What is Metabolism?

Summer is revving up. Can you believe it?

Speaking of revving…I get questions all the time— about this or that new supplement that promises to “rev up your metabolism” and melt away pounds.

I’m oh so curious about all these marketing claims. And I’ll bet that the marketer really doesn’t know much about metabolism—all the hype is to sell a product.

Which begs the question: what do we know about metabolism? Really?

My colleague Kristin and I were together last month in Arizona and we talked a great deal about blood sugar management, the Keto diet, and this whole theme of metabolic health.

We realized much of the confusion our clients struggle with revolves around metabolism. So many of us complain we have stubborn weight that won’t move and/or we don’t have energy to exercise even though we know we should.

We decided together that we wanted to empower our clients and friends with knowledge about their metabolism so they could take control.

And so, I’m very excited to bring you the theme of the next four blog posts:  Metabolic Health.

We will delve into the subject in the next four blog posts. You’ll know all about metabolism by the end.

And if you want to dig deeper, I’ll have a great new offer to share with you too!

So, let’s jump in.

First of all, what do we mean by Metabolic Health?

Yikes, that sounds a bit weird.

We’re sure you’ve heard about metabolism, and we would guess that you feel like yours is slowing down. You may have seen ads whose products promise an increase in metabolism. What they’re really peddling is: 

Yep, Weight Loss.

And maybe not sustainable weight loss.

I’m sure you are thinking (I was too) that metabolic health is all about your weight.

But metabolic health is more than just an ideal weight. When we talk about metabolism, we include the health of your entire body. And the efficiency of all the chemical processes that sustain your life.

The formal definition of metabolic health is the ability of the body to efficiently process and utilize nutrients from food. You need the right foods and a body that can digest and use those nutrients. So, for example, if your digestion is compromised, it doesn’t matter how well you are eating.

How do we tell if we are in good metabolic health?

First of all—how are you feeling? Are you sluggish throughout the day? Or do you have tons of energy? We holistic nutritionists look at symptoms first.

But we also want to look at data—your data. Here are the blood and other markers that can give us some indication as to whether we are on the right track. We want healthy levels of:

• blood sugar

• lipid (cardio/heart) levels

• blood pressure

• body weight

And low levels of inflammation.

So, grab a cup of tea and pull out your latest blood work (contact me if you don’t have a current blood test!). Let’s look at the definition of healthy for all these markers.

***One note we’ll make before we start is that the functional medicine ranges for blood work may be slightly to vastly different than the ranges your doctor reviews with you. There are a few reasons for this. One, the lab ranges are simply the distribution of all the people who have tested for that particular marker. Lab markers show if you are in the range, not necessarily if you are healthy. One problem: What if no one else is healthy either?

Here’s another important reason why I look at different ranges in your bloodwork:  as holistic nutritionists, we are looking for patterns that could become problems while your doctor is (generally) looking for problems. As Kristin so aptly puts it: it’s the raging fire vs the smoldering ashes that may turn into the raging fire.***

The first marker is blood glucose

The normal range for fasting blood glucose (measured after an overnight fast) is generally considered to be between 70 and 100 mg/dL.  But we need to look at HbA1c too which is your three-month average of your blood sugar. Your doctor might tell you that you are pre-diabetic if your HbA1c is 5.7 or above.

Consistently high blood sugar levels, even below prediabetic ranges can turn into diabetes if left unchecked. And consistently low or variable blood sugar levels can be a sign of hypoglycemia which can be trouble too.

We will dive into blood sugar and blood sugar management in great detail next week.

Healthy lipid levels (meaning cholesterol)

Total cholesterol:  Your doctor will tell you that this number will need to be less than 200 mg/dL.  In the holistic nutrition world, we aren’t too alarmed if that number is higher. In fact, your cholesterol tends to rise as you get older.

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol: Conventional medicine ideal is less than 100 mg/dL for most people, but less than 70 mg/dL (1.8 mmol/L) for those at higher risk of heart disease such as those with diabetes or a history of heart disease.

High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol: The general consensus is: greater than 40 mg/dL for men and greater than 50 mg/dL for women.

Triglycerides: Your doctor will want you to be less than 150 mg/dL (1.7 mmol/L)

*Remember:  If you are working with one of us, we will look at different ranges. But we don’t want to confuse you too much here*

Healthy blood pressure numbers

Systolic blood pressure: Less than 120 mmHg

Diastolic blood pressure: Less than 80 mmHg

Why include blood pressure?

High blood pressure (hypertension) can put extra strain on the heart and blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart disease and other metabolic disorders.

And then there’s body weight.

There is so much trauma and judgement programmed into us regarding our weight. Please know we aren’t chasing a vague concept of “ideal weight” (who even knows what that is?), just healthy.

It is just one metric in a complex picture.

So, why are these numbers important?

Well, you may know poor metabolic health is associated with a range of health problems, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia and others.

You may not realize it is tied to energy crashes, brain fog, low libido, poor sleep, mood swings, and stress levels as well.

Metabolic health impacts EVERYTHING.

This week’s message is: get to know your numbers. Next week we'll be tackling blood sugar control—it's not just for people with diabetes. We’ll also discuss carbohydrates and try to dispel some of the crazy carb confusion.

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If you’re ready to uncover the blocks you think are “slowing down” your metabolism, especially if you don’t know where to start, I’m here.