Many people want to change their nutrition and metabolism, to help improve weight loss, chronic inflammation and symptoms, but are unsure how to go about it. Which is the proper diet for you? What nutritional supplements should you use, if any?
Metabolism is the chemical reactions that take place in the body that allow the human body to maintain life. In a human being, metabolism governs the maturation and growth of children into adulthood; fertility and reproduction; and the maintenance of physical and cellular structures in the body. Metabolism regulates the constant interplay between the human body and its environment.
Metabolism can also be understood as the interplay between catabolism and anabolism. The human body is constantly breaking things down and building things up. Catabolism is the process of breaking things down and anabolism is the process of building them up.
For example, the red blood cell in the human body only lives for 90 days. In three months, all the red blood cells in your body will be destroyed by catabolism and new ones will be created by anabolism.
If you injure your knee, your body will produce healing inflammation to destroy the damaged physical structure, a catabolic process; it will also produce new tissue and scar tissue to repair the wound, an anabolic process. If your body is prone to a catabolic state, you will have too much inflammation and chronic pain will result.
Pregnancy and weight gain are both anabolic processes. If your body is prone to an anabolic state, you will have difficulty losing weight.
Nutrition can have a large impact on your metabolic activity. For example, are you prone to colds because your immune system is weak or because you have an excess of catabolic fats or a deficiency of anabolic fats in your diet?
In some ways, the language of Chinese Medicine correlates to the language of nutrition and metabolism. When the body is in an imbalanced catabolic state it may correspond to Deficiency of Yin, Yin being the substantive principle. When the body is in an imbalanced anabolic state, it may correspond to Deficiency of Yang, Yang being the active principle.
Chinese dietary therapy has a very sophisticated system for identifying the thermal and nutritive properties of different foods, which can guide you to create a diet that helps to improve your individual metabolic imbalances.
Micronutrient Testing
We offer Spectracell micronutrient testing which can help you understand the aspects of nutrition and metabolism that are unique to you individually. The results of this test will guide you toward a diet and nutritional supplements that are specific to your individual needs.
Diet is not the only approach to improve your metabolism. Acupuncture and other East Asian medical modalities like Cupping, Gua Sha, Moxabustion and Chinese Herbal Medicine can all help you meet your weight loss and health goals.
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