What is metabolic health and why is it so important?

“Believe in yourself and do your best everyday”- Unknown

Hello Zuncia Family,

Question to you: Are you healthy or are you fit?

Healthy body is better and fit body is not same as the healthy body. You may have seen so many gym bros having HEART ISSUES. They have fit body but then why and what is the issue. Maybe their metabolic health is not optimal. The latest research is indicating metabolic health is connected to all these modern diseases. So…

What is metabolic health?

Metabolic health is the proper functioning of the body’s metabolism. The body has cellular mechanisms that generate energy through food and environment to power every cell in the body and this is called metabolism. And when these pathways run smoothly, we can say we have optimal metabolic health which is foundational  for overall health and well-being. 

These markers’s optimal levels define optimal metabolic health: 

• Blood Sugar levels

• Triglycerides 

• High-density Lipoproteins (HDL)

• Cholesterol 

• Blood pressure 

• Waist circumference 

While the opposite is called metabolic disorder or syndrome where people have at least some of these characteristics:

• Fasting glucose above 100 mg/dL

• Triglycerides above 150 mg/dL

• HDL cholesterol less than 40 mg/dL

• High Blood Pressure (130/85 or higher)

• A waistline of 35 inches for women and 40 inches for for men

What are the consequences of Poor Metabolic Health?

• Weight gain & Obesity (dysfunctional body fat storage, often measured by body mass index aka BMI)

• Insulin resistance and diabetes (dysfunctional glucose metabolism)

• Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD which is dysregulation of fat and glucose in the liver)

• Cancer (cancer cells thrive on excess glucose) 

• Alzheimer’s disease, now called type 3 diabetes due to evidence of insulin resistance in the brain)

• Cardiovascular diseases like heart attack and stroke (damage to vessels from inflammation)

• Kidney diseases (vessels in kidney damaged due to excess glucose)

• Mental health disorders (due to inflammation in the nerves and mitochondrial dysfunction)

What are the risk factors for Poor Metabolic Health?

More than half of the world population has poor metabolic health and suffered from the metabolic disorders such as obesity, overweight, prediabetes, diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). According to Dr. Casey Means from Levels,

Some of the risk factors for our poor metabolic health are

• Over-nutrition: We are eating constantly throughout the day which overwhelms our body’s cellular factories. We are eating nearly 10X more sugar per day than 100 years ago. This stimulates the pancreas repeatedly to make insulin, the hormone that helps cells to take up glucose, and eventually cells become numb to this hormone due to overload. The liver becomes dysfunctional as excess glucose is converted to fat and stored in it and the muscles become insulin- resistant and unable to use glucose effectively. Even normal weight people can have this kind of dysfunction.

• Sedentary lifestyle 

• Sleep deprivation 

• Disrupted circadian rhythm 

• Environmental and synthetic toxin exposure impairs the mitochondria and metabolism

• Eating a lot of ultra-processed food and beverages 

• Heavy psychological stress creating elevated cortisol and a hormonal imbalance 

• Eating food late at night and frequently snacking, common in this modern life, can result in higher levels of insulin that block fat usage for energy in the body. 

How can we improve metabolic health?

Just as physical fitness requires regular exercise, metabolically fitness/ health involves lifestyle changes with consistent smart choices about food and nutrition, sleep, stress management, physical activity and exposure to metabolism disrupting environmental toxins and regulating our body’s circadian rhythm aka internal clock. 

What are the benefits of improving metabolic health?

• More energy throughout the day

• Keeping healthy weight with fat burning ability

• Good and sharp memory 

• Good mental health with less anxiety and depression 

• Clear skin with reduced wrinkles

• Improved fertility 

• Better sexual health

• Strong immune system

• Lower risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, Alzheimer’s disease, fatty liver disease, heart disease, stroke and more. 

First you need to start with keeping blood glucose levels spike steady throughout the day to reduce inflammation in the body. Coming in the next post : 7 scientifically proven ways to lower the blood glucose levels with lifestyle interventions. 

Today’ Mantra: I am Happy and Healthy.

With much love,

Sudesh

Founder, zuncia.com

PS: I provided limited references here because it’s difficult to add all scientific journals article in the post here.

References

Cardiovascular Consequences of Metabolic Syndrome. Trans Research , 2017, 183:57-70.

Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Health: A Presidential Advisory from the American Heart Association. Circulation , Oct. 2023

Sex, metabolism and health, Molecular Metabolism, 2018

Book ‘Brain Energy: The Metabolic Theory of Mental Illness’ by Dr. Chris Palmer MD.

Acute Hyperglycemia Alters Mood State and Impairs Cognitive Performance in People with Type 2 Diabetes, Diabetes Care 2004