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11 Natural Foods to Help Boost Your Metabolism

Certain foods and spices could help you burn fat, including stubborn belly fat

Nissa Simon,

Updated May 05, 2026

AARP

Reviewed by

Merle Myerson, M.D.

En español

Updated May 05, 2026

plate of food that could help increase your metabolism

Sarah Rogers (Source: Getty Images (4))

Key takeaways

Eating certain foods may enhance weight loss.
More calories are burned digesting protein vs. carbs.
Belly fat is a bigger health risk than subcutaneous fat.
Regular strength training can jump-start your metabolism.

Sure, it would be nice if you could down a serving of one of the foods named here and stroll down the road to losing weight and getting healthy, having done your part. Alas, it’s not that simple. Losing fat is a complicated process. The foods listed here can help enhance fat loss, but they don’t make fat cells go up in smoke. They’re one part of the weight-loss puzzle. Consuming them helps control your appetite so that you eat less, which, in turn, leads to weight loss. And, according to Johns Hopkins University, in addition to consuming these 11 foods, you should keep moving and lift weights to get in shape and live a healthier life.

1. Greek yogurt

Greek yogurt, which has twice as much protein as other yogurts, is a sure bet to burn off some of that unwanted body fat. Why? Your body burns more calories while digesting protein than it does while digesting carbs. If you’re spooning out a dish of Greek yogurt for breakfast, add some healthy fiber with a handful of fresh blueberries, blackberries or raspberries. These jewel-like fruits may help increase a feeling of fullness and reduce the number of calories your body absorbs.

Smoked Salmon slice on black plate with yellow background

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2. Salmon

This delicate fish is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which help boost your metabolism, improving your body’s ability to burn fat. Omega-3s may have a role in raising the body’s resting metabolic rate, thus contributing to weight loss, but researchers caution that further studies on the subject are necessary. Salmon also contains vitamin B-12, a nutrient the body cannot make itself. Studies have suggested that vitamin B-12 deficiency is linked to increased body fat and obesity. Just remember not to serve the salmon with high-calorie sauces and sides.

3. Blueberries

Garden-variety blueberries may help prevent the weight gain that seems to come with age. They’re rich in naturally occurring plant chemicals called flavonoids. A long-term study published in The BMJ tracked more than 100,000 men and women for multiple four-year time intervals. It concluded that eating foods rich in flavonoids, particularly anthocyanins, which are found in blueberries, was associated with less weight gain among men and women ages 27–65, who were studied for up to 24 years.

4. Coffee

Drinking four cups of coffee a day can help shed body fat by almost 4 percent, according to a 24-week investigation in which 126 overweight adults drank either four cups of regular coffee or four cups of a coffee-like substitute. The study was carried out by researchers at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. They think the caffeine in the coffee may be a metabolism booster, which could burn more calories and cause a decrease in body fat.

5. Oolong tea

All tea comes from one plant (Camellia sinensis). The differences among the teas we drink come from the way the leaves are processed. Oolong tea falls somewhere between green and black teas. All three contain caffeine, albeit less than coffee does. Black tea has the most caffeine; oolong tea has more caffeine than green and less than black. Aside from caffeine content, studies suggest that oolong stimulates fat burning and can increase the number of calories your body burns. In addition, it’s high in an amino acid that can reduce stress and anxiety and improve sleep quality.

6. Olive oil

No wonder olive oil is so popular: It adds pizzazz to pizza and sparkle to salads. But can it be considered a weight-loss food? Surprisingly, yes, within limits. Olive oil contains monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) that may help contribute to weight loss. In a recent study of more than 16,000 adults, published in Frontiers in Nutrition, those who consumed extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) on a regular basis had a significantly lower body mass index and waist circumference than those who consumed EVOO only sporadically. Another study, in the European Journal of Nutrition, looked at the effect on overweight women of including EVOO in a restrictive diet regimen and found that women who included EVOO with their breakfast foods lost approximately 80 percent more fat than the control group. The study suggested that olive oil may have direct effects on fat loss.

7. Chile peppers

These fiery peppers add heat to pasta, stews, guacamole and relish. You can even sprinkle crushed red pepper flakes on your breakfast scrambled eggs or cereal. Chile peppers may help boost metabolism and contribute in other ways to weight loss. Capsaicin, a compound found in chile peppers, appears to be the component responsible for the favorable changes. But be careful: Capsaicin can be intensely irritating if it gets in your eyes or on your skin.

8. Leafy greens

Your body can make most of the types of fats it needs from other fats or carbs. That’s not the case with omega-3s . The body can’t make them from scratch and must get them from the foods you eat. That’s where spinach and other leafy greens such as kale and romaine lettuce come in. As well as benefiting your heart by keeping your blood vessels healthy, these greens are associated with weight loss by being bulky and making you feel full. So blanch, roast or chop them and add them to your breakfast omelet or dinner salad to reap their many benefits.

Fresh Watermelon on the green background

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9. Watermelon

Most of the weight in a slice of watermelon is water, which helps you feel full, so you don’t tend to snack between meals, notes Rachel Lander-Canseco, a registered dietitian at Keck Medicine, University of Southern California. “People think that fruits are off-limits because they’re sweet,” she says, “but they’re high in fiber, vitamins and minerals.” Watermelon also contains arginine, which may help to directly reduce fat.

10. Ginger

Naturally occurring compounds in fresh ginger root have been used for centuries to quell nausea and ease symptoms of the common cold. It may also help treat arthritis, according to a study published in the journal Gene. While more study is needed, some research suggests that consuming ginger may enhance weight reduction. If you haven’t used ginger in cooking, try grating a bit of this versatile aromatic spice into a vegetable stir-fry, pancake batter or baked squash. And a soothing cup of ginger tea, made with fresh ginger and a squeeze of lemon juice, is the perfect nightcap.

11. Brown rice

Have you noticed an extra bit of pudge around your middle? You may not like this flab, called subcutaneous fat, but a bigger health risk may be visceral fat, which is found deeper in your abdomen. Sometimes called belly fat, it may develop from consuming more calories than you need, according to the Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter. You can help reduce your belly fat by upping your consumption of whole grains such as brown rice, which is healthier than processed foods and is associated with weight loss. Other whole grains include wheat, oats and quinoa.

How to get a faster metabolism

Metabolism is the chemical reaction in your body’s cells that changes food into energy. Your body needs this energy to do everything from walking around the block to thinking about what you’ll have for dinner. According to Harvard Health Publishing, if your metabolism is high (or fast), you’ll burn more calories both at rest and when you’re active, so you’ll need more calories from food to maintain your weight. If your metabolism is low (or slow), you’ll burn fewer calories and will have to eat less to avoid becoming overweight.

You can help boost your metabolism by ramping up your exercise routine, especially your strength training. Muscle burns more calories than fat, so improving muscle tone will result in more calories burned, even during times of rest. You also burn more calories in the immediate time after exercising, particularly after aerobic exercise, because your heart rate and metabolism are higher.

Some high-protein foods, such as lean meat, fish, eggs, legumes and nuts, may also give your metabolism a short-term boost because your body needs more energy to digest them. However, more studies are needed on the relationship between these foods and metabolism.

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Nissa Simon is a health writer and editor whose articles have appeared in Reader’s Digest, Newsweek, The New York Times, Time, Vogue and other national publications.

Dr. Merle Myerson is a board-certified cardiologist with specialties in sports medicine, lipids, women’s health and prevention of cardiovascular disease.