How to Make Your Metabolism Work for You

Popular media, gyms, coaches, diet programs and the diet industry often promise to speed up or boost your metabolism to help people lose or maintain weight or avoid weight gain as they age. But metabolic health isn’t just about a slim figure. It affects physical and mental health beyond body weight. Good metabolic health lowers your risk of chronic health conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and kidney disease. It’s even related to mental health conditions. Metabolic health is complex—and, as I’ll share with you, 12 healthy lifestyle habits that can go a long way toward making your metabolism work for you.

What is metabolic health?

Metabolic health, at the cellular level, refers to how efficiently cells convert food into energy and maintain overall balance through different chemical processes. It essentially refers to the human body’s ability to use food efficiently.

Poor metabolic health has been linked to risk factors such as a high waist circumference (indicating abdominal obesity), high triglycerides, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high fasting blood sugar. Having any three of these risk factors is called metabolic syndrome. The more risk factors someone has, especially if they are not controlled, the higher the risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.

At least 87 percent of Americans have poor metabolic health. How did we get here?  

People in the United States have become increasingly unhealthy since the 1970s. The obesity epidemic is well-known: it started in the mid-1970s, when 8.7 percent of adults over 18 had obesity. Fast-forward fifty years: 40.3% of adults have obesity, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. When it comes to metabolic health, 87.8 percent of American adults have poor metabolic health, according to a public health study by the University of North Carolina. The American Heart Association recently recognized the interconnection of cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic health by introducing a new term, CKM Syndrome. Their research shows nearly 90 percent of adults in the U.S. have some stage of CKM Syndrome.

These trends show no real signs of slowing down or moving in the correct direction. Citizens are constantly bombarded with messages about food that are metabolically inappropriate for our physical and emotional well-being. TV commercials, digital media ads, and billboards selling food increase both cravings and hunger, and research by the University of Liverpool in the UK shows the impact is category-specific: soda ads increase cravings for soda, snack ads boost cravings for snacks, and fast-food ads boost cravings for the same. All of it contributes to the reminder of the abundance of food in the United States—much of it unhealthy.

Whether this was or is an intentional operation by the food industry may be debatable. But the point is that we are unhealthy as a nation, and the biggest indictment points to the way too many Americans eat. Highly refined (or destroyed) processed sugary substances (I won’t call it food, because it is not) significantly affect opioid receptors in the brain, which are associated with feelings of pleasure and euphoria. To sum that up, we have cravings constantly because of what is essentially an addiction.

We as human beings are designed to eat. We’re designed to thrive and have the potential to avoid devastating chronic diseases, which are ravaging Americans. The U.S. burden of chronic diseases is alarmingly high compared to other high-income nations—we have more than twice the rate of obesity, twice the rate of type 2 diabetes, and 1.7 times the rate of asthma, plus higher rates of depression. The burden of these chronic, preventable conditions accounts for 90 percent of annual health care expenditure.

What conditions are linked to metabolic health?

People commonly recognize that type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke are connected to metabolic health. But it is also linked to:

• Fatty liver disease, specifically, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease or MASLD, which can lead to cirrhosis of the liver. (Cirrhosis is permanent scarring and hardening of the liver; there is no cure.) 
• Insulin resistance, which is the inability to control blood sugars appropriately
• Dementia
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) 
• Certain types of cancer

How to eat for better metabolic health

What should we eat to be healthier? It’s quite elementary—by that, I mean it’s easy to understand. It was never meant to be complicated. We should all be interested in enjoying whole food and minimally processed ingredients in what we eat. I recommend building meals around: 

• Whole meats (not processed)
  • Chicken
  • Turkey
  • Beef 
  • Bison 
  • Wild game
• Wild-caught seafood 
• Whole vegetables (preferably organic)
• Whole fruits (preferably organic) 
• Nuts (raw, salted nuts are fine)
• Whole grains

Read labels. Be curious, you must be, at least at first.

I’m not saying that executing how we eat or thinking of how to eat healthfully is easy. If you’ve eaten in a metabolically unhealthy way for a good number of years, you may be addicted to it.

It’s never too late to turn in a different direction. First, we must realize we are slowly, surely, rapidly aging and killing ourselves because of how we eat. However, if you don’t realize the gravity of the situation with the food you’re eating, you’re unlikely to get started.

Beginning slowly and consistently is certainly a reasonable start, even if it’s just one meal a day. Within a week or two, add another meal where you’re eating more appropriately. Continue, adding another meal, and keep going until you get close to hitting the bullseye, if you will—five or six days a week.

I never tell my patients “Don’t ever eat this or that” unless they are allergic to certain foods. It’s a foolish endeavor because we all have food desires, and they should be met during the week. One indulgence a week should adequately satisfy food cravings, if you desire.

Some people will achieve success more quickly than others, often based on motivation. I’ve had patients who, after a conversation with them about metabolic health and the problems I find, flip a switch in their minds and never return from whence they came. For the majority, though, changing eating habits is a longer endeavor.

There are many ways available to eat better. Talk to your physician to find out what those ways could be for you. It’s ideal if you have a physician who has the time to listen to you and think thoughtfully about how they can help you. If you don’t have a physician like that, I suggest you find someone who truly cares about your health and gives you the time you deserve.

Lifestyle habits for better metabolic health

Eating well is one of the best lifestyle changes you can make to support good metabolic health. But many other lifestyle factors also affect your metabolic health. Here are other habits you can adopt for better health. And just like healthy eating, begin slowly. For example, adopt one healthy habit at a time.

1. Get some early sunlight. This should be part of your daily routine, if it is available to you, in the early morning hours between 6:30 am and 8 am. No sunscreen is necessary. Sunglasses are optional, but your retina is part of your brain, and the brain needs sunlight! It’s how you start spiking your cortisol levels early in the morning. Many people associate cortisol with stress. It’s also an important hormone for managing our energy and our sleep-wake cycles. Cortisol rises when we wake up and peaks early in the day, helping provide our bodies with the glucose and energy needed. You can increase your cortisol levels by getting just 15 to 20 minutes of early sunlight.
2. Do aerobic exercise for cardiorespiratory fitness five to six times a week. This includes walking briskly, cycling, swimming, rowing, running; do whatever you want to do. Good cardiorespiratory fitness protects against insulin resistance, oxidative stress (an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants), inflammation, and poor metabolic flexibility, the body’s ability to use the energy available to it. (An inflexible metabolism is related to obesity.) 
3. Exercise also helps your body produce natural endorphins, and that’s excellent—it gives you a feeling of euphoria or a “runner’s high.” Some people find this makes exercise addictive.

4. Strength train two or three times a week. It’s never too late to start building muscle mass. How strong you are matters immensely. It’s a huge predictor of longevity and health span. You have a much better chance of living independently longer if you’re strength training.

   Strength training is also effective for managing your metabolic health. It enhances insulin sensitivity—meaning your body is better at using glucose (blood sugar) with only a small amount of insulin. When you have low insulin sensitivity or insulin resistance, your body needs more insulin to manage blood sugar. Insulin resistance can lead to weight gain and prediabetes.

   Like cardiorespiratory fitness, strength training also induces a natural high and supports mental health. When lifting weights, you’re telling yourself subconsciously that you’re strong, you’re getting stronger, or your balance is better. That is a great thing that your subconscious can tell your brain.

5. Limit or eliminate alcohol. I don’t know anyone who has lived longer because of alcohol consumption, whether they drink minimal or maximum amounts. I don’t lecture patients about their drinking; a drink or two a week is probably fine. But I also don’t encourage drinking alcohol; I believe it has a neutral effect at best, putting your brain health and metabolic health at risk.

   Ongoing research is discovering more about how alcohol impacts metabolic health and whether alcohol offers any health benefits. However, many existing studies show a positive relationship between alcohol and metabolic syndrome.

6. Good sleep most nights is a must. Aim for six to eight hours a night. Sleep is crucial for heart, brain, and metabolic health. Deep sleep, or REM sleep, is the stage when the janitorial services in your brain come out to clean up the junk inside your brain that you accumulated during the day. Dealing with too much stress, skipping or not getting enough exercise, working very long hours, and making poor food choices negatively affect your brain health, making your sleep time vital.

   Both short sleep (fewer than six hours a night) and too much sleep (more than eight hours a night) are associated with metabolic syndrome and can increase the risk of obesity and high blood pressure. Too little sleep also increases your likelihood of developing high blood sugar. And recently, the American Heart Association added sleep as one of its eight essential elements of good heart health.

   Occasionally, if your sleep routine is thrown off because you occasionally travel, get sick or have a poor night’s sleep, that’s not going to destroy your brain health.

   The key is establishing a consistent sleep routine. If you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, talk with your physician.

7. Spend time with others: Social interaction is crucial. Humans are wired for connection, even if the ideal amount varies from person to person. But the loneliness epidemic calls us to look at how social connection supports good health.

   Loneliness, mental health, and metabolic health are connected. Social isolation and loneliness increase chronic stress that can lead to poor neuroendocrine regulation, i.e., hormonal imbalances that impact signals to your brain. This kind of stress can also impact how your immune and metabolic systems work together to keep you healthy. If those systems are sabotaged regularly, eventually, chronic loneliness can lead to mental and metabolic disease. (And then it becomes a cycle, because people who are sick often experience more social isolation.)

   One of the best benefits of being socially active is that it helps you get out of your own head. Extremely self-focused people tend to struggle emotionally and downstream, physically. Loneliness also affects eating patterns.

   A solution: Unplug. Technology itself isn’t bad, but the rising depression and anxiety among young people isn’t just a post-COVID story—it is a chronic overstimulation problem. Screen time volume and the quality of information people are exposed to affect our brain health and sleep quality. Find ways to replace screens with books, time outdoors, and face-to-face connection.

8. Avoid stress, especially chronic stress, as it will eventually damage you. Stress drives cortisol levels in an unhealthy way.

   Cortisol rises naturally early in the morning and begins to drop off around two or three in the afternoon. (Remember: This cortisol cycle helps our bodies use energy appropriately.)

   However, when chronic stress drives cortisol levels up higher than they should be for a good part of the day, it causes inflammation in the body. Chronic inflammation is very damaging to your body, and often the result of poor eating habits, stress, or both. If your body experiences long-term inflammation, your risk of metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, becomes much higher.

   You can’t really avoid stress, but you can become more aware of what causes you stress and either avoid it or manage it. The more you can control constant stress, the better it will be for you, physically, metabolically, and of course, emotionally.

9. Drink plenty of water. Limit or avoid sugary drinks. Over 50 percent of the human body is made of water. Proper hydration is important for us all: Water helps the body flush toxins and keep cells working optimally. Getting appropriate water intake every day can help manage glucose for people who are at risk of insulin resistance, prediabetes or type 2 diabetes.

   60 ounces a day is the minimum amount someone should drink, unless they are restricted because of a disease. If you are doing aerobic exercise or strength training, you will need to drink more—some people will need more than 100 fluid ounces a day.

   For flavor, choose electrolytes without artificial sweeteners. An electrolyte with a little bit of sugar, or stevia, isn’t going to hurt you if you want a little sweetness. Avoid soft drinks and fruit juices.

10. Remember to eat whole foods. Eating whole foods, such as vegetables and fruit, instead of vegetable juice and fruit juice, because your body benefits from fiber, which acts as a prebiotic, feeding the good bacteria in your gut. Fiber and polyphenols (types of nutrients) in whole fruit help your gut bacteria produce short-chain fatty acids, which reduce inflammation in the body.

    Many people think they should avoid fruit because of the sugar content. Whole fruit does not have processed sugar and impacts your blood sugar (glucose) levels differently. The benefits of eating whole fruit outweigh the impact of the natural sugar they contain.

11. Walk for 20 minutes after evening meals. A little exercise after eating keeps your insulin from spiking. A study by the University of Rome details the specifics: 15 to 30 minutes of light to moderate-intensity exercise—whether it’s walking, light resistance exercise, or a combination of both, starting about 15 to 30 minutes after eating, supports glucose control after eating in both healthy people and those who have type 2 diabetes.

    Don't go to bed with a full stomach. Leave a three-hour gap between the last meal and bedtime. Try avoiding nighttime grazing and snacking. Eating too close to bedtime will interrupt your sleep pattern, which is crucial for good metabolic health.

12. You may have heard the saying, “eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.” There is some truth in this for good metabolic health.

    Nighttime eating can throw off your circadian rhythm. It’s connected with an increased risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. Eating 45 percent of your calories after 5 p.m. may lead to poorer glucose tolerance, according to a small study published in the journal Nutrition and Diabetes.  

    Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. When you wake up, your body is in a catabolic state, meaning it’s in a breakdown mode. It craves protein. (If you have kidney disease, consult with your physician about eating protein.) If you’re going to skip a meal during the day, breakfast is not the one to miss. Remember, your cortisol peaks in the morning to help manage the energy your body needs. Support your metabolism by working with your body’s natural rhythms.

    If you work late or overnight shifts, talk to your physician about how to adjust your sleep routine and mealtimes so they best support your metabolic health.

13. Limit or avoid highly refined, sugary foods. Regularly eating these foods for a long period will constantly spike your insulin levels. This is problematic, as insulin drives chronic inflammation, which leads to chronic metabolic diseases.

    Ultra-processed foods often lead people to eat faster, consuming more calories, saturated fat, sugar and sodium, while getting less fiber and nutrients. All these factors can impact metabolic health.

    Small diet changes can make a difference, and as mentioned earlier, satisfying food cravings once a week should be adequate. What matters is consistently eating healthy most days.  

Remember, you don’t have to adopt all these changes at once. Start small. Each new habit can improve your metabolic health. A final habit to consider is meditation or mindfulness. Find some time to spend in nature, listening to birds chirping or water flowing. Meditation can help reduce inflammation markers in our bodies, supporting many of the habits here: less stress, good sleep, and strong social relationships. 

If you'd like to learn more about how to manage your metabolism, some of the physicians and experts I recommend are Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist at Stanford University School of Medicine; Nick Norwitz, MD, PhD, whose mission is to make metabolic health mainstream; Robert Lustig, MD, MSL, who specializes in endocrinology; and Robert Lufkin, MD, host of Health Longevity Secrets.