Understanding Your Body's Metabolic and Nutrition Needs

Each individual is different and has their own unique individual style. These include diverse food habits. You eat in a way that benefits you best; therefore, you need to understand how this works for you. Being aware of your food habits helps you explore the reasons for metabolic afflictions allowing you to devise appropriate plans for better metabolic health. Also know about blood sugar pp.

Avoid Addictive Foods

At times we get into the habit of consuming a particular kind of food, such as dairy, carbs and chocolates, to the extent that it becomes an addiction. These foods include candies, fried foods, foods high in sugar content and fat, junk foods, etc. These foods ultimately cause more harm than provide the necessary calories required for your bodily functions. One way to control this addiction is to eliminate these foods from your diet completely. Once done, you will have a natural craving for other healthier alternatives. You would be surprised to notice the new change in you. Also know about post prandial blood sugar level

Prepare Each Meal with a Calm mind

Stress causes an unnatural response to the foods you eat. Stress also results in inappropriate food choices, thereby minimising the benefits of the foods consumed. Hence, it is important to destress before eating so that you can have a better and fully balanced diet for maximum efficiency. Take a few deep breaths before each meal and have a suitable environment while enjoying the meal. 

Know your Body Type

Before following a diet or starting an exercise plan, one needs to carefully understand one's body type. Body types are divided into three kinds: ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph. Ectomorphs are people with very thin builds, mesomorphs have a moderate body type, and endomorphs are heavy build individuals. To understand why somebody can eat as much high calorific diet and not gain weight compared to others begins with knowing your body type. Once you understand this, you can start consuming the right foods to suit your body type, coupled with appropriate calorie-burning exercises. 

Fluctuation in Blood Sugar and Fat

Several factors influence our health. Some, like age, genes, weight, and other health conditions, lead to slow alterations. A few things that we can change or adjust for a healthier lifestyle are what we eat or drink, the medication we take, our routine physical activities, and our sleep. Let us understand the complex relationship between food, metabolism, and health by bringing all relevant parameters into one place.

Our body’s natural responses to food are interesting. Microbiomes are gut bacteria that play a vital role in digestion and good metabolic health. Generally, the consumption of food and drinks increases the levels of sugar, fat, and insulin, which reverts to normal after some time. Recording these levels on a graph gives us a view of the nutritional curve, which speaks about food response, time of consumption, activity, and sleep patterns in the last 24 hours. This graph changes from person to person. 

Some foods cause your blood glucose levels to rise a little and then fall back to the normal range. This is an appropriate nutritional response of the body. However, a few foods trigger a negative response, leading to rapid, increased blood sugar levels followed by collapse. In certain cases, fat levels in the blood remain high and do not revert to normalcy even after a few hours.

Metabolism, health, and nutritional response often exhibit dependency on higher blood sugar and fat levels. Unhealthy blood sugar is usually attributed to diabetes and weight gain, while prolonged cholesterol levels in the body are associated with cardiac disorders.

Plotting the Curve

Usually, blood sugar and fat levels are measured after breakfast, assuming this may not change during the day. However, continuous fluctuations are observed as we consume foods throughout the day. Hence, continuous monitoring of the sugar and fat levels needs to be done periodically, to determine the appropriate nutrition needs . The quantity and quality of the food and the time are also critical to maintaining normal levels.

The period following a meal is referred to as the ‘post-prandial stage’. Usually, this lasts up to 6-8 hrs after a meal, when the blood sugar levels rise, after which they return to normal. However, the inability to return to normalcy indicates conditions of metabolic disorders or other pathologies, which could be due to unhealthy eating habits and/or a sedentary lifestyle.

There are changes in the insulin level after every meal. Unnatural levels are usually observed for foods containing high carbs and fats. The fats may continue to accumulate in the bloodstream, which is unhealthy. Other side effects include metabolic variations, mood swings, untimely hunger, and drained energy.

Understanding the ‘Food Matrix’

Practically speaking, people do not eat meals that contain only carbs or fat or proteins. Meals generally contain varied proportions of fat, protein, and carbohydrates. These foods intermingle to create a ‘food matrix’. These complex compositions are often ignored, focusing primarily on blood molecules of the nutrients.

Hence, to appropriately understand what’s happening within the body, one needs to understand the response of mixed foods and consider the microbiome (gut flora) involved in digestion.

First off the comprehensive list of data including unique biomarkers and individual parameters is collected. This includes blood sugar, fat, and protein levels, along with our body's response on their dietary intake. Additional data on microbiome diversity, activity, sleep, mood, and hunger are collected. Using artificial intelligence, this data is processed to predict the appropriate response of how an individual will respond after food. These results will now being applied to understand the body’s response to various unique inputs.

Bottomline

It is advisable to eat a wide variety of foods so that your body receives wholesome nutritional benefits and helps you maintain a healthy lifestyle. It is recommended to eat the right amount of calories required for your specific body type. Excess intake will result in fat accumulation, and underconsumption will make you lean and weak. Hence, it is critical to identify your specific needs in terms of energy intake that can be effectively utilized to stay healthy and fit. Needless to say, a good exercise regime is also essential to maintain the desired healthy body.