Nine out of Ten Americans Flunk This Health Test – How Do You Measure Up?

An epidemic is overtaking the world – and it’s probably threatening your well-being.

The widespread problem: High blood sugar. This condition potentially destroys the function and health of all your organs.

Our modern lifestyle is condemning us to miss out on “metabolic health.” This means that our eating, sleeping, exercise and other habits have warped the inner workings of our bodies in ways that send blood sugar soaring and threaten our hearts, blood vessels, brain, bones, and more.

Keep reading to find out the simple things you can do to escape this epidemic.

The first thing is to understand what “metabolic health” means. While the term metabolism refers to all the processes that go on inside the body to keep us alive, metabolic health generally means how various blood tests and physical measurements reflect how your body deals with blood sugar.

Not all medical experts agree on what your “numbers” should be. But in a study of five of the possible medical tests, researchers found that only about one American out of ten can be considered metabolically healthy.

The study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill focused on people’s blood pressure, waist size, blood sugar, blood triglycerides and HDL cholesterol. (I personally disagree that cholesterol means much for your health. But that doesn’t invalidate the overall findings of this research.)

The investigation demonstrated that only about 12 percent of Americans can be said to enjoy “metabolic health” without the help of prescription drugs. The other 88 percent of us are at risk.¹

They’re Easy to Spot. . .

According to the North Carolina scientists, people who have the best metabolic health exercise more, don’t smoke and keep their weight under control. Which, to me, seems like common sense.

On that basis, you can identify most of them at first sight, without ANY medical tests.

But in my research, I have also found that there are other ways to support a healthier metabolism that you should be aware of. For example, a simple thing like taking a hot bath can help.

A study in England shows that immersing yourself in a hot tub both lowers inflammation in the body and improves blood sugar. But you’ve got to use very hot water, although maybe not quite as hot as theses researchers used.

In this test, people bathed in water that was about 100 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour.² I would add that you have to be careful to not burn yourself, and you can probably reap some benefit without staying in the tub that long.

Personally, I’m busy and I think I’d rather diet and exercise than sit in a tub for an hour a day.

A Few Mushrooms a Day. . .

Another simple way to improve your metabolism is to add white button mushrooms to your meals.

A study at Penn State shows that white button mushrooms (the common kind you can buy at the supermarket) contain prebiotic fiber – fiber that feeds the beneficial probiotic bacteria in the digestive tract.

“Epigenetic” is a fancy term that’s come into common use in just the last few years. I always feel obliged to explain it to readers who have other things to do besides read medical journals. When an environmental factor – something from outside the DNA – has the ability to turn specific genes on or off, the effect is called epigenetic.

Getting back to the main topic, you should also use ginger to spice up your meals. Tests in Asia show ginger can improve your blood sugar by boosting your insulin sensitivity.⁴ The body’s ability to regulate insulin is intimately connected to its handling of blood sugar.

Stay on Track

Small lifestyle changes can also help keep your metabolism on track. You can try these proven metabolic helpers –

• Get to bed at the same time every night. Researchers at Duke have demonstrated that keeping a regular bedtime and wake-up time every day can help you keep your weight down, reduce your blood sugar, control your blood pressure and lower your risk of heart attack and stroke. And the side effects include feeling better too!⁵
• Do some sort of exercise. A test at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center shows that just one bout of exercise can improve your metabolism for up to 48 hours. Two full days! According to these researchers, exercise influences the behavior of neurons in the brain that take part in controlling your blood sugar.⁶

I can’t stress enough that we all need to take action to rescue our bodies.

Consider this: Researchers at the Diabetes and Endocrine Center in Baltimore now argue that diabetes is becoming a “normal aspect of life.”⁷ It sure looks that way from the people I know. Want to know what I think? The prospect should scare all of us. It’s time to take control of your health and become metabolically healthy again.