Why Does Your Metabolic Health Matter?

So, before we can get started on metabolic health and how to improve it, you need to know what your metabolism is - and what it does for the body.

What Is Your Metabolism?

Many people only really hear the word "metabolism" in the context of weight loss, but in reality, your metabolism does so much more than that. Your metabolism is responsible for maintaining all of your body's basic functions. Some of these functions include:

breathing,
blood circulation,
growing and repairing cells,
digesting food,
regulating body temperature, and
managing hormone levels.

Your metabolism refers to the chemical process that your body uses to convert external calories (from what you eat and drink) into energy that your body needs to function.

The number of calories your body needs to function while resting varies from person to person. This minimum number of calories is called your basal metabolic rate (BMR). Individuals with fast metabolisms will burn more calories (or have a higher BMR) than individuals with slow metabolisms.

What Does "Metabolic Health" Mean?

Now that you know what your metabolism is and what it does, you may be wondering what "metabolic health" is. Unsurprisingly, the term refers to the overall efficiency of your metabolism. Clinically speaking, however, this term is measured by achieving optimal levels in the following five markers.

These markers are:

Blood sugar
Triglycerides
High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol
Blood pressure
Waist circumference

When people have three or more of the following traits, they are said to have metabolic syndrome.

Fasting glucose levels above 100 mg/dL
Triglycerides above 150 mg/dL
HDL cholesterol levels of less than 40 mg/dL
High blood pressure (which means 130/85 or higher)
A waistline of 35 inches or higher (women) or 40 inches or higher (men)

What Factors Affect Your Metabolism?

Since metabolism is such an important part of our daily lives and how we continue to function as human beings, it is not surprising that a number of factors can contribute to its health (or lack thereof).

Some of these factors include:

Muscle mass - One of the largest factors in the speed and efficiency of your metabolism is your muscle mass. Building and maintaining muscle mass takes much more energy than maintaining fat. Because of this, individuals with more muscle mass tend to have faster metabolisms since they have to burn more calories.
Age - As we age, we lose muscle mass. This slows the metabolism. So, the younger you are, the more effectively your metabolism will work.
Sex - In general, males have faster metabolisms than women do. This is because, on average, they have more muscle mass, less body fat, and larger bones.
Genes - Genes play a large role in your baseline muscle size as well as your ability to build muscle mass.
Physical activity - We've all heard it before. A sedentary lifestyle causes a much slower metabolic rate. Unfortunately, this is a simple truth. When we are active, we burn more calories, meaning our metabolisms must work harder. This then boosts our metabolic rate and improves the health of our metabolism.

What Makes Someone Metabolically Unhealthy?

Many people think that they are metabolically healthy or that they need to be noticeably unhealthy - such as being extremely obese or having chronic health conditions - to be deemed "metabolically unhealthy." Unfortunately, this is not the case at all. In the United States, just one in eight adults (approximately 12%) has optimal metabolic health.

This means that around 88% of adults in the US are metabolically unhealthy. Unfortunately, simply seeing a "normal" number on your bathroom scale is not enough to have good metabolic health. This tremendously low number of metabolically healthy individuals in the US is likely due to the very sedentary lifestyle many of us live.

Your metabolic health is linked to so much more than your weight. To determine your metabolic health, you must look at many different areas of your life. You can use the five measures we mentioned earlier to assess where you are currently and track progress as you work to improve your metabolic health (we'll dive into how to do this below).

What Are the Risk Factors for Poor Metabolic Health?

Unfortunately, many risk factors can increase our chances of having poor metabolic health. While our bodies themselves have not changed dramatically over the years, our lifestyles have.

Some of the most impactful risk factors for poor metabolic fitness are:

Living a sedentary lifestyle
Not getting enough sleep
Giving our bodies too many calories each day (chronic over-nutrition)
Eating too many processed foods and drinks
Snacking frequently or late at night
Experiencing high levels of stress

What Are the Consequences of Poor Metabolic Fitness?

Poor metabolic health can look very different depending on the person and the level of metabolic dysfunction they are experiencing.

In less extreme cases, poor metabolic health can be hard to notice. It can appear in many ways that many of us simply associate with daily life today. This can include depression, anxiety, brain fog, fatigue, acne, chronic pain, lack of endurance for exercise, increased appetite, balding, and infertility, among others.

However, in more extreme cases, poor metabolic health can present itself in more notable ways. For example, obesity, diabetes or insulin resistance, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, fatty liver disease (non-alcoholic), cardiovascular diseases (such as stroke or heart attack), and more.

The key takeaway here is even if you are only experiencing subtle effects of poor metabolic health, it can cause tremendous effects on your daily life. Every part of our body is made up of cells that need energy to function. If our metabolism cannot provide that energy effectively, the effects can be devastating.

Can You Improve Your Metabolic Health?

We've used the term "metabolic fitness" in this article alongside "metabolic health." This was intentional because, to answer this question simply, yes, you can improve your metabolic health.

When we use the term metabolic fitness, we can think of metabolic health just as we would our physical health. If we want to be physically fit, we must work at it. We have to exercise and maintain our bodies if we do not want to lose the progress we've made. Your metabolic health is exactly the same. Think about your physical and metabolic health in the same way, and you can definitely improve.

Metabolic fitness is all about making conscious and smart decisions about what you do in your daily life. You will want to focus on your diet, sleep, physical activity, and stress management - we'll dive deeper into these four categories in the next section.

How to Improve Your Metabolic Health

You have no control over some aspects of your metabolism - such as your genetics, sex, and age. But, there are still major areas of your life that you can control that can greatly improve your metabolic health.

Diet

When people hear the word "diet," they often think of Keto, Paleo, or other "diets" that restrict the foods you are eating and limit the number of calories you can have each day. Unfortunately, as much as we may like these types of diets to work, the simple fact is that they do not.

Eating too few calories actually slows down your metabolism, and while it can lead to weight loss, it often leads to muscle loss, which slows your metabolism down even further.

The best things you can do for your metabolism are:

Eat regular meals
Eat enough calories each day
Ensure you are getting enough vitamins and other nutrients in your diet
Drink lots of water
Eat more protein

Sleep

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), adults aged 18-60 should get seven or more hours of sleep each night. Many researchers believe that when we do not get enough sleep, our bodies lower our metabolic rates to conserve energy.

Physical Activity

To improve your metabolism through physical activity, try resistance or strength training. Activities like weight lifting help you build and maintain muscle - which, as we noted earlier, contributes to a healthier and more efficient metabolism.

Stress Management

Chronic stress is bad for the body in many ways; metabolic health is one of them. While stress is a part of our daily lives, if you want to improve your metabolic health, you will want to look for healthy outlets for this stress. This could be adopting relaxing hobbies, self-care routines, or seeking help from a therapist or counselor.

Conclusion

If you are interested in improving your metabolic health, but you are new to the health and wellness scene (or simply don't know where to start), check out our free, self-paced, online wellness education program. This program covers small, easy-to-implement lifestyle changes that can help you make good lifestyle choices when it comes to nutrition, exercise, stress management, sleep, and more!

Order Policy

Please email if you have questions or need assistance.

Payment Processing

We accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express credit cards.

Payments are securely processed through industry leader Authorize.net of which SupplementRelief.com is a Verified Merchant.

We DO NOT retain or store your credit card information after the purchase. We DO NOT share your information with anyone. We DO NOT auto-subscribe you to anything. Your information is YOURS.

The charge will appear on your credit card statement as SupplementRelief.com with our phone number (888) 424-0032.

Shipping & Handling

A safe and accurate address for delivery must be provided at the time the order is placed. Once an order has shipped, SupplementRelief.com is NOT responsible for lost or stolen packages CONFIRMED BY THE CARRIER to be delivered to the address provided for the order.

Since COVID-19, and the ensuing economic challenges in the USA economy, we respectfully ask that you allow some additional time for delivery for the carriers (USPS, UPS, and FedEx). Most orders still arrive on time, or near on time, but some may run late. We make every effort to get your order packed and into the carriers hands the same day, or by the next business morning if your order came in later in the previous day after carrier pickup, but we have no control over any delays that may happen within the shipping carrier's delivery system. Please order earlier for the time being if you are time-sensitive.

Orders that contain only FirstFitness Nutrition products have a shipping fee automatically calculated based upon the actual shipping weight of the items purchased. The charge ranges from $4.95 to $14.95.

For orders with NuMedica products you may choose from the shipping options below on the Order Checkout form in the Shipping Information section on the first line that says Choose Shipping Method.

Shipping Options

Country	Option	Schedule	Cost
United States	Standard	3-6 Days	$4.95
United States	Priority	2-4 Days	$9.95
United States	Free	7-10 Days	$0.00
International	FedEx International	4-7 Days	$79.95^*
International	GlobalPost International	12-21 Days	$39.95^*
^*International shipping costs may be higher depending upon package weight and destination. We will contact you for your approval of the additional amount if this occurs.

SupplementRelief.com may use the email or phone number provided on your Order to call or text you regarding Order Status or to inform you of changes to the Order Policy.

When your order ships we will send you a confirmation email with the delivery tracking information.

International Shipping

Shipping anything these days internationally is expensive. COVID resulted in more rigorous customs import processes, and now with much higher energy prices, international shipping rates are higher.

FedEx is the most reliable and faster carrier, at least for now, but they are expensive. Our FedEx international shipping fee is a minimum of $79.95. It usually makes more sense to get several months of supply (3 months or more) in one order to minimize the shipping expense per order over time. While the added weight of additional items may increase the base shipping price by a little (usually 10-25% depending upon total weight and destination), it is usually not by very much relative to shipping an additional small order later.

We also offer a lower-cost international shipping option using GlobalPost International for $39.95. So far, they have been reliable in getting packages correctly delivered but it takes 2 - 4 times as long to get the package delivered. Packages may take longer to process in the receiving country's customs process and status updates may not be reported as quickly. Please be patient if you choose this option to save money.

Some International orders may cost more to ship depending upon weight and location. If that happens we will contact you first and get your approval for any additional charge before proceeding. International orders may also be subject to additional customs fees and duties/taxes based upon the destination country's customs import laws and policies. These fees are NOT known or included on our order form and are typically charged and collected by the shipping carrier when they are delivering the product to it's final destination once the package has cleared the destination country's customs process. It is recommended that the buyer research custom import fees for the products/services they are importing beforehand to be aware of potential, additional fees.

Shipping Refrigerated Products

Our manufacturers formulate their probiotics to ensure their products retain viability until they reach the consumer. Probiotics that are recommended to be refrigerated remain so until the time of shipment, then shipped alongside an ice pack to ensure potency (Note: Ice pack will not arrive frozen, and product may not arrive cold). Orders placed on a Thursday-Sunday requiring cold shipping will not ship until the following Monday.

Cancellations

If your order has not been shipped yet, you can request a cancellation. Your original purchase amount will be refunded within three business days. If your order has already shipped, see Returns and Refunds.

Changes, Returns and Refunds

If you want to make a change to your order, please email us as soon as possible so we can make the change before your order ships. If your order has already shipped you may incur additional shipping charges for the second shipment and the return label for any products returned.

If we have made a mistake on your order, or the product arrives in a damaged or unusable condition, we will make every reasonable effort to right the situation quickly to your satisfaction.

We accept returns subject to when the return is requested and the condition the product is returned in. All returns must first be authorized by contacting us. In your request, please let us know why you are returning the item(s). We will respond promptly with authorization, the return address, and a return shipping label if appropriate.

If your order has already shipped you can return any un-opened products within 30 days of receiving your order for a 100% refund of the price paid for the product, less the actual shipping charges we incurred to get the product to you originally and then returned, less a $10 restocking fee. Un-opened means the protective seal on the bottle or container, or the shrink-wrap on the box or kit, has not been broken and the product has not otherwise been damaged in any way. You may use the original packaging for the return or acquire your own. We will provide the return shipping label. We DO NOT accept returns for NuMedica products once the protective product seal has been broken.

Upon receipt of returned product(s), we will refund your credit card within three business days for the product(s) returned.