Metabolic Inflexibility

Long-term Metabolic Inflexibility

Metabolic rigidity has various long-term health consequences, including:

As per studies, you have a higher chance of getting type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol if you have insulin resistance and persistent rigidity.

Obesity and weight increase result from your body’s decreased capacity to utilise its fat reserves.

When you have a metabolically rigid body, your body changes the mass, shape, and function of the mitochondria in your cells. As a result of working harder, your cells’ mitochondria the powerhouse produce more free radicals as byproducts. Too many free radicals in your body can lead to cancer or cardiovascular disease.

Short-term Metabolic Inflexibility

Not feeling full or the constant hunger results from your body’s inability to utilise fat reserves between your meals. It explains why those with rigid metabolisms frequently graze.

Other immediate signs of metabolic rigidity include:

• Feeling “hungry”

• Drowsiness following a meal

• Afternoon energy slumps

• Consuming coffee all the time increases energy

• Excess weight

• A sense of anxiousness

• Benefits of Metabolic Flexibility

• Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance is the most acceptable illustration of decreased metabolic flexibility. Remember that not having a flexible metabolism might result in higher glucose levels. Long-term maintenance of these high glucose levels requires your pancreas to generate more insulin to control the rise.

According to research, your pancreas’ insulin-producing cells become overworked and unresponsive. As a result, your cells gradually cease eliminating the extra glucose from your blood and begin to ignore the constant insulin signal. Long-term health issues may result from this insulin resistance.

Reduced Micromanagement

With increased metabolic flexibility, you do not require micromanaging your macronutrients and calories. As per studies, this happens because your metabolism becomes more adaptable. Your body can maintain optimal glucose levels thanks to metabolic flexibility, which frees it from having to be perfect constantly.

Your body can sometimes (not always) handle eating a meal heavy in fat and carbs. Resetting your satiety signals will prevent you from feeling the constant desire to snack. As a result, your natural energy levels will rise as well. Glucose and metabolic flexibility are inextricably linked. Because of this, metabolic flexibility requires an awareness of how your body reacts to glucose.

Energy Efficiency

Your glucose levels may increase more than usual and stay higher than they should if your metabolism is not flexible. Optimal glucose levels require flexible metabolism, which is vital. Because of metabolic flexibility, you can effectively utilise energy rather than storing it inefficiently.

Note

The benefits of metabolic flexibility are comparable to those of intermittent fasting and keto: sustained energy, fewer spikes and dips in blood sugar, reduced cravings and increased fat-burning. In addition, your body doesn’t have to keep your food-seeking processes always “on” when you have a flexible metabolism. As an alternative, your body can use any available fuel, easily switching from one fuel source to another without you even being aware of it.

Ways to Become Metabolically Flexible

You may need to change what and when you consume to promote flexibility in your body’s fat and glucose metabolism. However, you don’t need to make radical changes overnight. As with any dietary adjustment, get the advice of a physician or nutritionist first. Be careful to include family members who have had diabetes, heart disease, or obesity (or pre-diabetic diagnosis). And remember that no single approach to health and well-being fits all people. Everybody’s body composition, body mass, weight, metabolic rate, and other physical characteristics vary. However, some of the ways are:

Adopt a Ketogenic Diet

According to research, a low-carb, high-fat diet such as the ketogenic diet is one strategy to enhance metabolic flexibility and health. Your body begins to create ketones and burn fat when it enters a state of ketosis. As a result, your metabolism more easily burns food and body fat accumulated when you’re in this ketogenic condition.

The keto flu, which can make you feel exhausted, angry, hungry, or even have full-blown flu-like symptoms like headaches or body pains, might make keto challenging initially. However, keto will help you switch to using fat for fuel.

Because you alternate between days with reduced carbs and days with greater carbs, cyclical keto is an excellent approach to experiment with metabolic flexibility. Consuming more carbohydrates once a week is necessary for cyclical ketosis for two reasons: first, to preserve your capacity to digest them, and second, because your body requires them for some vital activities. Therefore, once in cyclical ketosis, you will experience a higher carb day (above 100g of carbohydrates) once weekly.

Intermittent Fasting For Metabolic Flexibility

Intermittent fasting, which involves restricting eating for a time each day (typically 12–16 hours), is a helpful strategy for managing insulin resistance. Extended fasting is a common technique to develop metabolic flexibility. You can release an acceptable amount of toxins while burning enough fat as energy during intermittent fasting.

One of the quickest strategies to promote metabolic flexibility is intermittent fasting combined with cyclical ketosis. As a result, your body becomes accustomed to using the fuel that is accessible and won’t panic if one of the fuel options (glucose, glycogen, or fat) isn’t available.

Exercise

One of the main factors causing metabolic rigidity is physical inactivity. Since it helps manage glucose levels, exercise is essential to prevent it. Exercise enhances insulin sensitivity, glycemic balance, and mitochondrial content. Increasing your body’s insulin sensitivity aids in maintaining normal glucose levels. Including various programs in your fitness regimen can also help your body develop more metabolic flexibility.

Cyclical Ketosis

Cyclical ketosis can be an ideal substitute if you’re already considering switching or starting a new diet. A cyclical ketosis diet includes consuming the standard keto diet for most of the week and balancing it with intervals of carb consumption. A low-carb, high-fat diet is the base of the keto diet. Our body enters and exits the state of ketosis by adding some carbohydrates to the regular keto diet. Our body can use glucose and fat as fuel for energy which also increases your metabolism’s adaptability.

Rest and Sleep

Chronic health issues like diabetes or cardiovascular disease may result from a lack of sleep. Sleep duration and quality are both crucial for metabolic health. Even a little insufficient sleep can cause insulin resistance in any healthy individual. So enhancing your sleep hygiene is essential to increasing your metabolic flexibility.

Our bodies produce hormones like cortisol and adrenaline in response to stress. Our bodies secrete glucose during a “fight or flight” situation to give us the additional energy needed to handle the circumstance. The body constantly accumulates extra glucose as a result of ongoing stress. The accumulated glucose can result in chronic diseases like diabetes. Taking measures to improve sleep quality and minimise stress lowers excess glucose levels, positively impacting metabolic flexibility.