Written by Dr. Paul A. Spagnuolo, Phd with Dr. Nawaz Ahmed, PhD
We all lead busy lives; maintaining work-life balance, running errands, keeping a social life. No matter what’s going on, life keeps going even when our bodies might need to take a break.
In these times where it might feel like our bodies need some help along the way, we need to remember there are easy ways to keep up with overall health and wellbeing.
One of the ways we can better support ourselves through busy and stressful times, and throughout our whole life, is to improve the function of our metabolism and balance our blood sugars; anyone looking to do it naturally can learn a little something or two from the superfruit known as the avocado.
What is metabolism and how can you lead a healthy lifestyle?
Metabolism is the process by which our bodies convert what we eat and drink into energy. A healthy metabolism is critical to our overall long-term health as it ensures the food we eat gets properly converted to energy (for use by our tissues) without disrupting our cellular and hormonal functions (physiology). Good metabolic health can be defined by having ideal levels of blood sugar, fat (triglycerides), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, blood pressure, and waist circumference, without using medications. These markers of good metabolic health can be easily disrupted by lifestyle choices like lack of sleep and exercise but more importantly poor eating habits or nutrition. Not keeping our metabolic health in check can increase our risk of developing obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even having a stroke!
Leading a healthy life through plant-based nutrition is also very important
As discussed above, good metabolic health is simply not attainable without implementing healthy lifestyle habits among which proper nutrition is a critical factor. An increase of plant-based nutrition in our diets has been the growing recommendation from health officials.
Nutrition plays a big part in keeping a healthy metabolism over the years as we age and lead a busy life. Canada’s Food Guide suggests eating plenty of vegetables, fruits, whole grain foods, and protein foods. Furthermore, Canada’s food guide also suggests we limit the consumption of saturated fats (for example palm oil as found in several processed foods and beverages) and choose foods with unsaturated fats or “healthy” fats instead. Indeed, the consumption of healthy fats, especially Omega-3 fats, can maintain metabolic flexibility in our cells.
An example of a good fat food is an avocado. Avocados are extremely nutrient dense with tons of nutrients like antioxidants, Omega-3 fats along with other healthy unsaturated fats, and essential vitamins like C, E, K, B-6, as well as riboflavin, niacin, folate, pantothenic acid, magnesium, and potassium.
The Power of Avocados and Avocatin B (AvoB)
Along with packing healthy fats, avocados contain additional fat molecules, collectively referred to as avocatin B (AvoB), that also help maintain metabolic flexibility. Research shows that AvoB can improve blood sugar levels by restoring metabolic flexibility and insulin sensitivity in cells that are overwhelmed by fat accumulation. AvoB is a powerful natural supplement and particularly effective for those who are pre-diabetic and looking to manage blood sugar and insulin levels.
Luckily for everyone, it’s a great source of antioxidants and a powerful supplement to help manage metabolism and overall health and wellbeing.
It’s important to note that eating avocados alone does not result in sufficient amounts of AvoB intake to exert a beneficial effect as the amount of AvoB varies widely in avocado due to differences in cultivars, harvest conditions and ripening state.
The best way to access natural, plant-based foods is to try and eat them every day. While eating an avocado every day might seem tough – there’s an easier way to adhere to this healthy food choice. A popular way to ensure that we get the high quality nutritents we need, is to turn to healthy, tested supplementation that is designed to aid in our nutrition. In the case of AvoB, you can look into products such as Metavo, a natural supplement that contains freeze-dried avocado powder, guaranteed to contain AvoB and all other beneficial nutrients in avocado.
So, the next time you eat an avocado – think about all the nutrients and good food molecules it contains to help you restore metabolic function, and when you do so, think of other ways you can actively engage your metabolism.
In sum, avocados aside, being diligent to take care of our metabolism is the most important thing we can do for ourselves. By looking after our metabolism, we can remain metabolically flexible and reduce our chances of developing obesity, high blood sugar, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
It’s within our power to make healthy life choices by partaking in regular physical activity, being conscientious about our nutrition (especially plant-based foods), getting proper sleep and maintaining an optimal metabolism helps keep metabolic diseases at bay.