Common Myths About Metabolic Health — Ultrahuman
Written by Mrinalini Vyas
Myths about Metabolic Health:
Myth: Having small meals throughout the day is better for metabolism
The Thermic effect of food is the energy required for digestion, absorption, and disposal of ingested nutrients. TEF uses 10% of energy. It is defined as ‘the increase in metabolic rate after ingestion of a meal’. The results of comparing eating many small meals with fewer large meals have found that neither affects metabolic rate or fat loss significantly. Research suggests an inverse relationship between meal frequency (MF) and adiposity.
According to a recent meta-analysis of studies in this area, eating small meals throughout the day does not lead to weight loss. Studies, however, have shown that time-restricted feeding can reduce body fat . Furthermore, some studies suggest that frequent eating can cause glucose and insulin levels to remain elevated, without the possibility of returning to baseline levels. Consistently high insulin can prevent your body from burning fat and lead to insulin resistance. (However, other studies suggest eating frequently lowers glucose levels; what you eat in those meals may be more important than how often you eat.)
Myth: Glucose spikes are normal and harmless bodily reactions to sugar
The level of our blood sugar will fluctuate a little throughout the day. There can be small fluctuations in mood, exercise, and sleep caused by a variety of factors. However, the extent matters. Diabetes, heart disease, and metabolic dysfunction have all been linked to high glucose variability . Glucose variability represents the quality of fuel and oxidative stress on your body. Keeping your blood glucose variability under 12% is considered an ideal range. According to a study conducted in 2018, researchers used continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) to examine the blood glucose levels of 57 nondiabetic participants and found that their blood glucose levels spiked to degrees consistent with people with diabetes. These effects occurred most often after high-carbohydrate meals were consumed. A person with frequent spikes and crashes in their blood glucose levels could still show a normal A1c or fasting glucose level on a test. In addition, each time our blood sugar spikes, we trigger an enormous amount of insulin release, causing insulin resistance over time.
Myth: You only burn calories or improve your metabolic health by working out
Our bodies use energy in four ways:
Energy used at rest: The body’s basic functioning requires energy even when you are doing nothing. Your body is making your heart pump blood through your veins, maintaining body temperature or your kidney function is the minimum number of calories needed for basic functions at rest. This process is known as basal metabolism, and our basal metabolic rate is the measure. The BMR accounts for approximately 60 to 80 percent of the daily energy expenditure. It includes energy used for cardiac function, brain, and other nerve functions. The normal BMR for a healthy man is around 7,100 kJ per day while the average BMR for a healthy woman is around 5,900 kJ per day. It’s important to note that the rate of energy expenditure varies during the course of the day. It is known to decrease with age. RMR or resting metabolic rate is the number of calories that your body burns while it’s at rest.
Energy used to break down food: This is called thermogenesis, as explained above.
Energy used for activity: Activity energy expenditure (AEE) is the most variable component. It includes exercise and non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). Exercise and NEAT can comprise 20–50% of total energy expenditure. NEAT is everything that we do that is not sleeping, eating, or sports-like exercise. It is the energy expended in daily tasks like standing, walking, typing, cooking, gardening, and even fidgeting.
Sleeping Metabolic Rate: SMR refers to the energy expended during sleep. According to Dr. Michael Breus, a sleep specialist, author and expert, glucose metabolism starts to increase in the second half of the night when you enter REM sleep. (Read more about the basics of metabolism on our .)
Physical activity is equated with any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that results in energy expenditure. Mild physical activity can also affect your metabolic health. can be defined in terms of metabolic equivalent. One MET, or metabolic equivalent is the amount of oxygen consumed while sitting at rest. An activity categorised as 2 METS would translate into twice the amount of oxygen consumed while sitting at rest (1 MET). METS are an accommodating and standard method for understanding the intensity of physical activities. Some instances of mild physical activities include walking (i.e. shopping, walking around the office), sitting at your computer, making the bed, eating, preparing food, and washing dishes.
While it’s true that working out alone may not enhance your metabolic health, physical activity like strength training can better your metabolism and metabolic health by increasing your muscle mass and your insulin sensitivity . Cardiovascular activity can help you lose weight, revv up your large muscle groups and strengthen your heart amongst other benefits. High intensity exercise is not the only way to burn calories but it is one of the effective ways.
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