prolongs the adrenaline effects promoting the breakdown of fat for fuel.

According to a study, around 20 elite soccer players consumed 10mg of yohimbine twice daily helping them shed 2.2% of body fat

As athletes are already fit and quite lean, therefore a reduction of 2.2% will be significantly visible. (8 Trusted Source )

Everything has side effects, consuming yohimbine can cause issues like nausea, anxiety, panic attacks, and high blood pressure.

It can be taken along with medications for blood pressure and depression. Avoid taking yohimbine if you take medications for such conditions or have anxiety.

Yohimbine is great to use, although more information is required before making it a permanent fat-burning supplement.

What are the other supplements that may help you burn fat?

Apart from these natural fat burner foods, several other supplements may help you lose weight.

However, they come with either side effects or lack of evidence to support their claims.

These include:

• 5-HTP: it is an amino acid and precursor to the hormone serotonin. 5-HTP can be used to burn fat by cutting down your appetite and your carbs craving. However, there are chances of it reacting with medications for depression.

• Synephrine: Synephrine is copiously present as a substance in bitter oranges. There are handful of studies claiming to help you burn fat.

• Green coffee bean extract: green coffee bean extract is highly controversial as it is promoted by manufacturers. It may help you burn fat but it does lack evidence.

• CLA (conjugated linoleic acid): CLA is a part of omega-6 fatty acids that functions to burn fat. Though the evidence can be confusing and its overall effects emerge weakly, still you can give it a try.

• L-carnitine: L-carnitine comes as a naturally occurring agent. Research showing its benefit of burning fat but it also reflects mixed evidence.

Dangers and Limitations of Fat-Burning Supplements

Anything that is processed and packed comes with some limitations and dangers. The fitness world is going gaga over commercial fat-burning supplements as they are widely available and very easy to access. However, they often blind the consumer with their hefty claims and promises. They may be not good for your health and even harm your health.

This happens due to the lack of supervision by the administrations. Usually, these fat-burning supplements do not require approval from Food and Drug Administration before reaching the consumers.

Though, the manufacturers should take responsibility for their products being tested for safety and effectiveness accurately. However, they only focus on making a profit, which results in many supplements being discarded from the market because of harmful ingredients being used.

In addition, there are claims of such contaminated supplements causing harmful side effects like high blood pressure, strokes, seizures, and even death.

Therefore, sticking to the natural supplements mentioned in the article will be safe to use and will burn fat effectively when combined with a healthy regime.

When you are consuming supplements, always remember to combine them with your healthy diet and regular exercise. Do not replace your supplement with these as when combined the results are proven to be more efficient.