Thanks for the question.I will answer the constipation question later. Here are five foods that will naturally speed up your metabolism. The more efficient your metabolism the more efficient your body will burn fat. Who doesn't want that?! 

1: Grapefruit. Due to it's high alkalinity and high nutrient density it is a great food to rev up your metabolism. Have you heard of the grapefruit cleanse? It works! It's possible it works because you are consuming less calories and fat. However, I feel it also helps the body stay alkaline and allows your body to shed fat.

2: Spices, especially cayenne pepper! All spices and herbs have an alkaline effect making them super foods for weight loss. One Canadian study found the use of spices enabled people to burn up to 1,000 more calories daily than those not incorporating spices into their diet. Cayenne pepper can raise metabolism up to 25 percent in another study.

3: Apples: Apples have 80 calories in them. It takes nearly 100 to digest them. What does that mean for you? that you are getting a ton of nutrients while getting negative net calories. Sounds awesome to me! Also studies have shown that women who eat three apples a day burn more calories than those who didn't. Consider pears in the same category.

4: Leafy greens including green tea. Green tea has special metabolism boosting powers. That why you see the green tea extracts everywhere. However, the extracts do not work. There is something special about using the whole food. You need synergy and so does your food. Spinach, kale, collards, etc are super healthy (what a revelation!!) metabolism amping powers. Obviously are negative calorie foods that go along way.

5: Seeds! Add seeds to greens, smoothies, salads, or just about anywhere. All seeds are potent but the ones that we are talking about here are the tiny ones. Flax, chia, hemp, sesame, etc. They all have wonderful balances of essential fatty acids and in nature the best way to break down fat is with another fat.

Hope this answers your question.

I run a 6 month online health coaching course and a 3 month online fitness coaching course. Please check out my site and the other blogs. If you are interested in having a free consultation with me please fill out the health history forms found here http://the-vegan-effect.healthcoach.integrativenutrition.com/forms and then we can set up a time to meet over skype.

Thanks again,

Gary Gibson HHC CPT