Recent statistics demonstrate a worrying reality: only 6.8% of American adults are metabolically healthy. This may be one of the gravest health crises facing our generation; many diseases and health disparities have been tied to poor metabolic health, especially women’s metabolic health at different points in life. Dr. Kevin Gendreau and I explore this further as we discuss women’s metabolic health, low-carb or ketogenic diets’ potential effectiveness, risk factors associated with poor health statuses as well as approaches for improving it.

Tell Me About Metabolic Health
In its core form, metabolism involves the series of processes taking place at a cellular level to convert food we eat into energy needed by all body systems. When properly managed, metabolic health entails having optimal blood sugar levels, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure and waist circumference measurements without using medications as treatments.

Blood sugar levels are one of the primary clinical markers of metabolic health, so it’s vitally important to keep them under control. Is your blood glucose high after meals or rising first thing in the morning? These could be signs that your insulin is not acting correctly – an essential hormone produced by your pancreas that regulates how quickly glucose enters your bloodstream and helps your body use carbohydrates as energy sources.

Insulin is another key indicator of metabolic health; most chronic diseases have been linked to insulin resistance. Insulin resistance occurs when cells in your body stop responding to its hormone. When this happens, metabolic problems and diseases result. Conversely, metabolically healthy people’s insulin properly moves sugar out of the bloodstream into cells for storage; meaning their blood sugar returns back down again after eating thanks to this vital substance.

Metabolic health is difficult to quantify but plays an instrumental role in increasing or decreasing women’s chances of metabolic diseases.

Risk Factors of Poor Metabolic Health
While there are certain aspects of metabolic health you can change to enhance it, some factors cannot be controlled; such as your age, sex hormones, and family history. Women must take extra caution as they age as hormone levels change due to menopause; fluctuating hormones could result in larger waistlines, increased blood sugar, and reduced HDL (good) cholesterol levels. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute the two key risk factors of poor metabolic health include age

Insulin resistance & excessive body fat. Other risk factors for women:

High blood pressure, elevated blood sugar levels, high triglyceride levels and low HDL (good cholesterol) levels are common risk factors associated with metabolic dysfunction or type II diabetes; age sedentary lifestyle poor sleep PCOS diagnosis high cortisol (the stress hormone) levels as well as chronic levels of inflammation are other major contributing factors.
One or more of these risk factors does not indicate metabolically unhealthy behavior; however, they do increase your chances of metabolic syndrome – a collection of conditions which increases your risk for serious health conditions such as coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes and certain cancers.

Signs and Symptoms of Poor Metabolic Health Depending on the individual, signs and symptoms of poor metabolic health may manifest differently depending on who it affects. Sometimes they develop quickly while others take longer. Women tend to struggle more with these issues post pregnancy or during menopause.

As a woman, you could be diagnosed with metabolic dysfunction or insulin resistance if any of these criteria apply:

Being obese (central obesity), as defined by having a waist circumference greater than 35 inches and triglyceride levels above 150, HDL levels at 50 or better and blood pressure between 130-85 is considered overweight or central obesity (belly fat). To identify central obesity (belly fat), three criteria need to be met. They are:Waist circumference >= 35 inchesTriglycerides above 150HDL cholesterol 50Blood pressure 130/85Fasting blood sugar levels exceeding 100 and fasting insulin levels surpass 10
Consider some other symptoms and signs that could indicate poor metabolic health:

Skin tags, an apple-shaped body and darkening of skin around the neck or under arms (Acanthosis Nigricans) can all contribute to irregular menstruation for women of reproductive age as well as inability to lose weight blood glucose dysregulation, high waist-to-hip ratio and LDL:Triglyceride ratio.
Be sure to contact a healthcare provider if any of these symptoms appear concerning.

Hormones and Metabolic Wellness: Is There an Association?

Women and men differ significantly in many ways, yet one of the primary contributors to a woman’s health is her hormonal cycle. Women, unlike men, experience four phases of menstrual cycles during reproductive years before going through perimenopause and menopause around age 50. These events represent significant “health” moments for females as large hormonal fluctuations can cause unpleasant and unwanted side effects, and other potentially life-changing events in a female’s life such as conception, birthing and breastfeeding an infant can have drastic effects on metabolic health compared with men; we’ll explore how metabolic wellness directly affects women’s health as well as some conditions that impact it.

Fertility
Proper metabolic health is paramount to successful fertility. Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is the leading cause of infertility among women and up to 70 percent have insulin resistance; some studies even estimate this percentage being even higher! Metabolic risk factors can play a key role in infertility rates; therefore optimizing metabolic health gives both mom and baby the best chances during their pregnancies.

Dr. Kevin remarks: Over the years, Dr. Kevin has evaluated hundreds of women with PCOS who all suffered from elevated blood sugar levels and insulin resistance. A low carbohydrate approach to weight loss may help regulate menstrual cycles while improving fertility.”

Menstruation/PeriMenopause/Menopause is a term commonly used to refer to periods in between premenopausal (periMenopause) and menopause stages of life.

Women experience fluctuation of hormones each month, which can have serious ramifications on metabolic health. More specifically, changes to estrogen and progesterone hormone levels affect glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity; generally speaking estrogen encourages greater sensitivity while progesterone can promote resistance.

Why does this occur? According to research, glucose concentrations tend to be higher during the luteal phase (pre-ovulation phase) compared with the follicular phase (post-ovulation phase). Since higher progesterone levels reduce insulin sensitivity, which prevents it from clearing glucose from the bloodstream effectively and leading to higher blood sugar levels, women may experience elevated levels at specific times throughout their cycle. This means women may experience higher blood sugar levels at specific points throughout the month.

At menopause/perimenopause, dramatically reduced estrogen levels and rising androgens may increase metabolic diseases and weight gain.

Dr. Kevin is a board-certified weight loss physician who works primarily with postmenopausal women. Weight gain is caused by hormones and biology – not willpower; anyone advising someone simply to “eat less” does not understand the complexity of human bodies, and weight loss occurs by paying more attention to which foods they eat rather than just quantity.”

Skin Health/Beauty
Acne, skin tags, hidradenitis suppurativa, androgenetic alopecia, acanthosis nigricans and atopic dermatitis are all linked with poor metabolic health and metabolic syndrome. While its exact causes remain elusive, chronic inflammation and insulin resistance likely play a part. As metabolic health improves these conditions may either resolve themselves or greatly improve.

How Can Women Improve Metabolic Health? Simply by Altering Their Diet: A low-carb or Keto diet may significantly enhance blood sugar regulation. By Focusing On Consuming:

Meats, non-starchy vegetables, nuts, berries, eggs, seafood and seafood provide appropriate amounts of protein.
At Carb Manager we believe it is also crucial that women refrain from sugar and limit carb intake in order to achieve stable blood glucose levels and curb cravings for sweets. A higher intake of proteins and healthy fats will keep you feeling full for longer, helping decrease sugar cravings. Also incorporate anti-inflammatory foods like fatty fish, olive oil, dark chocolate, berries, green tea peppers and turmeric into their diet for maximum metabolic health benefits. Finally we offer many delicious recipes specifically tailored to female metabolic health!

Dr. Kevin advises:
Your diet should center around protein, healthy fats and fiber; processed carbohydrates and refined sugars may have negative impacts on metabolic health.

Resistance Train: For women looking to build muscle effectively and avoid overtraining. Resistance training must be used strategically as this may cause cortisol levels to spike resulting in fatigue, increased blood glucose levels, reduced performance and weight gain (particularly around the midsection).

Dr. Kevin advises, starting with just two 15-minute strength training sessions each week will get results quickly!

Sleep and Stress Management:

Lack of sleep has been linked with higher cortisol (stress hormone) and ghrelin (hunger hormone) levels, as well as elevated blood glucose levels. Therefore, aim for at least seven and a half hours of shut-eye every night and follow a regular sleep schedule for best results.

Sleep hygiene may involve:

Turn off devices three hours before bed; wear blue light-blocking glasses; eat earlier; practice breath work; recognize stressful thoughts
Higher cortisol levels may contribute to anxiety, decreased immunity, weight gain, lack of focus and depression.

Avoid Endocrine Disruptors: Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals, commonly referred to as EDCs, interfere with how women’s hormones function. Sometimes they cause our body to think they’re real hormones while other times they interfere with natural ones doing their jobs! Common examples include flame retardants, phthalates, bisphenol A and PFA’s – found in water bottles, furniture, clothing, perfumes candles cleaning products pesticides tap water among many other places!

While it is still possible for people who are overweight or obese to achieve metabolic wellness, statistics and risk are against you. Being unhealthy puts individuals at an increased risk for many serious diseases and health conditions ranging from diabetes to cancer. Losing 5-10% of your body weight can have significant metabolic benefits: many will notice improvements in blood glucose, blood pressure and even cholesterol with just this reduction alone!

Dr. Kevin has helped many patients to successfully reverse type II diabetes, cure fatty liver disease, lower cholesterol and improve blood pressure with even modest weight reductions on low carbohydrate diets – this improvement taking place without medication or bariatric surgery.” Our diet impacts our metabolic health profoundly!

Action Steps
After reading through this article, you now understand that metabolic health is more than a single thing; it encompasses many elements that contribute to overall wellness. Once you know if your metabolic wellness is healthy or unhealthy, keeping yourself accountable for improving it or maintaining it is key – here are some action steps:

1 TRACK!

Keep track of what you eat with the Carb Manager app, enabling you to log your meals and monitor your macros with ease. Tracing what you eat reveals just how much is consumed each day as well as its quality; accountability is key, knowledge is power!

2. Make Small Changes
   Even small steps such as monitoring blood glucose levels and weight tracking can help keep an eye on metabolic health. Carb Manager makes this simple to track these metrics with other wellness apps like Keto Mojo.
3. Stay Educated Now

Stay informed! As more is known about your hormones and metabolic health, the better equipped you’ll be to make lifestyle decisions to enhance overall wellness. Carb Manager offers numerous articles covering Keto diet, women’s health issues, intermittent fasting and more – don’t stop here!

Disclaimer: Please be aware that this article contains affiliate links; Carb Manager may receive a commission on qualifying purchases made via these links.