This article explains some metrics that have been proven in countless studies to indicate whether or not your body is metabolically healthy.
As you already know, your metabolic health is one of the most critical factors that determine your overall long-term health. If not managed properly, it could put you at risk of developing serious conditions like diabetes, stroke, and heart diseases. So, it’s important to maintain it.
However, if you suddenly start feeling tired, you urinate more often, or you suddenly start getting extremely hungry, then it’s time to check what’s going on.
The following are 7 things you should do to determine whether or not you’re metabolically healthy:
- Determine your blood glucose levels: This will help you detect diabetes, hypoglycemia, or prediabetes before it gets critically worse. You can do a simple glucose test at home and even monitor your glucose levels in real-time with a continuous glucose monitor (CGM).
Abnormally low glucose level (hypoglycemia) is dangerous, and sometimes, it’s even considered an emergency. While abnormally high glucose levels (diabetes) could put you at risk of heart disease. So, it’s important to keep it within the healthy range. - Get your cholesterol checked: Your total cholesterol calculates whether you’re at risk for heart disease and other health issues, as well as whether you’re metabolically healthy or not. It’s also important to check your HDL (high-density lipoprotein) and LDL (low-density lipoprotein) levels.
High levels of LDL are bad, and conversely high levels of HDL can be beneficial. Low levels of HDL are associated with an increased risk for heart disease, while high levels may be protective against it. Also, high levels of LDL cholesterol are also associated with an increased risk for heart disease. - Body Mass Index (BMI): This will help you determine when you’re overweight, underweight, or within the healthy body mass range. You can easily find your BMI by dividing your weight (in pounds) by your height (in inches) and multiplying by a conversion factor of 703.
Alternatively, the formula is BMI = kg/m2, where kg is your weight in kilograms and m2 is your height in meters squared.
A BMI of 25.0 or more is overweight, while 18.5 to 24.9 is within the healthy range. BMI applies to most adults 18-65 years and it will give you a rough estimation of how healthy your body is at this given moment in time. (1) - Waist circumference: When you have too much fat around your waist, it’s an indicator of increased risk for heart disease and diabetes. The most accurate way to determine the amount of your waist circumference is to measure just above your belly button and again at your hips. Divide the difference by two. If you have questions about this, consult with your doctor or a registered dietitian.
- Get a blood pressure check-up: Blood pressure is one of the easiest things you can check. As a general guide: normal blood pressure is considered to be between 90/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg. high blood pressure is considered to be 140/90mmHg or higher. Low blood pressure is considered to be 90/60mmHg or lower. (2)
If your blood pressure readings don’t change throughout the day, it means your body cannot respond to things like stress on its own. That could be dangerous. It also means you’re not getting enough exercise (if you’re exercising at all!), which means your body won’t be able to efficiently regulate itself as it should be. - Triglyceride levels: Triglycerides are essential for the normal functioning of the body, including hormone production and immune function, among others. They’re found primarily in the blood, although some are also stored in the liver and adipose tissue.High levels occur when you consume more fat than your body needs and long term, it can increase your risk of developing heart disease, stroke, and other diseases.
To determine if your triglyceride levels are high or low for your age group, follow this simple formula: If your triglycerides are less than 150 mg/dL for women and less than 200 mg/dL for men (we’ve rounded it up to 150 mg/dL and 200 mg/dL), that’s a good level.
In a nutshell, these metrics are designed to provide quick and easy ways to evaluate your metabolic health. So, if you find anything off, consult your doctor immediately.
That said, you can avoid most metabolic health problems with healthy lifestyle choices.
- Examples of lifestyle choices for preventing metabolic health problems:
Lose weight: While it’s true that people who are obese have a greater risk of heart disease and even diabetes than those who are not, there’s a lot more at stake as it can take its toll on your entire body, not just your metabolic health.
For example, it affects your ability to breathe more easily, make normal connections in the brain, and even blood flow to key organs. It’s also bad for your skin, causing wrinkles that spread to form deep grooves and sagging skin syndrome. - Eat a healthy diet: The foods you eat are more than just fuel. They can contribute positively to your mental and physical well-being, from lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels to improving the function of your immune system. Eat healthy foods that are low in saturated fat, salt, and sugar.
- Exercise, walk or bike to work: This is the easiest way to squeeze in exercise during your daily routine. Taking a bike to work also allows you to get extra exercise when you would normally be static.
- Avoid excessive alcohol, cut out tobacco and recreational drugs: Alcohol has some benefits: giving you energy, helping you relieve some stress, and making you feel good. But if you abuse it over the long term by drinking too much, it can do some damage and even interfere with your body’s ability to regulate blood glucose.
- Get plenty of sleep: Most people need 7-8 hours of sleep every night. But if you’re having trouble getting to sleep, try to develop a regular bedtime routine and avoid stimulants like TV or phones before bedtime.
Finally, if you find that you’re not metabolically healthy, the most important thing you can do is to talk to your doctor about it first. Then exercise more, change your diet, monitor your glucose levels, and drink more water. It is very difficult to be metabolically healthy if you are not eating the right foods and drinking the required amount of water.
