This post has been updated since it was originally published on April 30, 2021.
Your metabolism is one of the most important factors to tend to as you grow older, particularly when it comes to managing your overall wellbeing. The more efficiently your metabolism runs, the easier it will be to maintain a healthy weight, and even finally reach your weight loss goals. A fast metabolism allows your body to utilize food as fuel more effectively, burning fat and making it more seamless to remain in a calorie deficit, even when you’re at rest. While your metabolism naturally slows as you age, there are certain vitamins and supplements you can take each day to give your body a boost and maximize your overall health. You should always talk to a doctor before adding any new supplements into your routine, but if you’re working towards a more efficient metabolism, these are the four best vitamins to take each morning for increased fat burn at any age.
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B Vitamins
Studies have shown that B vitamins can help with weight loss by improving your metabolism and allowing your body to burn through fat and protein more effectively. There are a number of B vitamin variations, but B-12 and B-6 are going to be most useful for stoking your metabolism and increasing fat burn to keep you in a calorie deficit. If you eat a plant based diet, you may find yourself B-12 deficient, so talk to your doctor before integrating any new supplements into your routine. This nutrient can also naturally be found in certain dairy products, nutritional yeast, and plant-based milk.
Vitamin D
While most often created in your body after contact with direct sunlight, a vitamin D supplement can also have a remarkable effect on your metabolism, allowing you to lose weight more efficiently. According to Healthline, studies have shown that people with a higher BMI often have a lower level of vitamin D in their blood.
Conversely, “Another study provided overweight and obese women with vitamin D supplements for 12 weeks. At the end of the study, the women didn’t experience any weight loss, but they did find that increasing levels of vitamin D decreased body fat.” Your metabolism is an integral part of fat burn, so regularly taking a vitamin D supplement may be useful in naturally boosting this capability in your body.
Magnesium
Magnesium is a mineral rather than a vitamin, but integrating this supplement into your daily routine can make a significant difference in the effectiveness of your metabolism. Sakara Life co-founders Danielle DuBoise and Whitney Tingle tell Byrdie that magnesium is, “involved in hundreds of biochemical reactions in the body, including metabolism.”
Therefore, adding a magnesium supplement to your mornings may help to increase fat burn as well as ensure that your nervous system continues to run smoothly. Magnesium can be naturally found in nuts and seeds, but a supplement will also do the trick if your diet is lacking.
Calcium
Not only does calcium ensure strong bones, but it can also help to streamline your metabolism and improve your body’s fat burning capabilities. Robert Heaney, MD tells WebMD, “At midlife, women tend to gain one-quarter to one-half a pound per year whether they want it or not, and it all goes to their waist. We've found that women with the highest dairy intake have an average weight gain of zero, and those with the lowest dairy intake gained a pound per year.” If you’re lactose intolerant or follow a vegan diet, your calcium intake may be lacking, so adding a supplement to your morning routine can help stoke fat burn, neutralize weight gain, and allow you to overall feel better in your body.
