What is Metabolism and why you should care about it?

A person born in this universe is said to be living when his body functions normally. In other words, his heart is functioning normally, he could breathe air, he could sense the atmosphere and smell the nature’s environment .

If he could not do that or is not alive, he is considered dead and the body is merely a collection of bones, muscles and fat. How does this body, comprising of just bones, muscle, fats and nerves covered by the skin spring to life and perform the functions normally? It is through the energy provided to the body, and food we consume on a daily basis is the major source of energy for existence.

The process or a set of chemical reactions that take place in our body and help in converting the food we consume into energy, or more specifically, calories, is what we refer to as Metabolism. There exists a misconception among many people that energy or more calories are required only to do some activities. Even to remain alive and ensure that the basic functions of the body are functioning in a normal way, one needs to eat food. A body, even at the state of rest, needs calories to burn in the form of energy, just for maintaining the body.

Nearly 60% of the energy converted from the foods we consume on a daily basis is consumed or burnt in the form of calories merely to survive, carry out the basic functions of the heart, the liver, the lungs and other essential organs.

One should not only be aware of metabolism but also ensure that the process of metabolism is functioning smoothly in the body, because without metabolism, energy will not be converted from the food we consume and without energy, there is no question of survival in this world.

Our body comprises of muscles and fat. The composition of the muscles and fat in the body is impacted by metabolism. Typically, muscles require more energy than the fat content in the body. If your body composition has more of muscles, then you need more energy to burn to maintain the muscles and body structure. In other words, a muscular person will have higher metabolism while a person with more fat content and less muscle strength will have lower metabolism.

If one were to remain healthy and active for a longer period, one has to ensure that his metabolism stays higher. It is advisable to involve in activities such as aerobic exercises, walking or jogging to increase the composition of muscles in the body and reduce fat component. If the metabolism declines in person’s body, then the likelihood of that person gaining weight increases.

By assessing the weight of a person and the composition of muscle content in the body, one can have a fair idea of his health and energy levels. Thus, a person caring about his body and want to maintain a proper weight should take care about metabolism and strive to take steps to increase metabolism.

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