Metabolism Facts and Fiction

You should still aim for healthy sleep regardless of its relationship with your metabolism! The American Heart Association states that there is an association between an irregular sleep pattern, or one that varies from sleeping seven to nine hours at night, and cardiovascular health. [1]You can practice healthy sleep hygiene by shutting down screens an hour before bed. Try preparing a cool, dark bedroom, and journal or meditate to relieve stress before bed.  

If you think your mental health may be playing a part in the quality of your sleep, try addressing that root cause. MTHFR codes for an enzyme that allows folic acid to contribute to serotonin production. You can have your genetics tested to see if a lack of enzymes could be responsible for low serotonin production in your body. [2]

Several epidemiological studies have reported an inverse relationship between how often people eat and their body weight. This fact suggests that snacking throughout the day may help in the process of weight loss. [3] 

The problem with all of these studies is that participants self-reported the data. As there is no official mechanism to explain this phenomenon, it suggests that under-reporting of the amount of food eaten may be skewing the results. Due to the societal shame associated with overeating and obesity, under-reporting is much more likely than over-reporting.  

The most convincing evidence that debunks this myth are quantitative studies using whole-body calorimetry and doubly-labeled water to assess energy expenditure (metabolism). [3] These studies have found no difference between snacking and gorging in terms of weight loss, energy expenditure, or metabolism. [3]  

The same is true for intermittent fasting at the other end of the meal-planning spectrum. [4] At the end of the day, caloric restriction is a significant driver for weight loss. 

However, here’s some food for thought: when you eat until you feel FULL, your body must focus so much energy on digestion that it often leads to lethargy in the rest of the body. If two people eat the same number of calories, but one gorged them all in one sitting and one spread them throughout the day, who is more likely to get their daily exercise in?  

Similarly, if you fast all day but eat a huge dinner, your body goes without energy until the time you should be winding down. Who is more likely to sleep well: the person who ate a huge dinner or the person who ate steadily throughout the day? 

Listen to your body. Eat when you are hungry and stop when you are no longer hungry. Plan meals and portions ahead so you don’t accidentally overeat out of boredom or distraction. Stock your kitchen, pantry, and lunch box with healthy choices that you actually enjoy. Waiting until you are desperate to eat will make you more likely to reach for something unhealthy.  

Know what’s in your food. Smoothies, for example, can be a healthy or really unhealthy breakfast choice depending on what’s blended into them. Greens, fruit, and a protein source are great choices. Fruit-flavored (i.e. sugar-filled) yogurt, fruit juices from concentrate, or sweetened dairy alternatives, send your smoothie into mostly-empty-calorie territory. 

Less movement and less exercise mean reduced muscle mass and fewer calories burned throughout the day. The good news is that your metabolism has not slowed down! You just need to find ways to comfortably move your body more and choose nutrition that nurtures an aging musculoskeletal system. 

There is a widely held belief that large fluctuations in weight during one’s lifetime can leave you with a changed or slowed metabolism. This too is a fallacy. [5] Most likely, it is habits changing over time, not your metabolism. Even small, 100-calorie changes (like cream in your coffee) can lead to many pounds of body weight over time. It is so easy to misjudge how much we are consuming or burning off when we don’t live in a metabolic chamber. 

Know that you are not doomed! By taking care of your body (eating well, exercising, self-care, and healthy sleep) you can maintain the metabolism you have always had.  

It’s true that growing aches and mobility issues can affect both our healthy habits and our mental health, causing many of us to become more sedentary as we get older. If you see those issues standing in your way, you could try reaching out to a physical therapist or chiropractor. They can recommend low-impact exercises to keep your muscles working in comfortable ways.  

At the end of the day, there are no magic pills or miracle diets that will allow you to shed extra pounds while you do nothing. Wouldn’t that be easy? Metabolism (the way our bodies use the calories we consume) is fundamentally difficult to slow down or speed up. [2] If you are interested in losing extra body weight or maintaining your healthy size, the best things you can do are tried and true: eat healthy foods, count your calories, and exercise regularly.  

If you are considering a weight loss plan, please talk to your healthcare practitioner to make sure your plan is safe, healthy, and free of metabolism myths.  

Many hormones in the body change in response to an overload or insufficiency in nutrition. Much of the role that fat cells (adipose tissue) play in the body is signaling about the body’s nutritional status. TNF-α, for example, is a pro-inflammatory immune signal and is known to increase in cases of obesity and decrease following weight loss. [6] It signals the immune system’s inflammatory response and plays a mitigating role in insulin resistance, the body’s attempt to defend against unnecessary sugar absorption in times of overnutrition.  

Leptin is another well-known hormone that is a cytokine produced by fat cells, with an effect on immune cells. The amount of leptin secreted by adipocytes is proportionate to the mass of fat in the cell. Therefore, obese individuals have higher leptin levels than those who are not obese, and those who are suffering from malnutrition have lower levels than healthy individuals.  

For the sake of homeostasis, leptin signals the hypothalamus to trigger a feeling of satiation, suppressing appetite, and increasing energy expenditure. [6] Leptin also communicates energy status to the immune system, playing a role in the development of hematopoietic cells (which produce red blood cells) and cell-mediated immunity (including phagocytosis, cytokine production, and the number and function of T cells). [6] 

Leptin deficiency can lead to a compromised immune system, while an overload of leptin may lead to unnecessary inflammation and an overactive immune system, which can also be unhealthy. 

On top of all that, think about how likely you are to exercise if your body succumbs to common seasonal health threats… Probably not much.