7 Metabolism Booster Supplements To Promote Metabolic Health & Function

At mindbodygreen, we believe in embracing holistic health in every facet of our well-being. In taking action to optimize our nutrition, sleep health, stress management practices, and daily movement, we can also support a healthy, active metabolism.

That said, many people still struggle to bolster their metabolic health. Between the standard American diet and sedentary lifestyles becoming more and more prevalent (hello, desk jobs!), most of the U.S. population isn't metabolically healthy—a whopping 88%, to be exact.

Additionally, only 6.8% of Americans1 have optimal cardiometabolic health, according to a 2022 study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Among the cardiometabolic health components analyzed, prevalence of excess adiposity (i.e., overweight and obesity) and poor blood glucose levels both worsened since 2000.

Based on all of this evidence, we know two things to be true:

Human metabolism is an elaborate process that influences how your body turns food into fuel, energy balance, muscle growth, and more.

"Technically, your metabolism is literally everything your body does with everything else. But when we're talking about weight, it's important to understand that [metabolism] is about energy production in your body. So, what we're speaking of when we want to have a 'healthy metabolism' is the ability to produce energy," explains New York Times bestselling author and metabolism expert Cate Shanahan, M.D.

During this cellular metabolism, calories from foods and drinks are combined with oxygen to produce energy (ATP) that your body needs to function properly. This ATP is then distributed to all of your cells, as needed.

Thanks to this energy generation and ultimately energy burn (i.e., utilization), your organs and tissues can all do their jobs—the lungs can breathe, the heart can continue beating, leg and arm muscles are able to move, the brain can keep up with cognitive processes, and so on. Metabolism also supports myriad facets of cardiometabolic health by modulating blood glucose and blood lipid levels, regulating blood pressure, and even bolstering healthy inflammatory pathways. In short, a healthy metabolism atunes multiple actions and functions of metabolic health.

There's a diverse range of metabolism supplements available on the market with various vitamins, minerals, botanicals, and bioactives.

That said, certain supplement ingredients have demonstrated impressive results in promoting fat burn, optimizing body composition, supporting healthy blood sugar levels, regulating appetite and hunger hormones, and more in clinical studies.*

Here are some effective ingredients to look for in metabolism booster supplements:

RELATED: 7 Easy Ways To Reset Your Metabolism & Enhance Whole-Body Health

Targeted metabolism supplements are designed to promote efficient metabolic pathways and healthy body composition (i.e., a healthy weight and level of adiposity, muscle strength, and bone density) over the long term.* 

That said, metabolism and body composition are significantly affected by both intrinsic factors unique to an individual (e.g., genes, adipose tissue, hormones, insulin sensitivity, gut microbiome, appetite regulation pathways, and muscle mass) and extrinsic factors influenced by the environment (e.g., nutrition, sleep, physical activity, and external stressors). 

While we can make significant lifestyle changes to the extrinsic factors that affect metabolism, there are a lot of gene-driven intrinsic factors that are more difficult to influence. When combined with daily energy-balancing efforts via healthful nutrition and regular physical activity, a quality targeted supplement can help individuals holistically support their metabolic health.*

According to functional medicine nutritionist Brooke Scheller, DCN, CNS, the majority of us can benefit from a metabolism booster supplement.* "They're not just used to encourage a healthy weight but help to optimize how our body uses the food we eat and converts it to fuel. This supports balancing healthy blood sugar levels and how we tap into alternate fuel (stored fat) to create energy,"* she explains.

RELATED: The Best Metabolism Trackers Of 2023, From An RN

RELATED: 5 Markers Of True Metabolic Health + How To Optimize Them

Metabolism is a complicated subject, to say the least. Luckily, you can build a foundation of daily habits to help promote metabolic health—like incorporating more movement into your daily routine, eating a nutrient-dense diet, regulating your stress levels, and getting deep, restorative sleep.

Once you've incorporated one (or many) of these healthy habits, introducing one of these targeted supplements to your daily wellness routine is an easy and effective way to further support a healthy metabolism.* 

To learn what registered dietitians, hormone health coaches, neuroscientists, functional medicine nutritionists, and more think of mbg's metabolism supplement formula, read their raving reviews of metabolism+ here.