What is metabolism?

Essentially metabolism is a term that describes all the chemical reactions in your body. In more detail it is all the work, all your cells are doing, all the time. We have trillions of cells working, some work to digest our food, some keep your immune system kicking, some make your brain work, all bodily functions that we aren’t even aware of. All the work that your body is doing all the time takes energy, and the energy that is takes is called your metabolic rate. So metabolism is everything, it is all the work that your body is doing all the time. It is central to life, fundamental to everything you do in your daily life.

Metabolism is a process by which your body converts what you eat and drink into energy, without energy for the metabolism to run off, we wouldn’t survive. Even when we are at rest, your body needs energy for all its ‘hidden’ functions such as breathing and sleeping. The number of calories your body uses to carry out these basic functions is known as your basal metabolic rate — what you might call ‘metabolism’.

Metabolism is often coupled with how quickly we burn calories and essentially lose or gain weight. Despite what people might often say, research forwards that metabolism has a minor part to play in weight gain, so the term ‘slow metabolism’ is often not the case. There are other factors to consider too, such as hormonal imbalances in the body.

Hormones are chemical messengers that regulate processes in our body. They are one factor in causing weight gain. The hormones leptin and insulin, sex hormones and growth hormone influence our appetite, metabolism, and body fat distribution.

The good news

Metabolism can be changed through diet and reducing unnecessary inflammation in the body.

Food intolerance and Allergy Testing gives an insight into how your body is reacting to certain foods and environmental factors, what it requires and what it needs to eliminate. This combined with specific principles to diet such as fasting between meals and choosing high quality proteins, reprogrammes your metabolism and improves your body’s ability to burn fat and create a more optimal environment for your metabolism to work more efficiently.