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What is Metabolic Health and Why Manage Your Blood Sugars? By Suzan Terzian

Written by Clinical Nutritionist and Holistic Health and Lifestyle Coach Suzan Terzian

Follow her on @yourhealthguidesuzan

Navigating our health can sometimes feel overwhelming and out of our control.  We’re being pulled in so many different directions with each new piece of advice we hear but often it feels like we’re just guessing and hoping for the best.

What is Metabolic health?

Metabolic health is the ability of your body to process energy properly, and metabolic changes in our body are the first steps to so many disease conditions from cardiovascular disease to cancer.

We don’t learn how to prevent these root causes because we don’t have the data to catch them early enough

When your body is metabolically healthy, it is burning and storing energy in the right way.  You’ll feel good, have steady energy throughout the day, you’ll sleep well and wake up feeling rested, your hormones are balanced, your hunger and cravings are manageable.

When our glucose levels are out of balance, our hormones are dysregulated, our energy levels drop, we put on weight, become insulin resistant and we get closer to type 2 diabetes.

Glucose is essential for every single cell in our body – our primary source of energy. 

When glucose is limited, our bodies are able to switch to using fat for fuel instead – this is called metabolic flexibility.

Insulin is a vital hormone that allows glucose to enter our cells to be used for energy.

Both glucose and insulin are essential and good for us!

The problems start when we have TOO much of a good thing!

That’s when we have metabolic dysfunction, where the body stops responding normally, which has a profound effect on our energy, weight, mental performance, mood and longevity.

Many are unaware that metabolic dysfunction is an underlying cause to many health problems and is entirely preventable. This is not only important for diabetics.  This is important for us all.  Prediabetes starts 10 years before it is diagnosable, and once again, it is entirely preventable.

Chronically elevated glucose levels can cause

• Insulin resistance
• Chronic inflammation
• Oxidative stress
• Infertility
• PCOS
• Erectile dysfunction
• Gout 
• Depression
• Anxiety 

And more… all related to blood sugar dysregulation, although most people don’t realize it.

What affects blood sugar levels?

The biggest mover and shaker is your diet.  We can really make a difference with our food choices and the way we eat.  We have a lot of control over our glucose levels through our food and lifestyle decisions.

Our blood sugar levels change throughout the day based on our own choices.

More to come on that with our blood sugar monitoring experiment!

Exercise is another important factor affecting blood sugar levels, also within our control.

Stress and Sleep are directly linked to elevated glucose levels and fortunately we are able to utilize techniques to better manage those.

How we live, our ‘normal’ lifestyle is affecting our health. It’s time we understand our bodies better and make some crucial changes to our ‘normal’.