How To Biohack Your Metabolism

Biohacking your metabolism is one of the most underrated and underutilized ways to help slow down the aging process. By hacking the aging process you can gain more freedom in your day-to-day life. But, even those who are dedicated to anti-aging through healthy living often overlook one of the most important parts of aging: the metabolism.

Metabolism is often only referred to in the context of weight loss, but that limits its full range of capabilities. If you biohack your metabolism it can actually help slow the aging process and help you live a long life full of energy, vitality, and mental clarity.

Here’s how you can hack your metabolism and slow down the aging process to live a better life.

What Does Metabolic Aging Mean?

The metabolism is the system your body uses to break down food into fuel to produce energy. One of the most important parts of the metabolism is known as the BMR (basal metabolic rate). BMR tells you how much energy your body is burning at rest. Your body is a machine and it burns energy (or calories) just by existing and your BMR keeps your essential organs functioning throughout the day. These organs include the heart, brain, lungs, and so on.

As you age, your cells break down over time, requiring less use and less energy to keep them in use. Your metabolism operates the same way. At the age of 25, your metabolism naturally starts to age, and the rate at which you burn calories decreases about 1-2% with each decade. The aging process happens because your cells naturally weaken over time and therefore work less and less efficiently as you get older.

Does Metabolic Flexibility Slow Down Aging?

Aging is inevitable, so there is no way to stop it. However, there are many ways to slow down the process. One of the best ways to biohack anti-aging is by increasing your metabolic flexibility. Metabolic flexibility is your body’s ability to utilize fats and carbs as fuel throughout the day and be able to switch between the two efficiently.

Aging affects your cells’ ability to create energy— or turn food into fuel. Because of this they also produce more free radicals which are compounds that damage the integrity of your cells and speed up the aging process. If you can improve your metabolic flexibility you can convert your food to fuel better thus reducing the amount of damage done by free radicals which will help keep your cells young.

Here are four ways to biohack your metabolic flexibility and keep you forever young.

Lower Blood Sugar Levels & Eat An Antioxidant-Rich Diet

Your glucose levels (blood sugar) play a major role in how well you break down food and turn it into energy. Insulin is a hormone that you produce that helps you regulate blood sugar levels. As you age you become less responsive to insulin. When blood sugar levels get too high you produce more free radicals.

By eating a clean diet made up primarily of fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins you can stabilize your blood sugar levels. In turn, you will keep your oxidative stress down and your cells will age better.

Antioxidants are a substance that protects your cells from damage by free radicals. If you can increase the number of antioxidants you are eating you will slow down the aging process.

Antioxidants are found primarily in berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, etc.), Brussels sprouts, asparagus, and other colorful fruits and vegetables. They are also found in some herbs and spices. Be sure to fill your diet with all the colors of the rainbow to ensure you’re eating enough antioxidants.

Get Lean And Stay Lean

One of the main benefits of metabolic flexibility is how efficient you become at burning fat from your body. This has great long-term effects on weight loss. A flexible metabolism will keep you lean which will allow you to remain healthy even as you age.

Research has proven that lowering your overall body fat percentage decreases the number of free radicals you produce. As a result, you can live a longer and healthier life.

Try Metabolic Testing

There are now at-home metabolic tests you can take to assess how well your metabolism is functioning and what type of energy (carbs or fats) your body primarily uses for fuel. A great metabolic testing device known as Lumen measures your CO2 levels as you exhale to see if your body is burning more carbs or fats. It then uses your results to create a customized daily nutrition plan telling you what to eat and how to work out for your body to increase your metabolic flexibility.

Knowing exactly how your body uses energy through data is crucial to biohacking your metabolism. Everyone’s bodies function differently and you want to make sure you are tailoring your daily routines to your specific needs. If you can biohack your metabolism not only will you slow down the aging process but your body will function at a healthier level allowing you to feel more energized throughout the day.