What is Metabolic Health?

Want to hear a scary statistic? only 6.8% of American adults have optimal metabolic health….

So that means about 93% of Americans have at least one marker of metabolic dysfunction, and blood sugar dysregulation is usually the first domino to fall.

That. Is. Crazy.

If you’re reading this, you’re certainly in a biased population of people that have an interest in health, however,…odds are that you, or someone you love, is someone that could improve their metabolic health.

The core of metabolic health comes down to insulin sensitivity and blood sugar management.

What is insulin resistance (loss of insulin sensitivity)? Think of your cells like crops in a garden, and the sugar in your blood like irrigation water. Normally, insulin opens the gate so the water soaks into the roots, giving the plants hydration and energy… everything is thriving. But, with insulin resistance, the gate jams shut. The water keeps coming, but it can't get into the garden. So it floods around the instead, pooling where it doesn't belong, becoming stagnant, damaging, and eroding everything it touches (like sugar damaging your circulatory system).

And here's the sad part: your cells end up wilting from thirst while standing amidst a flood. Water (or glucose) is everywhere, none of it getting where it’s needed. What does insulin resistance feel like or look like?

• Exhaustion, fatigue (energy isn’t able to get into cells appropriately)

• Insatiable hunger (again, energy isn’t getting into cells)

• Sugar/carb cravings

• Getting ‘hangry'

• Increased belly fat that won’t go away

• Waking up between 2-3 am

• Random skin tags showing up

• Darkening of your underarm, neck folds, or groin area skin
  

And this is what is happening behind the scenes :

• Chronically high blood sugar causes damage to your arterial walls leading to plaque build up. Overtime, this can increase risk of stroke, heart attack, and increased blood pressure.

• High blood sugar also damages nerves and small blood vessels that feed your eyes, kidneys, and skin, which can prolong healing and weaken function.

• Hammering the pancreas to keep producing insulin can lead to type II diabetes

• As the body looks for places to put sugar that is stuck in the blood, it will store it as visceral fat around your organs. This fat is metabolically active - it produces cytokines (inflammatory molecules), aka more inflammation in the body.

• Visceral fat around the liver increases the inflammatory molecules and free fatty acids dumping into the liver’s portal vein, which overburdens the already busy liver. This slows detoxification pathways, which has many ripple effects on the body.
  

The moral of the story: How your body manages sugar in the blood is a BIG DEAL.

Labs to examine your metabolic health:

• Fasting insulin: most doctors will not test this, but insulin will tell you things are off far before your fasting glucose or HbA1c. Optimal levels are between 3-7 µIU/mL.

• HbA1c: This marker lets you know how ‘sugary’ your blood cells are. Glucose sticks to red blood cells, which have a lifespan of about 90 days. A high HbA1c can indicate that blood sugar levels have been chronically high. However, if you have reactive hypoglycemia (common with insulin resistance), this can skew numbers to be lower. Optimal levels are 4.8-5.3%

• Fasting glucose: the marker most doctors lead with, but it's one of the last to move. The body will hammer out extra insulin for years to keep glucose looking normal, so a "fine" fasting glucose can mask advanced insulin resistance. Standard labs don't flag it until 100+ mg/dL; functional optimal is closer to 75-85 mg/dL.

• Fasting Triglycerides: when cells won't take up glucose, the liver packages the overflow into triglycerides. An elevated number is often a downstream fingerprint of insulin resistance, not just "dietary fat." Functional optimal is under ~80 mg/dL.

• Triglyceride-to-HDL ratio: one of the most useful IR surrogates you can get, and it's hiding on every standard lipid panel (just divide your triglycerides by your HDL). A high ratio strongly suggests insulin resistance and the liver converting excess sugar into fat. Optimal is under 1.5 (mg/dL); above ~3 is a red flag. Great because it costs nothing extra and doctors usually already order it.
  

Another great tool to try is a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM). These are now readily available without a prescription for pretty cheap. A CGM allows you to observe what your blood glucose levels are doing in real time. This data can help you understand:

• How your body reacts to different foods or food pairings

• How quickly your blood sugar rises after a high carb meal, and how long it takes to bring levels back down to healthy levels

• How stress, exercise, sleep, and fasting are effecting your blood sugar levels

• If you are experiencing reactive hypoglycemia
  

Disclaimer: This post is for informational purposes only and does not replace professional medical advice. Please consult your healthcare provider before starting any new supplement or health program.