Metabolism

What is Metabolism?

All living things require ongoing inputs of energy to continue living. This means that materials consumed for food must be transformed into usable energy inside the body.

Metabolism is the process that controls this transformation. It includes all of the chemical reactions in your body’s cells that convert the energy in your food into energy that your body can burn as fuel to stay alive. Energy is measured in calories. [1] [2]

The process of metabolism balances two separate elements:

[3]

When your metabolism balance is stable you will receive enough energy to support your body’s functions, including breathing, walking, and digesting (among many other functions) without having to store any extra energy as fat. [4]

How Does the Process of Metabolism Work?

There are three components that determine how many calories, or how much energy, your body needs every day:

Metabolic Homeostasis

To stay alive and healthy, each cell and tissue must coordinate with all of the other cells and tissues in the body. When this coordination works you will be in a state of homeostasis, where there is balance among all the body systems. Homeostasis ensures that the body works properly. [2]

For example, humans require certain conditions, like the body’s core temperature, to stay within certain limits if they are to survive. When the body’s temperature drops below a threshold, the body needs to self-regulate and bring the temperature up in order to survive. This self-regulation is called metabolic homeostasis, which will cause your muscles to shiver, burning fuel but releasing heat and keeping the body’s temperature up. [4]

Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic dysfunction can be at the root of two key health indicators – inflammation and insulin resistance. Inflammation is the body’s response to insults or injuries. Insulin resistance lowers the sensitivity of your body to insulin, meaning you need larger amounts of insulin to lower your blood glucose levels compared to someone with high insulin sensitivity.

Metabolic syndrome is not a single disorder, rather it is a group of conditions that occur together, including: increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol and triglyceride levels. A diagnosis of metabolic syndrome requires that a patient has three of these conditions.