| | JULY 2024 8OPINIONIN MYWhile many Americans have a vague idea of what metabolism is, far fewer are aware of how dependent the human body is on a healthy metabolism to ward off a host of modern chronic diseases and health issues. Metabolism is upstream of many of the chronic diseases that cost society the most, and a deeper understanding of metabolic structures and processes may be able to help us prevent them.Simply put, metabolic health is total body health -- the combination of ideal levels of blood sugar, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, blood pressure, and waist circumference, without using medications. Metabolism is a collection of all of the chemical and cellular reactions that produce and store energy from food in the human body. When these processes don't work the way they should, people often develop something known as metabolic syndrome.Metabolic syndrome is diagnosed when a person has three or more of these common characteristics or ailments: High blood glucose (sugar), low levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol in the blood, high levels of triglycerides in the blood, large waist circumference, or high blood pressure. Bad news, and according to a recent study only 12 percent of Americans are metabolically healthy.The fact is, being metabolically unhealthy greatly increases a person's odds of developing chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, or cardiovascular disease. Hence, the need to solve for this disconnect.The Role of Metabolic TestingWhile the symptoms that diagnose metabolic unhealthiness are important baseline metrics, they don't tell the entire story of metabolic health and wellness. Using other standards and tests, we can accurately predict the transition towards metabolic unhealthiness and the development of disease before any of the outward symptoms surface.Most standard metabolic tests that patients might receive at their yearly check-up with their primary care doctor don't pick up a significant portion of metabolic unhealthiness pre-indicators. For example, a continuous glucose monitoring test picks up roughly 15 percent more pre-diabetics than standard testing. Looking at these earlier biomarkers is crucial to giving doctors and patients the most information which they can act on before problems fully manifest. Each individual has unique patterns for processing food and breaking it down into glucose. Because of the level of individuality involved, it's becoming more clear that individual medium-term glucose monitoring can flag future issues that might not show up on standard tests. While the conventional wisdom of the past was to wait to deal with diabetes until you were diagnosed, this is no longer WHY METABOLIC HEALTH IS THE FUTURE OF MEDICAL INNOVATIONBy Carter Williams, CEO and Managing Director, iSelect FundCarter Williams
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