Metabolic Health and Continuous Glucose Monitoring

The chemical reactions which take place in an individual that converts food into energy and helps them to grow are called metabolism. Metabolic health rate refers to the speed at which these reactions occur. Metabolic rate is dependent on many factors like gender, muscle-to-fat ratio, amount of physical activity, hormonal function, and genetics. 

Good metabolic health helps clear toxins from the body and can improve blood circulation, making a person feel energetic. In addition, it elevates the mood and provides internal energy to do work, improves immunity, helps in losing weight quickly, and enhances sleep quality. Common problems, including irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhoea or frequent constipation, are one of the significant problems associated with poor metabolic health. Checking on these factors can help keep our metabolic health on track and save us from these problems.

If one is experiencing any of this discomfort, it is good to talk to a nutritionist. One can assess poor metabolic health through several tests. A HealthifyPRO 2.0 subscription comes with an exhaustive panel of 80 parameters encompassed in a single blood test at the convenience of your home.

However, this, along with continuous glucose monitoring, allows you to assess the right food and activity levels you need to keep your metabolic health in order. One of the many perks of talking to a nutritionist is being able to make conscious dietary choices. 

You can broadly divide metabolism into two categories which include catabolism and anabolism. Catabolism comprises the breakdown of organic matter into energy, and anabolism uses this energy to construct the cell components.

Good metabolic health means that an individual’s body can respond to unwarranted occurrences more efficiently which reduces the risk of chronic conditions. Having high or fast metabolism will let you burn more calories and maintain a healthy weight.

Metabolic health means your body can digest and absorb nutrients from food without any problems. These include a spike in blood sugar levels, body fat, inflammation, and high blood pressure or insulin.

Metabolic health factors include measurable factors that measure how healthy we are now and how likely we can develop any disease later in life. Metabolic health mainly counts on five factors: high blood pressure, high blood sugar, cholesterol, waist circumference, and high triglycerides. 

Importance of Having Good Metabolic Health

The term “metabolism” refers to the function of enzymes in the body’s ability to digest food, function, grow, and adapt to varied situations. It transforms the food we eat into usable energy for our bodies. So, if your metabolism is slow, it either directly or indirectly affects your ability to lose weight.

“A rapid metabolism guarantees that calories are burned and used quickly, while a slow metabolism implies that calories are burned slowly and that there may be an excess of calories left over at the end of the day, which can result in the buildup of those calories as fat in the body.”

Thus, your metabolism can affect your weight in this way.

Metabolic health plays a crucial role in an individual’s well-being. Several metabolic diseases like heart, diabetes, stroke, and kidney and liver diseases can occur with poor metabolic health. Metabolic disorders can impact the ability of an individual to metabolise essential nutrients and enzymes. In addition, it disrupts the necessary biochemical reactions that involve the synthesis of crucial micronutrients, including protein and carbohydrates. 

Poor metabolic health can lead to unhealthy body weight, obesity, heart disease, blood sugar, blood pressure, PCOS, and even cancers. Conversely, when these five factors, which are blood sugar level, blood pressure, triglyceride cholesterol, and waist circumference, fall within a healthy range, individuals are metabolically healthy. 

A metabolically healthy person has more energy throughout the day than a person with a slow metabolism, better mood, consistent behaviour and sharper memory. As a result, it gets more restful sleep and hunger and has a healthier weight. 

As per a study, the risk of future diabetes development was higher in unhealthy metabolic subgroups than those with metabolically healthy subjects, regardless of obesity. 

The HealthifyMe Note

An unhealthy metabolism can also lead to genetic disorders, which include:

• Fructose intolerance: The body cannot break down fructose 
• Galactosemia: The body cannot convert the carbohydrates galactose into glucose 
• Phenylketonuria: It is the inability to convert amino acid phenylalanine into tyrosine. 

Mistakes that Could Affect Metabolic Health

Insufficient Protein 

As protein is the main component that helps build and repair tissues, it is a building block of the body that helps grow and repair tissues. It is the most important factor for strong bones and muscles. Insufficient protein can break the tissues. Therefore, eating enough protein is essential to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Protein becomes the most crucial factor as it stays the longest in the stomach and keeps a person full for a more extended period, thus helping in weight loss. 

The thermic effect of food has a massive role in how calories burn in the body. Protein has the highest thermic effect; thus, eating protein increases metabolism. On the other hand, as per a study, diets deficient in protein increase body weight and fat mass. 

It also shows that diets that have 0% proteins decrease energy intake and increase energy expenditure. Diets that lack protein lead to fatty leaver, reduce fibroblast growth, lower energy, digestibility, lean mass and body weight, produce disturbing energy balance, and slow down metabolism. 

Studies show that diets high in protein are promising strategies for weight loss by providing the benefits of improving satiety and decreasing fat mass. It is because high protein diets enhance the secretion of satiety hormones that reduce oxygenic hormone secretion.

In addition, it increases the thermic effect of food and protein alterations in glycogenesis to improve glucose homeostasis. Furthermore, it showed that diets high in protein are suitable for obese individuals.

Sedentary Lifestyle

A sedentary lifestyle affects the human body through various mechanisms. A sedentary lifestyle slows down the metabolic rate. It makes weight loss a challenging practice for an individual as it decreases the number of calories an individual burns daily.

Some common factors of a sedentary lifestyle include lack of motivation to do work, physical inactivity, no interest in staying active or being tired every time, or the presence of any particular disease. 

A sedentary lifestyle includes significantly less or no exercise. Also, remaining stationary makes a person more likely to gain weight. In addition, severe chronic problems like obesity and fat deposition reduce lipoprotein activity impair lipid metabolism and slow carbohydrate metabolism.

Therefore, an individual whose (BMR basal metabolic rate) is low usually has a sedentary lifestyle and cannot utilise the energy from food when at rest. Additionally, excessive alcohol and smoking can also help in worsening the situation. 

As per the study, one can have several problems affecting the human body and individual lifestyle through various mechanisms and behaviours. The behaviours include reducing the lipoprotein lipase activity, muscle glycogen and protein transport activities, impairing lipid metabolism, and diminished carbohydrate metabolism. Furthermore, it can decrease cardiac output and systemic blood flow. 

Many behaviours have a wide-ranging adverse impact on metabolism, which causes motility, cardiovascular disease, and cancer risk. In addition, there are other metabolic disorders, including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, coronary artery disease, heart attack, colon cancer, osteoporosis, lipid disorders, depression and anxiety, and cognitive impairment. Therefore, increasing physical activity is essential as it is crucial to promote a healthy lifestyle.

Lack of Proper Sleep

Sleep is not only crucial for providing rest to the body, but it is essential. During this time, the body repairs tissue and other critical functions that include strengthening the immune system or circulating blood in the body. Also, improper sleep, especially at night, can disrupt circadian rhythm. 

Sleep also plays a significant role in synthesising two essential hormones that are leptin (a hormone that inhibits hunger) and ghrelin (hunger hormone). Sleep deprivation can also disrupt breathing and cardiac alignment, which is necessary for hormonal balance. 

A study shows that sleep deprivation and disorders can be associated with metabolic and cardiovascular disability. You need 8-9 hours of sleep each night, or else sleep deprivation, and poor sleep quality can inhibit the body’s metabolism of glucose and use of insulin efficiently. As a result, it can contribute to higher blood sugar levels.

Additionally, sleep has an essential function in the metabolization of fat, and lack of sleep may diminish the body’s ability to convert fat to energy. 

As per the study, improper sleep and diabetes can lead to implications for public health and have a significant impact on metabolism. In addition, improper sleep can alter the glucose metabolism and hormones related to regulating the metabolism, decreasing the leptin levels and increasing the ghrelin levels.

Lack of Exercise

Exercising is very helpful in boosting metabolism. Lean muscle mass developed by exercising helps increase the resting metabolic rate and the number of calories that burns while resting. Furthermore, burning more calories through exercising helps with heart rate, fitness, body fat, and weight and can prevent cardiovascular diseases. 

Cardiovascular exercises during running, swimming, aerobics, and walking stimulate metabolism, help burn calories, and even regulate appetite. It is also visible that people with more muscle mass have a good metabolism and the ability to burn more calories. 

As per a study, exercise has a unique relationship with metabolism. It provides the essential energy for muscle contraction and the tissue’s vital functions. Although exercise has a very impactful relation with metabolism, it becomes more critical as we age because we suffer from sarcopenia. The natural loss in muscle with age slows down metabolism, and working out can also help with this factor.

Eating Excess of Oily and Sugary Food

Metabolising food requires energy which is known as the thermic effect of food. Junk food or oily food is very high in refined ingredients. It requires much less body energy to digest, slowing your metabolism.

Access to sugary drinks can contribute to all kinds of health problems that include obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. The issue is related to the high levels of fructose metabolised by the liver. 

A high level of fructose may overload the liver and turn some of it into fat. A  study shows that the role of sugar in metabolic disease can cause weight gain and fat gain.

Another study shows that chocolate-added cocoa or sweetened milk significantly increased body weight. In addition, it increased fasting glucose levels and inflammation in the liver and adipose tissue. Subsequently, it could lead to metabolic impairment and weight gain and contribute to several metabolic diseases. 

Excess consumption of oily food can lead to digestive problems like irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhoea and chronic pancreatitis. In addition, it can slow down metabolism and cause further complications.

The HealthifyMe Note

If you wish to preserve your metabolic health, here are some factors that you should know. First, start eating a healthy and balanced diet and follow a proper exercise routine. When you plan your meals, ensure that you avoid junk foods and foods with high amounts of sugar and caffeine or refined oils or skipping meals or protein. Furthermore, have a good sleep cycle and avoid smoking and drinking. Finally, destress yourself and drink a lot of water. Also, ensure that you eat adequate calories as per your weight.

Foods That Help Boost Metabolism

You can lose weight by eating more frequently. Your metabolism slows down between meals when you consume substantial meals with a lot of time between them. Your metabolism runs more efficiently throughout the day if you have a modest meal or snack every three to four hours.

You can include these healthy foods in your diet to boost your metabolism:

• Protein-rich food
• Ginger
• Garlic
• Oatmeal
• Lean meats
• Green leafy vegetables
• Fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids
• Lentils
• Avocado
• Banana
• Pineapple
• Apple cider vinegar
• Chia seeds
• Sabja seeds

Conclusion

Metabolism describes how to generate energy from food to work very efficiently. Metabolic health means we are free from chronic diseases, including diabetes, obesity, or cardiovascular diseases.

In other words, it means to have blood pressure, blood sugar, and fat in a normal healthy range. Factors like overweight and obesity can be the primary indicators that a person does not have good metabolic health. Furthermore, for a proper diagnosis, blood tests and physical exams are standard for the process.

If the metabolic disease is inherited, testing or screening will be different.  The fundamental role-player for the entire body in relation to health, disease resistance, and longevity is metabolic function. We must maintain normal blood glucose levels at all costs. Fortunately, if we gain more knowledge about how certain foods and activities affect blood glucose, we can make significant changes that may lead to improved health.