Limitless online sources claim to have the secrets to better nutrition or a faster metabolism. However, few of these sources adequately define the concept of nutrition and metabolism for the average person. Metabolism is the catch-all term for the ongoing process of breakdown, repair and growth in your body. Nutrition is the combination of foods, drugs and other substances that your body relies on for ongoing metabolic processes.
Metabolism
As you live your life, you are consuming energy, tearing down and rebuilding tissues in your body, as well as growing and aging. This is metabolism. Your body's metabolism consists of two distinct processes: catabolism and anabolism. Catabolism encompasses the breaking down and recycling of damaged tissue as well as the use of stores of fat, sugar and protein as energy of raw materials. Anabolism encompasses the rebuilding of materials, growth during development and the deposition of excess nutrients into internal stores.
Nutrition
Your body requires a continuous source of energy and raw materials to carry out metabolic processes. This is nutrition. The requirements of your body include calories -- the total amount of energy your body can produce from food -- as well as protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals and water. The bottom line of proper diet is to obtain all the nutrients your body needs without consuming too many calories.
How Nutrition Changes Metabolism
Overall, a deficiency in calories or nutrients in your diet pushes your body into catabolism, breaking down internal stores to obtain the required nutrients and energy. If your body still cannot obtain all the energy and nutrients it requires, certain biological reactions will fall behind. An abundance of energy and nutrients will push your body into anabolism, restoring damaged tissues and growing them to be stronger, as well as replenishing internal stores. However, persistent abundance of energy will only gain you more fat stores.
How Metabolism Changes Nutritional Requirements
Not everyone's body or activities are alike, so they have different nutritional requirements. Your metabolic rate, or the rate you burn energy and use nutrients, is determined by genetics, plus hormone and activity levels. For example, frequent or strenuous physical activity increases your requirement for energy and protein to repair muscle. Hormones triggering growth or reproductive processes may increase or decrease the requirements for certain nutrients. Work with a nutritionist or a health professional to determine the appropriate amount of calories and nutrients to consume for your biology and lifestyle.
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