Metabolism: Let’s Break It Down

The Top 5 things to know about maintaining your metabolic health  

Having a healthy metabolism is an important aspect that contributes to overall body function and wellness. Many believe this to be the rate at which our bodies either gain or lose weight. While that’s not entirely incorrect, the overall function of metabolism is a bit more complex:

What is Metabolism?

In short, metabolism refers to a series of chemical processes that assist in helping generate and utilize energy from food. It’s a system that consists of two separate mechanisms:

Together they help convert the calories we consume into the energy needed to function. All living organisms operate by way of some form of metabolism; It’s essential for life to continue.

How it Works

Despite its different meanings, the term “energy” is fundamentally defined as an exertion of power or the capacity for doing work. Biologically speaking, energy is the powerhouse behind a vast network of chemical systems that the body needs to properly run: breathing, blood flow, cellular repair, hormone maintenance, and more.

Think of it as being an engine in a car: In optimal conditions, a good engine keeps the car running smoothly. But as the engine begins to fail, so do many of the car’s necessary functions. The same applies to metabolism and how poor “metabolic health” can heavily impact the body’s ability to perform. 

Influencing Factors

Metabolism is heavily influenced by a number of factors, such as genetics, age, diet, and overall lifestyle behaviors. A healthy metabolism leads to an accelerated metabolic rate and supports healthy management of body weight, hormone levels, and may even help to prevent disease [1]. However, just like our car, a poor metabolism can undoubtedly be a recipe for disaster and lead to a number of unwanted health conditions.

Metabolism and Weight 

Maintaining a healthy weight comes down to much more than just “calories in versus calories out”. A metabolism that isn’t operating efficiently, unable to support the ability of its fundamental systems to operate, produces a whole-body imbalance that can affect any number of factors... weight included. Therefore, it doesn’t matter the number of different diet attempts or countless hours spent devoted to the gym. Rather, if you instead switch the emphasis to focus on your metabolic health, the rest will follow.

What You Can Do

While we can’t alter our genetic makeup or stop the biological clock from ticking forward, what we CAN do is focus our efforts on the many elements that are within our control: