What Is Metabolic Health?
Metabolic health is a crucial pillar of evaluating health and fitness. The concept of metabolic health is based on the term “metabolism”.
Metabolism is a constant chemical process in the human body and every other living organism. The main purpose of metabolism is to convert food into energy, to run all bodily processes smoothly, and metamorphose drinks and meals into the building blocks for the body.
Optimum Metabolic Health is directly linked to healthy metabolism and the absence of metabolic syndrome in the body.
The term metabolic syndrome represents a group of five physiological conditions that could lead to diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and other serious medical conditions.
People who are metabolically healthy are less at risk of cardiovascular issues, obesity, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure.
Major chronic diseases or lifestyle disorders are typically associated with age but in reality, they are caused by poor metabolic health. Being metabolically healthy is key for long-term fitness, reversing aging, and living life to the fullest.
Ultimately, a metabolically healthy person is one whose body responds better to food intake and can handle glucose spikes much better than a person suffering from metabolic syndrome.
People with optimum metabolic health have a well-balanced system of ‘energy production & consumption’. They are capable of adapting faster to changing physical environments and mental landscapes.
As we know, glucose is one of the primary sources of energy for our body. Food that we eat metabolizes as glucose and it is utilized as an energy source at a cellular level. Glucose is like electricity powering the cellular grid of the body.
It’s crucial to maintain this balance and stable glucose levels (i.e. avoiding glucose spikes and crashes) plays a key role in achieving that balance.
Now that we have mentioned “glucose spikes”, and “susceptibility to type 2 diabetes”, the next natural question that comes up is “is there a connection between metabolic health and blood glucose?”
There is an inextricable connection between metabolic health and blood glucose. However, before we go down this path, let’s take a look at what exactly is blood glucose.
Blood Glucose Fundamentals
Blood glucose or blood sugar is a term that is commonly referred to by doctors and healthcare professionals. Glucose is derived from the Greek word “Gluekos” which means sweet. Etymology aside, Glucose in common English means sugar, and blood glucose is the sugar found in our bloodstream.
Blood glucose is a fundamental building block in the body. It is the primary source of energy for the human body. During the digestion process of food, carbohydrates are broken down into glucose, which is released into the bloodstream. Blood vessels carry glucose to every cell in the body and supply them with the energy essential to keep functioning.
Hence, blood glucose is not an intimidating medical term, it is simply like electricity that powers our grid.
Moving ahead, let’s understand the relationship between blood glucose and metabolic health.
Blood Glucose & Metabolic Health
On a superficial level, blood glucose or blood sugar seems to be a factor that should affect only those people who have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. But blood glucose is much more than just the parameter to measure diabetes.
A stable and healthy range of blood glucose levels is a direct sign of good metabolic health. Blood glucose is an indicator of how well the body responds to food, physical activity, sleep, and even stress.
A significant factor that should be considered when speaking about metabolic health is that it is a very generic and vast term. The ways to evaluate metabolic health are currently limited and may not always be accessible.
But blood glucose can be easily tracked, monitored, and analyzed. If metabolism is the chemical reaction of the body to food, then blood glucose is the indicator that shows how well the body has responded to food.
At Upside Health, we believe that if individuals aim to be healthy metabolically then understanding the blood glucose levels is extremely important. Let us explain why.
How Monitoring Blood Glucose Can Impact Your Metabolic Health
It is a common misunderstanding that only people who are diabetic should monitor blood glucose. Blood glucose levels reveal how efficiently the body is functioning and how good or poor the metabolism is.
Following are some of the ways in which monitoring blood glucose impacts metabolic health –
- For diabetics, it is a milestone marker that shows how well they are managing their sugar levels and overall health.
- For everyone, it helps in understanding how the body is interacting with particular types of foods, exercise, sleep, stress levels, and the time taken for spikes or crashes to settle down.
- It makes us conscious of the food we consume in daily life. People who aren’t diabetics are prone to consuming sugar, refined carbohydrates, and processed food more carelessly. Blood glucose levels can make you aware of how your choices are impacting your metabolic health.
- Monitoring blood glucose levels encourages the user to take action – whether it is by increasing physical exercise, adding the right type of food, or sequencing the food in their diet. It inspires us to make better lifestyle choices in order to optimize our long-term health.
- In the case of patients who manage chronic cardiovascular issues, blood glucose levels indicate how much strain they are putting on their cardiovascular system as well. The oscillations of blood glucose negatively impact the cardiovascular system.
- Not many people are aware but blood glucose also impacts mental health or neurological health. Research & studies indicate an association between sub-optimal metabolic health with specific neurological conditions like depression, anxiety, and Alzheimer’s disease..
Food For Thought
“Improvement begins with I”
– Arnold H. Glasow
The mantra with metabolic health is to keep improving every day, with every food choice and with every lifestyle choice you make. Being healthy on the outside is no longer the aim. The aim most of us have now is to be metabolically healthy.
Metabolic health is not a mountain to be conquered, it is a journey to be undertaken for increasing our healthspan, not only lifespan.
