Metabolic Health Series: Mastering your Metabolism
Welcome to my Metabolic Health Series. I feel passionately that the information I share here is going to help you immensely. It will give you high-impact knowledge to help yourself. This is just “episode 1.”
Catch the whole series:
2. Taming the Blood Sugar Roller Coaster
3. Metabolic Flexibility: two tools to harness metabolic power
4. Saboteurs and Saviors: how to help and how to hurt your Metabolism
5. A Metabolic Conversation with Special Guest
Now, let’s jump in!
Revving your Metabolism
One of these has to be the magic pill, right?
I get texts and queries all the time from mamas with questions about this or that new supplement that promises to “rev up your metabolism” and melt away pounds. (Just in time for summer, no less! Like their magic pill is going to get me on the cover of Sports Illustrated!) I always ask them back, what do you think that means? Silence. I actually love to watch these infomercials and marketing claims so if you send me the pill you have your eye on, I will check it out. But I almost never emerge with the sense that the marketer knows what a metabolism is.
I realized much of the confusion our clients struggle with in their health revolves around metabolism. So many of us complain ours isn’t fast enough, or we gain weight when we look at a cupcake, we have stubborn weight that won’t move no matter what, we don’t have energy to exercise even though we know we should…if we just had a faster metabolism, we’d be okay! But what are we really after and what can we do to get it?
We’ve been confused and frustrated for too long. We’ve wasted too much time, money, and hope on miracle cures that don’t work. It’s time for better.
I’m here to empower you with knowledge about your metabolism so you can take control.
I’m very excited to bring you this impactful series: Mastering Metabolic Health. This is a 5 part series so settle in and binge read or nibble at your leisure. Just plan to take it in and take notes…
The Metabolism train is leaving the station!
What do I mean by Metabolic Health?
I’m sure you’ve heard about metabolism, and I’d guess that you feel like yours is slowing down. Maybe even busted. You’ve seen ads whose products promise an increase in metabolism. What they’re really peddling is:
Weight Loss. Grrrr
But metabolic health is so much more than just an ideal weight. When I talk about metabolism, I 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 to meet your energy needs and keep things running.
You need the right foods and a body that can digest and use those nutrients. (Spoiler alert: 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? We can start with symptoms. Do you feel good all day long?
To dig deeper, here are some markers that can give us an indication as to whether we are on the right track. We want healthy levels of:
Blood Sugar
Lipid (cholesterol) Levels
Blood Pressure
Body Weight
And low levels of inflammation.
If you have these numbers pull them out. If you don’t, stay with me anyway. Let’s look at the definition of healthy for all these markers.
One note: did you catch our discussion in the email group about functional vs conventional markers? Check it out here if you missed it. The ranges we use are different than those your doctor uses. They are looking for fire—problems to fix. We are looking for smoke—trying to catch problems before you burst into flame and to control conditions, so a fire doesn’t reoccur.
Look at the Numbers
Blood Glucose:
The first marker is blood glucose, which should be between 70 and 100 mg/dL following an overnight fast. But we also need to consider HbA1c—your three-month blood sugar average—for a clear picture. If yours is 5.7 or higher, your doctor may diagnose pre-diabetes.
Untreated elevated blood sugar, even below prediabetic levels, can lead to diabetes. 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 (aka 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: 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 me, we will look at different ranges. But I don’t want to get too confusing here. Just know your cholesterol may tell me a different story than it does your doctor.
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.
Body Weight
Everyone’s favorite. It’s funny how some of us dread stepping on the scale more than the needle for the blood draw. 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. I discussed this in previous email as well. Click here to catch up.
Why are these numbers important?
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 also tied to energy crashes, brain fog, low libido, poor sleep, mood swings, and stress levels. This is why metabolic health should be everyone’s concern. Metabolic health impacts EVERYTHING. Metabolic health is your very quality of life.
We can’t be passive. The modern food climate is not metabolism friendly. Our modern, stressful lifestyles are not metabolic friendly. It takes knowledge and effort. If we look at our metabolic health and work to understand and optimize it now, we will have a richer quality of life and avoid the modern pitfalls that trap so many people. We can thrive.
The message from the first part of our series is this: get to know your numbers. Next 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.
If you are concerned about your numbers and don’t have a handle on your metabolic health, reach out. We can talk about what’s going on with you. If you’re ready to uncover the blocks you think are “slowing down” your metabolism, let’s talk. If you are wrestling any issues and need help knowing how to start, I am here. And don’t worry about getting your body ready for summer, taking care of you is ALWAYS in style!