Could a Comprehensive Metabolic Panel Recharge Your Energy Levels?

January 23, 2024

How do you picture your weekends 20 years from now? Hiking, playing pickleball with your grandchildren, or devoting yourself to a passion project you’ve cherished since childhood? All these are attractive alternatives. However, your ability to enjoy them will depend 100% on your health when these two decades pass.

So, the real question is, what can you do today to become the healthiest version of yourself in the future? We suggest you stop and listen to your body. How? With the help of a Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP.)

Metabolism: Understanding Your Body’s Language 

Your body never stops communicating and reacting to your actions – so you need a tool capable of keeping up with many moving parts.

A CMP is ideally suited for this mission. Why? Because it checks how well your metabolism is working, or in other words, how efficiently your brain is processing your body’s messages.

Harvard University defines metabolism as the combination of every chemical process within you that transforms food into energy to fuel every thought, heartbeat, and breath you take.1 However, research by Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders shows that only 12% of Americans are metabolically healthy, meaning their blood pressure, weight, glucose, and cholesterol levels present normal parameters.2,3

Metabolic Problems Are Broken Signals

You might assume being overweight is the primary cause of metabolic problems. However, obesity is a visible consequence of things that have already happened.

Human metabolism is an area of evolving understanding. Nevertheless, according to a recent publication by Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism, here’s how metabolic complications unfold.4

  1. Disrupted Signals: Stress and lifestyle factors (like working shifts) disturb your body-brain communication for metabolic control.
  2. Overeating: This leads to eating too much (or at odd times), overloading your body’s energy storage.
  3. Fat Surplus: Excess energy turns to fat, exceeding cell storage limits and harmfully accumulating (in your liver or muscles.)
  4. Ignored Alerts: Continuous overeating numbs your brain’s response to fullness signals your body relies on to communicate, such as insulin (much like ignoring a noisy alarm that never shuts off.)
  5. Vicious Cycle: This miscommunication spirals, reducing your eating satisfaction (worsening overeating)
  6. Metabolic Diseases: The cycle culminates in metabolic disorders like obesity and diabetes (your body and brain speak different languages.)

A deceptively simple blood test, a CMP measures 14 substances that can give a precise snapshot of how your body works by evaluating its chemical balance.

Here are five reasons why a CMP hears your body’s sighs. 

5 Metabolic Parameters For Optimal Health

  1. Do You Have a Sweet Tooth?

According to the CDC, 1 in 10 Americans have diabetes, and 1 in 3 are prediabetic- they have high sugar levels but not yet elevated enough to be classified as diabetics. Of these prediabetic individuals, the CDC calculates that 80% don’t know they have it. What if you are one of them?5,6

Prediabetes is often undetected due to its lack of symptoms, but this doesn’t make it any less harmful, as it is a precursor to type 2 diabetes, necessitating vigilance in high-risk individuals, such as those over 45, overweight, or with a family history of diabetes.5 

90-95% of Americans with diabetes have type 2 diabetes – as the CDC informs – in which the body’s cells become resistant to insulin, leading to high blood sugar and potential complications like heart disease, vision loss, and kidney disease.6 

Interventions like a modest weight loss of 5-7% and regular physical activity, like brisk walking for 150 minutes weekly, can significantly reduce the transition to type 2 diabetes and combat it, as evidenced by the CDC’s Diabetes Prevention Program.5

  1. Are You Thirsty?

Your brain lets you know you need fluids by making you thirsty, as Scientific American explains. However, your sensitivity to thirst may decline with age, so by measuring your electrolyte levels, a CMP helps keep this process running smoothly in case your brain – as illustrated by a potential electrolyte imbalance caught by the test – isn’t sending strong enough messages that lead to you reaching for a glass of water.7

  1. 1 in 4 Chances Your Liver Needs Help

Did you know that approximately 25% of humans suffer from a liver disease you probably never heard about? The International Journal of Molecular Sciences calculates about a quarter of the world’s population has Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD). By measuring liver enzymes, a CMP detects this silent threat that can lead to severe consequences like cirrhosis and liver cancer.8

Cirrhosis, as the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases explains, is marked by irreversible liver scarring, impairs liver function as scar tissue overtakes healthy tissue, leading to liver failure. Symptoms like fatigue and itchy skin emerge as the damage worsens, often resulting from alcohol-associated liver disease, NAFLD, or chronic hepatitis.9

Liver cancer, according to the CDC, is often symptomless in early stages and can manifest as abdominal discomfort, swelling, lumps near the rib cage, back pain, jaundice, easy bruising, fatigue, nausea, appetite loss, and unexplained weight loss. Risk factors include obesity, long-term hepatitis B or C, smoking, alcohol consumption, cirrhosis, NAFLD, and diabetes.10

  1. Painkillers May Hurt You

If you take painkillers such as Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) like Ibuprofen, the National Kidney Foundation recommends being alert, as 3-5% of kidney failure is a consequence of the long-term use of these medications.11

Based on findings by the British Pharmacological Society, daily use of NSAIDs for over a year increases the risk of developing chronic kidney disease (CKD), and use for more than 14 days is associated with a significantly higher risk of nephrotic syndrome– a kidney disorder that causes your body to pass too much protein in your urine– so it’s critical to discuss their prolonged use with a healthcare professional.12

  1. How Strong Are You?

Are you feeling weaker than you were just a few years ago? As the Cleveland Clinic explains, calcium is one of the building blocks of healthy muscles, so its appropriate equilibrium must be a priority to remain strong and flexible.13

Why? Calcium deficiency leads to fatigue, as your cells cannot perform at their best because they’re undernourished, lacking an irreplaceable material for optimal functioning. Calcium is fundamental to keep your muscles supple by aiding contraction and relaxation. Its deficiency will manifest in physical symptoms such as weakness, aches, stiffness, and spasms.

Are you convinced of the importance of a CMP? Good! But what if we told you that your body has been trying to reach you, and you don’t pay attention?

The Most Important Question You Can Ask Yourself

Should you wait to get sick or do something to prevent disease? Your body suggests you must avoid disease at all costs!

Longevity researchers agree, as delaying the onset of chronic illnesses can be the key to living longer.

Centenarians, for example, share a fundamental characteristic. As Boston University’s New England Centenarian Study found, they don’t live longer while sick; they take longer to get ill in the first place!14

Don’t you think you should try to imitate them?

Comprehensive Metabolic Panel as A Roadmap

If stopping the development of chronic diseases holds the key to living longer, you cannot afford to ignore tools like a CMP that give voice to your body, showing you what aspects of your health to attend to.

Let’s evaluate five transformative and easy-to-implement lifestyle modifications a CMP could uncover for you.

  • Correcting electrolyte imbalances enhances your athletic capabilities. A trial by Physiological Reports found that cyclists, when dehydrated, had a 13% slower time trial performance.15
  • Lowering blood sugar levels helps you maintain a healthy weight and regulate stress hormones, as explained by the American Diabetes Association.16 Research from Cell Reports Medicine reveals that improving your sleep quality can help you reduce glucose levels.17
  • Reducing cola intake improves your kidney function. The National Kidney Foundation warns that consuming two or more sugary colas every day raises the risk of chronic kidney disease.11
  • Enhancing liver function boosts daily energy levels. The Journal of Hepatology notes that a healthy liver is vital to staying energetic.18 The World Journal of Gastroenterology also reports that liver disease-related fatigue can diminish self-motivation, a critical component to achieving your goals.19
  • Optimizing calcium levels brightens your mood. A study by Nutrients found that higher dietary calcium intake can reduce anxiety levels by lowering the impact of how stress affects you.20

A CMP opens practical possibilities for you that align with the paradigm of not treating disease but preventing it from taking hold. However, determining the right interventions for each person is the only way to bring effective action.

How do you do that? Let’s talk about AI-assisted risk engines.

Health Risks: It Is All Personal

Kyla, a pioneer in Anti-Aging programs, advocates that fully benefiting from medical progress requires a deep insight into your body’s unique risks.

Recent research supports our worldview.

The Journal of Clinical Medicine and Critical Care Explorations evaluated several risk engine models for surgery outcomes and patient deterioration. The AI algorithms obtained promising results, with 82% to 96% accuracy in forecasting postoperative mortality and 93.5% accuracy in predicting hospital patient outcomes.21,22

Where do these studies point to? They foretell a new era of personalized medicine that Kyla proudly ushers.

Kyla: How To Predict the Future

Kyla’s proprietary risk engine brings personalized medicine to life. Our technology sifts through an individual’s medical and personal history, clinical databases, and the latest scientific literature to create a comprehensive health profile. This profile, powered by diagnostic tools like a CMP, is a game-changer.

Our risk engine merges environmental, lifestyle, and genetic data to pinpoint disease risk, crafting bespoke prevention strategies. Equipped with these insights, it designs personalized programs encompassing lifestyle interventions, medication optimization, or targeted medical procedures.

But it does not stop there.

For disease management, our engine revolutionizes treatment predictions. It analyzes extensive datasets to forecast treatment success, potential complications, and long-term outcomes (including remaining lifespan.) Our AI dynamically updates its assessments as new health data emerges, ensuring they reflect current health information.

At Kyla, we believe longevity is a consequence of proactive action. How you interpret – and act – based on your body’s signals over the years will majorly impact your quality of life later.

So, what will you do today to have the best weekend of your life 20 years from now?

References

  1. Fatima Cody Stanford M, Chika Anekwe M. Surprising findings about metabolism and age. Harvard University. 2021 [cited 2024 Jan 12]. Available from: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/surprising-findings-about-metabolism-and-age-202110082613
  2. Araújo J, Cai J, Stevens J. Prevalence of optimal metabolic health in American adults: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009–2016. Metabolic syndrome and related disorders. 2019 Feb 1;17(1):46-52.
  3. Mottillo S, Filion KB, Genest J, Joseph L, Pilote L, Poirier P, Rinfret S, Schiffrin EL, Eisenberg MJ. The metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2010 Sep 28;56(14):1113-32.
  4. Furlan A, Petrus P. Brain–body communication in metabolic control. Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism. 2023 Sep 14.
  5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Type 2 diabetes. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2023 [cited 2024 Jan 12]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/type2.html
  6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prediabetes – your chance to prevent type 2 diabetes [Internet]. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2022 [cited 2024 Jan 12]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/prediabetes.html
  7. Wallis C. Your body has a clever way to detect how much water you should drink every day. Scientific American; 2023 [cited 2024 Jan 12]. Available from: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/your-body-has-a-clever-way-to-detect-how-much-water-you-should-drink-every-day/
  8. Guo X, Yin X, Liu Z, Wang J. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) pathogenesis and natural products for prevention and treatment. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2022 Dec 7;23(24):15489.
  9. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Cirrhosis [Internet]. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; [cited 2024 Jan 22]. Available from: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/liver-disease/cirrhosis
  10. 1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Liver Cancer [Internet]. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2022 [cited 2024 Jan 22]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/liver/index.htm
  11. National Kidney Foundation. Five surprising ways you could be damaging your kidneys. 2023 [cited 2024 Jan 12]. Available from: https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/fivesuprisingwayskidneydamage
  12. Drożdżal S, Lechowicz K, Szostak B, Rosik J, Kotfis K, Machoy‐Mokrzyńska A, Białecka M, Ciechanowski K, Gawrońska‐Szklarz B. Kidney damage from nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs—Myth or truth? Review of selected literature. Pharmacology research & perspectives. 2021 Aug;9(4):e00817.
  13. Cleveland Clinic. Telltale signs that you’re not getting enough calcium. Cleveland Clinic; 2023 [cited 2024 Jan 12]. Available from: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/are-there-any-telltale-signs-that-youre-not-getting-enough-calcium
  14. New England Centenarian Study. The New England Centenarian Study (NECS). [cited 2024 Jan 12]. Available from: https://www.bumc.bu.edu/centenarian/
  15. Logan‐Sprenger HM, Heigenhauser GJ, Jones GL, Spriet LL. The effect of dehydration on muscle metabolism and time trial performance during prolonged cycling in males. Physiological reports. 2015 Aug;3(8):e12483.
  16. American Diabetes Association. 4. Lifestyle management. Diabetes care. 2017 Jan 1;40(Supplement_1):S33-43.
  17. Vallat R, Shah VD, Walker MP. Coordinated human sleeping brainwaves map peripheral body glucose homeostasis. Cell Reports Medicine. 2023 Jul 18;4(7).
  18. Fromenty B, Roden M. Mitochondrial alterations in fatty liver diseases. Journal of hepatology. 2023 Feb 1;78(2):415-29.
  19. Gerber LH, Weinstein AA, Mehta R, Younossi ZM. Importance of fatigue and its measurement in chronic liver disease. World journal of gastroenterology. 2019 Jul 7;25(28):3669.
  20. Du C, Hsiao PY, Ludy MJ, Tucker RM. Relationships between dairy and calcium intake and mental health measures of higher education students in the United States: outcomes from moderation analyses. Nutrients. 2022 Feb 12;14(4):775.
  21. Kokkinakis S, Kritsotakis EI, Lasithiotakis K. Artificial Intelligence in Surgical Risk Prediction. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2023 Jun 13;12(12):4016.
  22. Veldhuis LI, Woittiez NJ, Nanayakkara PW, Ludikhuize J. Artificial intelligence for the prediction of in-hospital clinical deterioration: a systematic review. Critical care explorations. 2022 Sep;4(9).
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