Metabolic Age and Insulin Resistance
What do you think of my “Messy Mom Bun”?!? Youthful and fun or scraggly and old?!?
Regardless of your biological age, or what you might look like on the outside, your METABOLIC AGE is what really matters!!!
What would you guess YOUR metabolic age is? Younger or older than your biological age? Want to guess MINE?!? Let me know in the comments...
I'd like to share with you some "anti-aging" lifestyle hacks. This is the kind of stuff I talk about in the Women & Fasting Meetings and my Livestreams monthly. Come join me at TheFastingMethod.com!
Read on for more on Metabolic Age and Insulin Resistance.
METABOLIC AGE AND INSULIN RESISTANCE
People are living longer, with the possibility of not just increased longevity but also increased quality of life at one’s reach. There can be a significant difference between a person’s biological age and “metabolic age”. As the saying goes, “you cannot judge a book by its cover”. A woman’s health and wellbeing cannot be determined by her biological age, but rather by her Metabolic Health, among other important factors.
Metabolic Age in the health and fitness industry has become a hot topic in recent years. Many define it as a measure of BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) in comparison to similarly aged peers. Just like BMI (Body Mass Index), BMR as a gauge has its major flaws in the fact that it does not take into account Body Composition, an essential element for determining health. Metabolic Health is an important, intricate, and complex measure that must consider hormonal health and body composition rather than weight and fitness level. Metabolic Health is a fitting measure of Longevity, or Metabolic Age, which we can use interchangeably.
This is where Fasting and lifestyle come in (and genetics as well). Women are already at a clear advantage here. Let us learn to celebrate and appreciate this. Women, all over the world, statistically, live longer than men. There are biological, behavioral and environmental factors that make this so. One significant factor of interest to us, is the fact that there are hormonal differences that affect longevity and body composition, and thus Metabolic Health and Age.
Even though women tend to have a higher overall body fat percentages, naturally, “Males tend to have more fat surrounding the organs (they have more ‘visceral fat’) whereas women tend to have more fat sitting directly under the skin (‘subcutaneous fat’). This difference is determined both by estrogen and the presence of the second X chromosome in females; and it matters for longevity because fat surrounding the organs predicts cardiovascular disease.” Heart Disease is the leading cause of death in most parts of the world. “The accumulation of abdominal visceral fat in men, … is a strong independent predictor of mortality”. Yay, for women! Boo, for men. Major score for the Women’s Team.
We now also know that Estrogen (and Progesterone) affect our Insulin Resistance. Insulin Resistance is the “X-Factor” and the causative element of Metabolic Syndrome. Metabolic Syndrome expressions such as Obesity, Diabetes, Heart Disease and PCOS not only have a tremendous impact on longevity but also on Metabolic Health, as these two are indivisibly intertwined. As mentioned, women are also at an advantage here, even if we do not recognize it. Menopause, however, impacts this advantage. But how? Before we talk in a lot more detail about Menopause, we must understand the continuum from the birth of a woman to her eventual passing.
When we talk about women, we must discuss and celebrate the various phases of a woman’s life from birth, through puberty, reproductive years and post-menopause. We must value how these different stages affect a woman’s health, well-being, and yes, even her weight. Equally, we must evaluate how metabolic age, health and lifestyle (diet and fasting) affect each of these stages.
In comparison to herself, a woman "naturally" becomes more Insulin Resistant post-menopause than pre-menopause, due to the loss of estrogen’s protective benefits. This leads to not only more fat storage, specifically in the abdominal area, but likely also general weight gain, and overall more incidence of all metabolic syndrome expressions, like diabetes and heart disease.
In comparison to other women, however, this might not be the case. A post-menopausal woman is not necessarily more Insulin Resistant than another pre-menopausal woman. Meaning, a post-menopausal woman can be metabolically healthier than another pre-menopausal woman, and thus Metabolically younger! But how? In fact, a post-menopausal woman CAN make herself metabolically healthier and younger than her pre-menopausal self. WOW!
Insulin Resistance is on a spectrum, i.e. another continuum, and it can be reversed. You can become more insulin resistant and you can become less insulin resistant (see image below). You can become more metabolically deranged or metabolically healthier, depending which direction you "choose" to go on that spectrum. Many things may make you more insulin resistant, but only a few thing can make you metabolically younger and healthier, and these you can control! You guessed it: Diet and Lifestyle! Read my Five Pillars for more....
Metabolic age then has a much bigger impact on our quality of life and can be quite different than what our birth certificate says. Even post-menopausal women CAN lose weight, can burn fat, can reverse Metabolic Syndrome and become more insulin sensitive, thus Metabolically YOUNGER, than another premenopausal woman, or her pre-menopausal self! How amazing! Sixty really is the new 40! Do you know how to reverse your Metabolic Age? Join us at TheFastingMethod.com for more...
