As we saw in the previous post, metabolism is the engine that keeps your body running smoothly, helping you stay healthy and full of energy. When the metabolic machinery gets clogged up, health problems ensue.
Unfortunately, metabolic health worldwide is declining, affecting quality of life and driving up healthcare costs. U.S. government data suggest that 93% of Americans have less-than-optimal metabolic function. You might be one of them.
Health issues linked to poor metabolic function
Metabolic dysfunction isn’t a disease that sets in suddenly and has distinct symptoms and treatments. Rather, it shows up in many different guises and creeps up on us over years and decades.
Here are just some of the ways poor metabolic function manifests:
- Insulin resistance, prediabetes, and type-2 diabetes: Metabolic dysfunction can cause glucose (blood sugar) levels to rise through a mechanism called insulin resistance, which is when the body’s cells don’t respond properly to insulin, a hormone that helps glucose enter cells to be used as energy. When cells are resistant to insulin, glucose builds up in the bloodstream. The pancreas produces more insulin to try to overcome the cells’ insulin resistance and rising blood glucose levels. If the body can’t produce enough insulin to keep glucose in a healthy range, this can lead to prediabetes or type-2 diabetes. Type-2 diabetes, in turn, is linked to an increased risk of other health issues, like cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, vision loss, foot ulcers, nerve damage, gum disease, cancer, and thyroid disease.
- Impaired brain function: Metabolic dysfunction contributes to brain fog and cognitive dysfunction, depression, anxiety, and Alzheimer’s disease. It is also linked to psychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression.
- Blood vessel damage: In the blood vessels, it can contribute to cardiovascular disease (like heart attacks and strokes) and microvascular disease (like erectile dysfunction, retinopathy, and kidney disease).
- Fatty liver: Metabolic dysfunction can lead to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), where excess fat is stored inside liver cells, making it harder for the liver to function. This can progress to inflammation, scarring, and even cancer. Some 100 million people (about 25%) in the United States are estimated to have NAFLD (recently renamed metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, or MASLD).
- Cancer: Long thought to be a largely genetic disease, cancer is increasingly being viewed as a metabolic disease amid research showing that all types of cancer, but particularly those of the breast, endometrium, prostate, kidney, liver, colon & rectum, are closely linked to metabolic imbalances.
- Increased visceral fat storage: Impaired metabolic function drives fat storage in the abdominal cavity. This type of fat is called “visceral fat” since it wraps around our inner organs (called viscera). It is considered less healthy than subcutaneous fat (the pinchable fat underneath our skin). Large deposits of visceral fat may exacerbate metabolic dysfunction, creating a vicious cycle, and reducing visceral fat, even without losing weight, may improve cardiometabolic health.
- Other health issues: Poor metabolic health can show up as the aches, pains, and frustrations of everyday life, such as fatigue, balding, fertility problems, acne, gout, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic pain, osteoarthritis, food cravings, and more.
Might you have metabolic dysfunction?
Metabolic dysfunction isn’t all-or-nothing; it can range from mild to severe, called metabolic syndrome at its worst.
- Mild issues: You might notice modest changes in your blood work, like higher glucose, triglycerides, blood pressure, or lower HDL (“good”) cholesterol. Other signs include fatigue, mood swings, or a tightening waistband. If these show up — and even if your numbers are borderline (for instance, “pre-diabetes”) — it’s worth paying attention to them and exploring measures to get your metabolic markers back into healthy ranges (see below).
- Metabolic Syndrome is typically diagnosed if you have three or more of these:
- Fasting glucose above 100 mg/dL
- HDL cholesterol less than 40 mg/dL (men) or 50 mg/dL (women)
- Triglycerides above 150 mg/dL
- High blood pressure (130/85 or higher)
- A waistline of 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men
The Good News: It’s Reversible
If your metabolic health isn’t where it could be, take heart: this imbalance can be reversed. Treatments typically include behavior changes involving nutrition, physical activity, sleep optimization, and stress management.
Medications to treat elevated blood sugar, high blood pressure, and cholesterol may be prescribed until diet and lifestyle changes have the desired effect. Sometimes it’s necessary to take them long-term. There’s no shame in that.
In Part 3 of this series on Metabolism, we look at factors that contribute to impaired metabolic health.
In the meantime, if you want to chat with me about ways to improve your metabolism, feel free to schedule a 20-minute discovery call with me by clicking on this link.