Metabolic Health And The Brain

Written by Rheea Mukherjee

Summary:

• What is metabolism/What is metabolic health
• How does the brain regulate metabolism
• The Gut-Brain Axis
• The connection between metabolic health and cognitive decline
• Relationship of oxidative stress with Metabolism & the Brain
• Glycation/inflammation & the Brain
• Metabolic Syndrome & the Brain
• Conclusion

What is metabolism?

Our holistic wellbeing is deeply reliant on our metabolic health. Let’s explore the function of our metabolism before we look at metabolic health in relation to our brain specifically.

Metabolism is defined as all chemical reactions involved in maintaining living cells and organisms. In other words, metabolism involves the processing of the energy your body needs to breathe, circulate blood, grow, repair cells, and everything else it does to survive.

Metabolism is further divided into two categories:

The breakdown of molecules to obtain energy.

: The synthesis of all compounds needed by the cells.

What is metabolic health?

Metabolic health is described as having ideal levels of blood sugar, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, blood pressure, and waist circumference, without using medications.

How Does the Brain Regulate Metabolism?

Glucose is the fuel of the brain. The human brain needs a constant flow of glucose for our cells to function. Although our brain is less than 2% of our body weight, it needs up to 20% of its to produce energy. Glucose is critical for cellular maintenance and also helps in creating adenosine triphosphate (ATP), an energy transferring molecule that stores energy and releases it as fuel for cellular activity.

Insulin is a released by the pancreas. It regulates glucose in the body. Insulin is responsible for managing protein, carbohydrate metabolism, and helping cellular growth and division.

When we eat, insulin levels in our body increase to absorb the sugar spike in our blood and store it for energy. This allows glucose levels in our bloodstream to decline. The pancreas then produces glucagon, a hormone that prompts the liver to release stored sugar. The interaction between glucagon and blood sugar is vital for stable blood glucose levels in the brain and body.

However, with age, the risk of insulin resistance increases.

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