What Does It Mean to Be “Metabolically Healthy”?

Written by James Gormley, Natural Products Industry Writer

Getting to that “magic” number on the bathroom scale is an awesome achievement, but weight alone does not necessarily mean that we are metabolically healthy, however.

Metabolic health is defined by experts as having ideal levels of blood sugar, high-density lipoprotein (HDL or “good”) cholesterol, triglycerides (a type of fat found in blood), blood pressure and waist circumference, and all without using medications.

These markers are linked to risks for diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

In fact, according to a recent study, one which looked at data from 8,721 adults from 2009 to 2016, only 12 percent of adults have optimal metabolic health.

While people who were obese scored the worst, the fact is that less than 50 percent of people who were underweight and less than a third of those who were normal weight had “optimal metabolic health.”

According to the study, to be metabolically healthy you need to have a waist circumference below 40 inches for men and 34.6 inches for women, blood sugar under 100 mg/dL, blood pressure below 120/80, triglycerides less than 150 mg/dL and HDL at or above 40 mg/dL for men and 50 mg/dL for women.

Not only is obesity not a definite determinant of metabolic unhealth, there are some people who are overweight or obese but who are metabolically healthy, folks who fall into the category of “metabolically healthy obesity,” or MHO.

Of course this absolutely doesn’t mean that it’s good to be overweight, since there are many risks to obesity, but it does show that weight, by itself, does not mean we are healthy or unhealthy.

It means that metabolic health, overall, is a much more important goal.

Protein and Metabolism

Protein is the most important nutrient for weight loss and metabolic health. In fact, a high-protein diet boosts metabolism, reduces appetite and supports healthy levels of hunger hormones.

Clocking in at 27 grams of protein per serving, supplementing with low-glycemic Almased is one great way to make sure you’re getting the nutrients you need for a healthy metabolism.

In fact, a breakthrough 2020 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that Almased can help people lose more weight and burn more calories than with regular diets.

Researchers at the University of Alberta in Canada investigated how a high-protein low-glycemic diet could ramp up metabolism. They carried out a randomized controlled study in a group of healthy, normal-weight adults.

One group took Almased in place of meals; the other group had a standard North American diet.

The Almased group experienced increased thermogenesis, better absorption of nutrients, enhanced fat burning, improved appetite and use of carbs, and less of a tendency to gain fat.

The researchers said this proves that “a calorie is not just a calorie” — meaning that a high-protein low-glycemic diet, one with the same number of calories as a regular diet, can offer more benefits for energy metabolism, fat burning and weight loss.

This new research confirms the results of a 2018 study, which showed that Almased can help the body lose weight and burn more fat, all with less effort.

The authors concluded that Almased provides a “metabolic advantage” compared to a regular diet.

Protein and Amino Acids Are Also Important for Immunity

Protein is also critical to build and repair body tissue and support immunity. Antibodies and immune system cells depend on protein to do their work.

Not enough protein or amino acids in the diet hampers our immune defenses, which can lead to symptoms of weakness, fatigue and poor immunity.

Fortunately, Almased is literally bursting with amino acids and protein, in addition to key nutrients.

3 More Metabolic Health Tips

There are a number of additional ways we can optimize our metabolic health, things which are easy lifestyle tweaks, including:

Drink more cold water

Studies show that drinking 17 ounces of water boosts resting metabolism by 10 to 30 percent for about one hour.

Cold water seems to work best since the body has to use more energy to heat up the water to body temperature.

Plus, drinking more water means we’re drinking less calorie-adding sugary drinks.

Drinking water also fills us up. In fact, in one study people who drank 17 ounces of water before their meals lost 44 percent more weight than did people who didn’t.

Be more physically active

Having more lean muscle increases our metabolic set point, boosting our potential for greater strength and easier fat loss through diet.

And studies suggest that muscle-mass-increasing weight training — along with adequate protein — can boost metabolism.

In one study of overweight women, all dieted and all lost weight. But the group that also did resistance training maintained metabolism, muscle mass and strength when the diet was over. The other group lost muscle mass and experienced a decrease in metabolism.

So building muscle means you’ll burn more calories each day, even at rest. You’ll also avoid the metabolism drop that can occur during weight loss.

If you can add high-intensity workouts and lift some free weights, that would be super. But that being said, even the smallest changes — like standing more each day — can really help a lot, too.