When we hear the word metabolism, we quickly refer to fat burning and weight loss. However, metabolism is a much bigger aspect of the human chemistry. It is not just burning stuff. It is an important process that ensures that substances coming into the body are properly disintegrated to constituent parts, and used for their intended purpose. So when someone has some sort of metabolic disorder syndrome, it could be a very debilitating condition that can affect the person’s diet and way of life. Let us first understand what is metabolic disorder to identify its risks and causes.
Inherited
One aspect to know about metabolic disorders is that they could be inherited. Some of these inherited disorders include Hunter Syndrome (missing enzymes to break down food components), Phenylketonuriam (failure to break down phenylalanine), Porphyria (vague metabolic disorder concerning varied enzyme deficiencies of mutations) and others. These disorders vary depending on what component they are designed to break down. It could be carbohydrates, fats or protein. If the presence of one component is too high or too low, the results can be devastating. Newborn babies are screened for metabolic disorders and their diets are changed accordingly.
Acquired
One such example of this is the metabolic bone disorder which is the disturbance in the cellular, structural or nutritional aspects. The most common examples of such metabolic disorder syndrome are osteoporosis, bone deformities, renal failure and osteomalacia. Careful diagnosis of the person’s medical history and modern methods are necessary to properly identify the problems and ensure safety of the person.
Metabolism is something that we think about all the time especially when we want to lose weight but the fact is that when serious metabolic conditions occur to newborns, even if the condition is very rare, it is necessary to ask the help of a doctor to get the proper attention in addressing such risks. By identifying and understanding what a metabolic disorder is, one can be more open minded about why some people cannot eat certain things like breads and rice and why others are susceptible to various forms of health risks.