What is Metabolic Health and Why Should You Care?

Did you know that only one in eight Americans is considered metabolically healthy? Many of us have been trained to think blood sugar levels only relate to people with diabetes, but that’s only part of the story. Blood sugar levels are a good indicator of your metabolic health. Poor metabolic health increases your risk for not only diabetes, but other chronic diseases like fatty liver, heart disease, stroke and even Alzheimer’s. Come one, come all; these diseases often run together.  

Metabolic health is your body’s ability to generate energy from food and its decline is gradual, taking years or even decades to reach levels needed for disease diagnosis. If diabetes and the other metabolic diseases develop gradually over a long period of time, what could your healthcare look like during those years?  

The good news is that metabolic health is easily monitored by your blood sugar, or blood glucose, levels. Early intervention with a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) allows your doctor and dietitian to manage your blood sugar and metabolic health throughout your life. Using a CGM to identify and implement the best diet and lifestyle for your body is a great start for anyone who wants to achieve optimal health. 

Ornish Lifestyle Medicine at Willis-Knighton is proven to slow, stop and reverse progression of heart disease. Using a CGM to improve your metabolic health could also decrease your risk for diabetes and the other diseases that run together. Learn more about CGM devices in this video with Willis-Knighton endocrinologist Michelle Chico, MD. 

Author: Julie Hartley, RD, CHC, LDN