What is Metabolic Health and How Does it Impact Mental Health?
Metabolic health is how effective our metabolism is at absorbing nutrients and clearing toxins from the body.
It is greatly impacted by lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise, sleep, and stress. When metabolic health is poor, individuals are more likely to develop metabolic syndrome.
Metabolic syndrome is defined as a set of chronic and associated features that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance and obesity.
Why does it matter when it comes to mental health?
📌 Nutrient deficiencies such as magnesium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, folate, and omega 3’s can impact or worsen mental health leading to symptoms of anxiety and depression.
📌 Diets that lack nutrient density also contribute to inflammation in the gut which can impact the production of serotonin, and dopamine, both of which are important in the regulation of moods and stabilizing mental health.
📌 When there is not enough serotonin or dopamine present, individuals are more likely to experience poor mental health.
📌 Frequent blood sugar spikes caused by imbalanced diets and the overconsumption of sugars can lead to insulin resistance.
📌 Obese individuals with insulin resistance often have elevated levels of cortisol (the stress hormone).
📌 Individuals experiencing poor mental health are also at higher risk of developing metabolic syndrome.
There is no question that metabolic health and mental health go hand in hand!
How does a holistic approach help?
A holistic approach to mental health considers all the lifestyle factors affecting the individual’s metabolic health.
This means that if, for example, an individual is experiencing burnout, anxiety, or depression, they may benefit from talk therapy, coaching, guthealth assessments, supplements, and lifestyle improvements to their diet, exercise routine and sleep hygiene.
VitaliTeam Workplace Wellness programs do exactly that! We work with individuals and teams to assess metabolic health and create a holistic wellness program tailored to individual needs.
Reach out to us for mental and metabolic health support for your team.
Learn more at www.dradeolamead.com/vitaliteam