What Is Metabolism?
I would say that metabolism is a biochemical process that involves the burning of fats to give energy to the body. All the body functions, even while it is asleep, are provided the needed energy through the process of metabolism.
The energy used by the body through the process of metabolism comes from the food we eat. Metabolism actually is composed of two opposing biochemical processes—the anabolic and the catabolic.
These two processes work together in tandem, and the other one cannot function without the other. While the anabolic produces cells and tissues from nutrients, the catabolic destroys or burns fat nutrients to make energy for the body’s needs.
Metabolism burns fat to produce energy. In this respect, if you have a fast rate of metabolism, then it follows that you will also have a fast burning of fats.
In a study relating to metabolism, it was revealed that the rate of metabolism could be improved through changing eating schedules, eating proper foods, and proper exercise.
It was also noted that the rate of metabolism is influenced by several factors. Factors that can affect the rate of metabolism are age, weight, gender, genetics, and other minor ones.
The age factor would make the rate of metabolism lower As you age. A person who is 60 years old will have a lesser rate of metabolism as compared to a 20-year-old.
In relation to weight, a person who weighs more will have a lesser metabolic rate, while a person who weighs less will have a higher metabolic rate.
Basing again on another study, it was discovered that males have a higher rate of metabolism compared to women.
The reason for this, as they pointed out, was that males have a higher mass of muscles compared to women, while women have a higher mass of fats compared to men.
Another factor that would affect the metabolic rate would be genetics or heredity. If you are into weight loss, you can further increase your metabolic rate by eating your breakfast daily and adjusting your eating time.
When normally you take three full meals a day, you can adjust it to make it six half-meals a day. The reasoning for this is your metabolism will be made to continue working more during the day as compared to when you eat three full meals in a day.
It was stated in their study that so long as your digestive system is processing foods, your metabolism continues burning energy to support the energy requirement of digestion.
Thus, it would help you burn more calories if you spread out into six times your meals in a day instead of only three times.
Your metabolism can be improved through physical activities and exercise. You can do this by early morning walks, jogging, or joining group dances like sports dance, ballroom dances, or aerobics classes. Whenever you have the chance, move your body.
Use the stairs instead of elevators. For men, go for sweat sports like basketball, soccer, lawn tennis or table tennis. Again, metabolism gives energy to the body by burning fats.
And once you can increase your metabolism, you can be assured of a higher amount of fats burned through the process of metabolism. Complementary to your exercise and eating schedule, you also have to take note of your calorie intake.
It is noteworthy to understand that you should maintain a calorie intake of a minimum of 1200 calories a day. You can make this amount of calories as your basis for your daily calorie requirement.
What Are The Types Of Metabolic Disorders?
The most common causes of metabolic disorders, as indicated by a scientific survey related to this matter are genetic malfunctioning that would preclude the normal production of energy through metabolism.
There are times, however, that metabolic disorders can also be caused by toxic compounds or simply due to improper diet or Nutritional deficiencies.
Our organs are susceptible to different kinds of diseases and once they got infected the body’s metabolism will also be affected. If this is what happens, then we can say that the metabolic disorder is caused by a genetic disorder.
Usually, defective enzymes that are in the metabolic pathways of the different nutrients being recycled from our food intakes like carbohydrates, protein, fats, and amino acids are the ones responsible for triggering these diseases.
Hereunder are some kinds of metabolic disorders;
Amino acid metabolism disorders
– Phenylketonuria is triggered by an enzyme that is considered defective and in most cases; this would cause severe mental retardation. The enzyme is phenylalanine. Dietary adjustments would be needed to alleviate the situation.
– Tyrosinemia Type I and II disorders would indicate liver failure and nerve damage. This would likewise include irritation of the corneas of the eyes.
Liver transplant and dietary adjustment would be the most appropriate solution here. Diet should be strictly low in phenylalanine and tyrosine content.
– Alkaptonuria disorder is mainly due to tyrosine breakdown. You can identify this disorder through the symptoms of having dark-colored urine, arthritis and would usually include other types of bone disease and hypercoagulability of the blood.
– Hyperhomocysteinemia is usually due to the many insufficient formations of the needed methylcobalamin form of vitamin B12 metabolism.
The indications here would include elongation of the eye lens, thinning of the various bone structures, and also, in substantial cases, mental retardation or psychiatric imbalance.
Treatment for this kind of disorder is through a dietary adjustment that would have to include vitamin B12, betaine, and folic acid.
Organic acid metabolic disorders
– Propionicacademia is usually due to a deficient propionyl-CoA-Carboxylase. Indications manifesting for this disorder will be severe malfunctioning of metabolism that might even cause death.
Treatment would include diets that have to be strictly monitored as amino acids should only be in very limited amounts. You have to be careful with the amount as amino acids act as a precursor to propionyl-CoA
– Carboxylase multiple deficiencies would appear to have no indicative symptoms and what is usually applied to rectify this disorder is biotin.
An immediate application of biotin the moment this disorder would be discovered is suggested.
– Methylmalonic Acidemia is a vitamin B12 metabolism disorder most often triggered by a malfunctioning enzyme system The only cure here would be to have the patient take a lot of B12 dosages to have the disorder corrected.
Fatty acid metabolic disorder
– Hyperlipidemia and hypercholesterolemia are mainly due to the abnormal usage of Lipoproteins. Cardiovascular disease will normally be the usual symptoms.
The use of drugs would be very much needed here to prevent fatty acid synthesis. A modified diet is also recommended for this disorder.
– Fatty Acid Oxidation Disorder is mainly due to the many effects of hydroxyl-CoA dehydrogenase enzyme – Glycogen Storage disorder is the natural result of the breaking up of the body’s glycogen.
Losing weight isn’t easy. In fact, it is the hardest thing to do for some people. They try all sorts of diets and promise to go to the gym, but to no avail. Others, on the other hand, eat all the junk food that they want and never seem to gain a pound. What are we missing here? It’s all about metabolism. Yours may be slow now, but there are several ways to boost metabolism so that you can lose weight.
Tip #1: Build up your muscle
Whether you’re lean or a bit on the chubby side, your body burns calories even when you’re not doing anything. However, your resting metabolism would burn additional calories if you’re packed with more muscle. Here are the facts: a pound of muscle burns 2 calories per day, while a pound of muscle consumes as much as 6 calories per day. If you have over 40 pounds of muscle in your body, then you’re burning at least 240 calories per day. Develop muscle and you burn even more calories.
Tip #2: Intensify your cardio
Aerobic workouts are good for you, but if you want to further boost your metabolism, add intervals of more intense exercise in between. For instance, if you jog or bike, intersperse all-out bursts of speed in between your slower pace. Begin with intense effort for 30 seconds, and then slow down for a minute and a half. Repeat this cycle around nine to ten times (adding up to around 20 minutes). This will burn calories even hours after your workout.
Tip #3: Take small, frequent snacks
Fact: eating more often speeds up metabolism. Yes, it’s odd, but it works. That’s because your metabolism is stimulated when you eat. Eating heavy meals with long stretches in between slows down your metabolism. For best results, eat every three hours—this adds up to three meals and two snacks. Doing this also causes you to eat less during meal times. Take note, however, that you should also eat right by having healthy foods.
Tip #4: Drink more water
Water is necessary for digesting and processing calories. Aside from getting dehydrated, not drinking enough water would slow down your metabolism. Make sure you drink around two to three liters of water on regular days and more as your activity increases. For better hydration of your body, drink water before every snack or meal.
Tip #5: Take protein during breakfast
Stay away from carbohydrates during breakfast—this will slow down your metabolic rate. If you want a metabolism boost, eat protein-rich foods like chicken breast, turkey, eggs, lean beef, beans, and tofu. Why? Your body actually burns twice more calories when digesting protein than digesting carbohydrates. Do this during breakfast and you’re less likely to consume calories for the day.
Tip #6: Eat fish
You probably know that eating fish is good for you, but did you know that fatty acids like omega-3, which are found in fish oil, can significantly increase your metabolism? Omega-3 fatty acids like EPA and DHA work as metabolic fuel partitioners and increase your number of fat-burning enzymes. You can also take supplements, but that takes out the fun of eating fish.
Tip #7: Do the small stuff
You can also do small things that would provide little boosts to your metabolism. For instance, you can eat spicy foods, which come with chemical compounds that can increase your metabolic rate. Black coffee, energy drinks, and green tea, when drank in moderation, can also provide the same effects.
Increasing Metabolic Rate
To help you in your quest for a higher metabolic rate towards a healthier and slimmer body, here are some guides that can surely help you out, provided you follow them religiously.
Exercises like aerobics, swimming, hiking, jogging, cycling, running, or even playing games like basketball, lawn tennis or table tennis and contact sports like karate, judo, boxing, and taekwondo can greatly help you in burning calories.
Take note of the calories you intend to take. You can go to your nearest friendly bookstore and look for food charts that they are selling.
These food charts will indicate the approximate calories of each food item. Or you can search on google and look for free food charts that have calories approximation of every food item.
Crash diets should never be an option. Crash diets or starvation would usually result in harming your body.
Attempting to starve yourself is dangerous and can oftentimes result in putting on more weight and might have a negative psychological effect on you.
Socialize with others while exercising. Making friends while doing your daily workout can make the rigors of physical fitness fun and exciting. You will find out that you will be looking forward to having your schedule for exercises each day
Dining out will surely be a calorie-filled night. You have to balance this by having calorie-free foods the following day.
Or you can choose not to dine out, even if your friend will be paying the bill so that you can stay within your calorie intake target, though I doubt it very much if you can refuse such offers.
Having new and sexy clothes to suit well your now slimmer figure will surprise your friends no end, and certainly, this will serve as an inspiration for you to continue on with your low-calorie diet and exercise.
Being calorie conscious in your diet will complement very well your physical exercise to burn unwanted fats.
As much as possible inclusion in your diet green and leafy vegetables and fruits can help for a healthy and higher metabolic rate.
One way of limiting your calorie intake is by concentrating on your dairy food products intake. Your milk should be low-fat content.
If you wish, you can totally eliminate milk from your diet since milk is a high-calorie food even when it is low-fat milk.
Essential fatty acids help in the raising of metabolic rate and aids in the burning of calories.
Further research and studies have revealed that essential fatty acids have the property of suppressing the cravings for food, while it tends to satisfy hunger and it has also the capacity to elevate mood.
Finally, in order that you can achieve the body that you desire, desist from taking the negative habits of smoking, drinking alcoholic drinks, sleeping late, and other bad habits that might unduly affect your metabolism.
And always remember that there can be no replacement for a proper diet and daily exercise towards having a higher rate of metabolism and a slimmer figure