A new philosophy for looking at health: metabolism as a driving force
Every cell needs energy to function. But this does not always go well.
We are at the dawn of a new era. Medical science is increasingly looking at the role of our metabolism in the onset of health problems.
Metabolism does not only affect our weight. It affects our entire health. From fertility to aging.
Even well before a disease develops, all kinds of changes appear to be present in the metabolism.
Such as an altered balance in hormones and other signalling substances. An increase in inflammatory substances and waste products. And a reduced production of energy.
Right now, there are all kinds of studies on these metabolic changes. I hope we don't bet everything on developing new, often expensive, drugs - without also looking at the environment and lifestyle. Because you really don't need an expensive drug to positively influence the metabolism of the cell.
Adjustments in your lifestyle (and experimenting with it yourself and seeing what works) have great effects on your health and energy levels. No medicine can beat that!
The metabolism is a wonderful orchestra of thousands of proteins, hormones, neurotransmitters and other beautiful molecules. An important part of metabolism is making energy from food. That energy, call it biological energy, we need to think, feel, move and recover. In other words, to live. I think we underestimate how important this energy is for us.
With our energy machines, the mitochondria, we extract as much as 15 times more energy from glucose (sugar) compared to a simple organism (without mitochondria). Step by step and with the help of all kinds of molecules and essential nutrients, we extract energy from our food. We humans need this intricate way to support and sustain ourselves - we need to nurture it and feed and care for it properly.
If we burn glucose only the simple way, it releases lactate (a form of lactic acid). And that little substance is chronically too high in numerous diseases where inflammation plays a role. From rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, pulmonary fibrosis to endometriosis. When we burn glucose completely - in the complicated way - we ensure that lactate is reduced. That promotes human health.
The metabolism is intelligent and can adapt to the environment. Even if it consists of a poor diet, little exercise, chronic stress and environmental pollution. We can live at a lower level, with less energy... We'll survive, but we are not optimally healthy and we suffer from all kinds of ailments.
Let's face it, the living environment of modern humans is far from optimal. Most of us have adapted and thus face energy deficiency or even chronic illness. Those symptoms are signals that something in the metabolism is not going right.
This view revolves around optimising our lifestyle and environment so that our metabolism can nourish and repair the body. The better your metabolism, the fewer symptoms, that's my hypothesis!
Improving metabolism can look different for everyone. Therefore, there is no such thing as a standard diet or lifestyle advice. However, there are some general principles.
Thus, there is no need to cut out entire food groups such as dairy, meat or carbohydrates. Even though they have a bad image, carbohydrates can actually help keep your metabolism running optimally.
My focus is largely on nutrition. But there are many other aspects that affect your metabolism. Like what supplements and medications you take. How much and what kind of light you have around you. How you breathe. What kind of exercise you do. How much stress you are under. And how your environment is arranged.
When you work on improving your metabolism, you are working on improving your health on a very fundamental level. For more, see Consultation
From this vision, I research and look at you. What have you experienced? How does your environment influence your metabolism and thus your health? How is your metabolism doing? What food stimulates your metabolism? What inhibits your metabolism?
We can then work in several areas. With lifestyle, nutrition, a healing environment and effective remedies.
With new insights, you can move forward again.
Want to get started? Then take a look at Consultation
Want to learn more about this vision? Then take a look at Insights
Want to know more about the background to this story?
Then take a look at my sources
You come across an optimal metabolism almost every day. Look at the child... A child's metabolism releases incredible amounts of energy with few harmful substances. Consequently, they can learn incredibly fast, recover quickly and are full of energy. They are full of life.
With ageing, we see the opposite: metabolism slows down and more harmful substances are released into the body in the process. Resulting in inflammation, lower body temperature, less muscle mass and increased fat.
Precisely when our combustion slows down and we make less energy, more waste products are created. We age faster. Properly making enough biological energy with a high metabolism, is what keeps us alive and healthy.
My mission is to increase your biological energy. With making knowledge from the scientific literature available and through personal coaching and support.
Articles
I bring together my knowledge and research on the role of metabolism in health in my articles. You will read about energy, hormones and the influence of nutrition.
Consultations
Do you need personal support? I look at you from a broad perspective. How does the environment affect your metabolism and thus your health? What food stimulates your metabolism? And what inhibits your metabolism?
We will work on lifestyle, nutrition, a healing environment and effective supplements and medicines. With new insights, you can move forward. See consultation for the possibilities.
Read my sources to find out more about the scientific background of my view on health.
