What is metabolic health?
What is metabolism, anyway?
Metabolism is the set of chemical processes in your body that turn food and drink into energy and the building blocks your cells need to function, grow, and repair themselves. It also includes the processes that break things down for energy and build things up for maintenance and repair, which are often described as catabolism and anabolism. In simple terms, metabolism is what keeps your body running, even at rest, by supporting breathing, circulation, digestion, temperature regulation, and cell repair.
What is "metabolic health"?
Metabolic health refers to how well your body processes and uses energy, while keeping key health markers in a healthy range. It’s often discussed in terms of blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, and waist circumference. In simple terms, good metabolic health means your body can efficiently handle food, maintain stable energy balance, and lower the risk of issues like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and metabolic syndrome.
The connection between Metabolic health and chronic pain
Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of clinical features that include abdominal/central obesity, elevated blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, and elevated fasting glucose (insulin resistance). The presence of these health markers causes a chronic inflammatory state which impacts joints, muscles, and our pain signaling.
Menopause and Perimenopause
There is a significant hormonal shift around the ages of 45-60 in women's lives. This change can cause weight gain, mood changes, joint pain, hot flashes, and more. This is also often a period of life where we are caring for children, aging parents, and experiencing aging ourselves. This is a challenging time that requires support and strategy to get you feeling like you again.
Chronic Stress
Let's not underestimate the role of chronic stress in metabolic health. Stress stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, which causes cortisol to rise. Cortisol causes glucose to spike and then become stored as fat. Chronic nervous system stimulation and stress can cause chronic fatigue, feeling wired and tired, and can even cause depression. Let's gain control of our stress and start feeling better.