Restoring Your Synergy

Every living organism shares a similar process where our body takes what we consume and turns it into energy. Our metabolic system enables this complex process, and when certain conditions affect its function, it can throw off the body’s delicate collaboration. You can start restoring your synergy by learning more about the metabolic system and risk factors for metabolic diseases.

The Metabolic System and Metabolism

After we eat food, the digestive system uses enzymes to:

Break proteins down into amino acids
Turn fats into fatty acids
Converts
carbohydrates into simple sugars (for example, glucose)

When needed, the body uses sugar, amino acids, and fatty acids as energy sources. The blood absorbs these compounds into the blood, which carries them to the cells. Once in the cells, other enzymes act to speed up or regulate the chemical reactions involved with “metabolizing” these compounds into energy or storing them for later.

Metabolism is a balancing act involving two kinds of activities working together simultaneously. One is responsible for building up body tissues and energy stores (called anabolism). The other is responsible for breaking down body tissues and energy stores to get more fuel for body functions (called catabolism).

Anabolism (uh-NAB-uh-liz-um), or constructive metabolism, is all about building and storing. Anabolism supports the new cell growth, maintaining body tissues, and storing of energy for future use.
Catabolism (kuh-TAB-uh-liz-um), or destructive metabolism, is the process that produces the energy needed for all cell activity.

Risk Factors for Metabolic Syndrome

A metabolic disorder occurs when abnormal chemical reactions in your body disrupt the metabolism process. This can occur when you might have too much of some substances or too little of others necessary to stay healthy. There are different groups of disorders. You can develop a metabolic disorder when some organs, such as your liver or pancreas, become diseased or not function normally.

Metabolic syndrome is a group of conditions that together raise your risk of severe health problems such as coronary heart disease and diabetes. Risk factors for metabolic syndrome include having three or more of the following conditions:

A large waistline
Hypertension
High blood sugar levels
Low HDL cholesterol

Metabolic syndrome is common in the United States, affecting about 1 in 3 adults. Knowing the risk factors and making healthy lifestyle changes can help you lower your chances of developing metabolic syndrome and its complications.

Our Metabolic Health Initiative

Where better to restore your synergy than at Synergy Healthcare with our Metabolic Health Initiative? The MHI’s goal is to promote liver health through diagnosis, education, and promotion of targeted treatments, including potential therapies being investigated in our enrolling clinical trials.