Over the years the health and wellness community has increasingly focused on good digestion as the key to optimal health. How to boost metabolism and gut health are topics at the top of nutrition and fitness trends. From the point of view of Traditional Tibetan Medicine, this is good news! For centuries Tibetan Medicine has held that a strong and balanced metabolism is central to maintaining a healthy body and preventing chronic disease. Once the metabolism is impaired the digestive system becomes toxic and this leads to most of the chronic illnesses of today.

How far back does the search for how to boost metabolism go? Believe it or not, according to the ancient history of Traditional Tibetan Medicine which goes back over 4,000 years, it is considered that indigestion was the first disease and boiled hot water was the first medicine. And that leads me right into my list of tips on how to boost metabolism, the natural way.
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1. Drink Hot Boiled Water Throughout the Day

One of the top pieces of advice you will hear any Tibetan Medicine practitioner give on how to boost metabolism is to drink hot boiled water. Hot boiled water is light and warm nature. Light and warm is the characteristic of the fire element. In the theory of Tibetan Medicine the metabolism is called digestive heat or me drod in Tibetan. This digestive heat originates from the fire element. Hot boiled water has the perfect balance of this light and warm. At the same time, being that it is water, it is smooth and soft so it cleans and tonifies the digestive tract. Simply boil water and let it cool down to a palatable temperature. The best time to drink it is first thing in the morning and an hour before eating meals. Its also great if you are feeling bloated or are having difficulty digesting. If you want to super charge it, add a small amount of raw honey to increase the cleansing and warming effect.

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2. Boil or Steam Your Food, but Don’t Skip the Oil

Same concept as drinking boiled water, boiling and steaming food leaves it warm and light, easy for your body to digest. Methods such frying and grilling food leave food heavier and harder to digest. But that doesn’t mean you should skip the oils. A touch of oil makes rough foods smoother on the digestive tract and stimulates the function of the bile to properly extract nutrients.
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3. Chew Your Food Very (VERY) Well

Don’t make your metabolism and digestive system work harder than they have to!!! If we are distracted while eating it is more than likely we are not chewing enough. Both are not good! Pay close attention while eating, savior the tastes and make sure your teeth have done all of the heavy lifting. By the time your food has made it down to the stomach it should be soft and smooth so that the nutrients can can be easily extracted from the impurities to be expelled. Without chewing well eventually we overwhelm the metabolisms job to extract nutrients and it gets weaker and weaker eventually leading to toxicity in the digestive system. So chew and chew and then…..chew some more. This is how to boost metabolism with your teeth. Hey, maybe it will tighten up those facial muscles a bit while you are at it!
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4. Eat Only Until You Are 3/4’s Full

The Traditional Tibetan Medicine texts explain that we should fill the stomach with 1/2 food, 1/4 liquid and 1/4 empty. The idea is that the empty space leaves space for the digestive process to unfold properly. If we over eat, very much like not chewing well, we are overwhelming our metabolism. While I don’t think any of us have an ultra-sound at home to check, with a little awareness we can be sure to leave some space for the digestive process to unfold properly.
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5. Avoid Drinking Cold and Heavy Liquids Directly After Eating

Drinking boiled hot water directly after eating can aid in the digestive process and reduce digestive discomfort, but cold or heavy drinks will do the exact opposite. Ever noticed how drinking a milky drink or cold beer made you feel heavy after a meal. Well that’s because its bogging down the digestive process. This leads to slower digestion and more retention of fluid. Try to get in your fluids before and during your meal. And if you want to know how to boost your metabolism to the max, only drink warm fluids before eating and skip fluids during and for about an hour after eating.
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6. Take a Walk After Eating….and Definitely DON’T Take a Nap

Now that you warmed up your belly with hot water, boiled your food to perfect digestibility and left enough space for your food to digest properly, help that digestive fire out by taking a nice walk after you meal. That’s how to boost your metabolism right in the moment it’s most need. When our body gets warm our digestive fire burns. And don’t even think about taking a nap. That’s asking for seriously sluggish digestive process.

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7. Leave 4-5 Hours Between Meals

When we leave the proper amount of time between each meal, our digestive system has the time it needs to fully digest and prepare for the next meal. If we eat and then snack a couple hours later we are overwhelming the bodies natural digestive cycle: breaking down food, extracting nutrients and expelling impurities. Slowly, but surely this process breaks down and we end up weakening the metabolism and toxicity circulates through the system. On the other hand, giving three hours to digest fully and an hour or two to let the digestive system settle down and get fired up for the next meal is how to boost metabolism in a powerful way.
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In Conclusion

If you want to learn how to boost metabolism in a natural way follow these tips. They might take some discipline, but follow them for a few weeks and I guarantee you will feel a difference. Your bodies natural power to absorb nutrients and eliminate toxins will start to fire up. Remember that there is no one-size-fits-all solution for anyone. If you find that you aren’t getting the results you’d like or have other health issues you’d also like addressed feel free to contact us so we can make you an individualized plan.