What are The 5 Roots of Metabolic Health™?
The 5 Roots of Metabolic Health™ form the foundation of Combe Grove’s Metabolic Health Programmes, aimed at restoring and maintaining, enhancing metabolic balance.
The 5 Roots are Nutrition, Movement, Sleep, Mindset and Environment. Making changes within each of these roots can significantly improve Metabolic Health. Our team will help you to identify the most powerful changes for your personal goals and life stage, you can experience dramatic and often rapid transformations in your metabolic health when you apply these roots in unison. Representing resilience, nurturing, and consistency, these roots anchor health like a tree, with imbalances in one root potentially affecting others.
“Metabolic Health is the engine for life; the foundation of physical and mental health. It’s the ability of the body to use, store, and access energy maintaining stability and thriving. The key measures of Metabolic Health are blood sugar, waist circumference, blood pressure and blood fats (lipids). The measurement of good Metabolic Health is when all measures are in the normal healthy range”
Dr Campbell Murdoch, GP
Nutrition
What do we eat and drink?
Movement
How – and how often – do we move our bodies?
Sleep
How much sleep do we get, and of what quality?
Mindset
How do we think and what impact does this have on our health?
Environment
How do we interact with nature and the world around us?
Nutrition is the cornerstone of metabolic health, crucial for regulating blood sugar, improving insulin sensitivity, and preventing Type 2 diabetes. The Combe Grove Food Ethos promotes real foods low in carbohydrates and rich in protein and natural fats. Nutrition interconnects with other roots; poor sleep can lead to unhealthy food choices, and emotional stress can drive comfort eating. Overall, proper nutrition is key to metabolic health, starting in the gut.
Physical activity plays a key role in the management of metabolic health by improving insulin sensitivity, lowering inflammation and reducing the accumulation of fat in the abdominal cavity. Furthermore, it aids flexibility, coordination, increases the speed of the metabolism, helps us manage stress and support healthy sleep.
Exercise can also bring us outdoors into nature giving us fresh air, sunlight and relaxation. Movement, as a root, can improve sleep quality by balancing the circadian rhythm in the body.
At Combe Grove you will have access to the fitness studio, swimming facilities, tennis, walking, yoga and classes to support your movement root.
Lack of, and disrupted sleep, has been linked to poor metabolic health both directly, by causing an increase in insulin resistance, and indirectly by increasing the likelihood of unhelpful lifestyle choices such as sedentary behaviour and poor diet.
Sleep allows your body to rest and restore. It also allows your body to repair itself due to hormonal growth factors, as well as detoxing the brain, improving cognitive function and forming memories. Sleep also creates a healthier mindset, giving us the mentality to move and eat well. In the morning, blue light stimulates the mind and activates melatonin, a hormone within the body, which aids your circadian rhythm.
It is advised that to improve sleep quality and establish a consistent sleep pattern, you should ensure that your bedroom environment is free from technology where possible and that you have time before bed where you avoid anything that causes stimulation.
The way that we interact with our environment can have a profound effect on how we experience the world, with implications for stress management, mood and contentment. A lack of balance in this area can lead to increased stress and inflammation within the body which may aggravate insulin resistance and worsen metabolic health.
There are many things to consider with your environment root. This could be your home setting or your workplace for example, but it can also be your support system of family, friends and colleagues. In terms of the environment in supports your nutrition root, some attention should be given to your eating environment. Do you sit on the sofa while eating or do you lay the table and create a beautiful space to enjoy your meals? Do you eat alone, or do you share your mealtime with others?
Another aspect of your environment root is your work/life balance. If your work takes precedence, it could create more stress and fatigue. Taking time for self-care to balance out your work and social life gives you moments to reflect and reset your battery.
The way that we think can have a significant impact on the way we feel and the actions we take. Your mindset and your beliefs can have an influence on your food choices, how much you move your body and your quality of sleep.
Behavioural change and goal setting can improve your connection with each root to gain control and balance, as well as improve your production of dopamine, the reward hormone, which can reduce stress and anxiety. Setting affirmations and using mindfulness tools such as meditation, breathing and creativity are excellent ways to build a positive mindset.
This indirectly links to your nutritional root, where a positive mindset can make better food choices and for your movement root; exercise is known to increase your happy hormones.
– Dr Rebecca Hiscutt, PhD..
