Managing your metabolic health should be one of your top priorities. After all, metabolic health is the underlying cause of nearly every chronic disease, from diabetes to heart disease. Managing your metabolic health is essential to feeling good and staying healthy.
Here are seven science-backed tips to help manage your metabolic health.
Eat a Healthy Diet
A healthy diet is not just about eating fruits and vegetables; it also has to do with avoiding processed food products, which generally have high amounts of sugar and saturated fat. A good example of such a diet would be one based on lean proteins, whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables.
The right kind of foods can help keep your liver and kidneys working properly and improve blood circulation throughout your body. These organs are responsible for removing waste products from the bloodstream to be excreted through urination (kidneys) or sweat (liver).
A healthy diet also helps prevent diseases like diabetes by managing insulin levels in the body, which keeps blood sugar levels stable. Examples of meals to eat to ensure great metabolic health are Salmon salad with avocado oil dressing, chicken breast with baked sweet potato wedges.
Limit Alcohol Consumption
Alcohol consumption can be a double-edged sword. Moderate consumption of alcohol has been associated with a reduced risk of several health conditions, including heart disease and diabetes. However, excessive alcohol consumption can lead to increased weight gain and body fat accumulation, increasing the risk of developing metabolic syndrome or type 2 diabetes.
The main mechanism by which alcohol consumption is associated with weight gain is through its effects on insulin sensitivity, or how well the body's cells respond to insulin. Alcohol suppresses the activity of an important liver enzyme that regulates blood sugar levels.
This may lead to hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) and impaired glucose tolerance (reduced ability to process glucose). In addition, alcohol interferes with the absorption of nutrients from food, which can cause the malabsorption of carbohydrates and amino acids (a building block for proteins).
Over time, these factors may result in insulin resistance — a condition in which the body produces high levels of insulin but cannot use it effectively to store energy from food. This increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes over time.
Supplements
Antioxidants are substances that prevent damage caused by free radicals (unstable molecules released during metabolism). Free radicals can cause damage to cell membranes and DNA, which leads to inflammation and oxidative stress in the body.
Antioxidants neutralize free radicals before they can cause damage, which improves metabolic health by reducing oxidative stress. An antioxidant supplement improves insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease risk factors such as high blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Maintain a Moderate Amount of Muscle
The muscle is the most metabolically active tissue in the human body. It burns more calories at rest than any other tissue type and helps to regulate fat burning, glucose control, and body weight. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolic rate will be.
Muscle is also helpful in preventing metabolic syndrome, which is characterized by abdominal obesity, elevated blood pressure, and high blood sugar levels. Metabolic syndrome increases your risk for heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
Muscle loss is common with age and can lead to a decrease in metabolic rate that can compromise overall health. Losing as little as five percent of total lean body mass has been shown to reduce metabolism by 10 percent or more.
Stay Hydrated
Staying hydrated is an important part of managing your metabolic health. When you're dehydrated, your body can't absorb nutrients from food and water, which can cause several problems with your health.
Hydration helps your body regulate blood sugar levels. This can help prevent diabetes and insulin resistance, which are key factors in developing metabolic syndrome.
Drinking plenty of water also helps the kidneys and liver remove waste products from the body through urine, which prevents these toxins from building up in the bloodstream. This reduces inflammation and helps prevent chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. To get enough water every day, try to drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses (about one liter) each day or about half your body weight in ounces.
Get enough sleep
Sleep is a powerful way to improve your metabolism. When you get enough sleep, you're more likely to have better insulin sensitivity and be able to burn fat more efficiently. When you don't get enough sleep, your body produces more cortisol, the stress hormone that makes it harder for your body to use glucose (sugar). This can eventually lead to insulin resistance and an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes.
Perform high-intensity interval training
You might have heard about the benefits of high-intensity interval training or HIIT. But what does it mean to perform high-intensity interval training? And how does it help manage your metabolic health?
HIIT is a form of exercise that involves performing brief bursts of intense activity followed by rest periods. It's a more effective way to burn calories than traditional cardio because it maximizes fat loss while preserving muscle mass.
You don't need any equipment to perform HIIT — all you need is your body. You can do HIIT at home with bodyweight exercises or go outside and run sprints up hills.
Final Thought
Hopefully, by learning what goes into managing your metabolic health, you can begin to make better choices in your day-to-day life. This could pay off big time in the long run.
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