The Silent Connection: How Metabolic Health Shapes Your Heart Future

Why can “feeling fine” be misleading for your heart?

You might feel okay on the outside – no major symptoms, clothes still fitting – yet heart risks can quietly be building underneath. Many cardiovascular problems develop with little fanfare, driven by hidden issues like high blood pressure or blood sugar that often go unnoticed day to day. In fact, one study found that only 12% of American adults met all the criteria for optimal metabolic health. This means even people with a normal weight or BMI aren’t automatically in the clear – it’s possible to be “metabolically obese, normal weight” (MONW), looking healthy but internally prone to diabetes or heart disease. In midlife, these silent problems become especially common, as hormone shifts and aging can nudge up our blood sugar, blood pressure, or waist size without us realizing it. The bottom line: feeling fine isn’t a guarantee. To truly safeguard your heart’s future, it helps to peek under the hood at your metabolic health – the body’s network of processes that controls blood sugar, fats, and energy.

Which health numbers matter most, and what do they mean?

When it comes to wellness, knowing your numbers is empowering. Certain key health metrics act as early warning lights on your dashboard, reflecting how well your body is managing fuel and stress. Let’s break down a few of the most important measures and what they signify for your metabolic and heart health:

• Fasting Blood Glucose: This is your blood sugar level after not eating overnight. A healthy reading is below 5.6 mmol/L (100 mg/dL). Higher levels, even if mild, signal that your body is struggling to regulate sugar – a possible sign of insulin resistance or prediabetes, which over time can damage blood vessels.
  
  

• HbA1c (Glycated Hemoglobin): Think of this as a 2–3 month sugar audit. It reflects the percentage of your red blood cells coated with sugar. An ideal HbA1c is under 5.7%, indicating your blood glucose has stayed in check recently. If this creeps above 5.7%, it means your average sugar has been running high, which correlates with higher risk of diabetes and heart complications due to prolonged sugar exposure in the bloodstream.
  
  

• Blood Pressure: Blood pressure measures the force of blood against your artery walls. Around 120/80 mmHg is considered a normal baseline. When your blood pressure is chronically high (for example, consistently above ~130/85), it puts extra strain on your heart and arteries. Many people don’t feel high blood pressure, but over years it can stiffen arteries and lead to heart disease or stroke if untreated.
  
  

• Triglycerides: These are a type of fat found in your blood. After you eat, any excess calories your body doesn’t need right away get packaged into triglycerides. Ideally, fasting triglycerides should be below 1.7 mmol/L (150 mg/dL). Elevated triglycerides often go hand-in-hand with insulin resistance – they can indicate that your diet is heavy in sugars or refined carbs, which get converted to fat in the liver. High triglycerides make your blood thicker and can contribute to artery plaque formation over time.
  
  

• HDL Cholesterol: Often called “good cholesterol,” HDL helps ferry excess cholesterol out of the arteries. Higher is better – for women, above 1.3 mmol/L (50 mg/dL) is the goal. If your HDL is low, it means your body has less help clearing fat from the bloodstream. Low HDL combined with high triglycerides is a red flag for metabolic syndrome, suggesting your body isn’t managing fats well.
  
  

• Waist Circumference: Measuring your waist is a simple but powerful self-check for visceral fat – the deeper “belly fat” around your organs. A healthy target is a waist size below 88 cm (35 inches) for women. If your waist circumference is above this, it indicates excess abdominal fat, which is linked to higher risks of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. That’s because visceral fat isn’t just passive fluff; it actively releases inflammatory compounds and hormones that can disrupt your metabolism.

Each of these numbers tells a story about your internal health. The more of them that are in the optimal range, the more “at ease” your system likely is. If one or more are edging into risky territory, take it as an early whisper – a chance to adjust course with lifestyle changes or consult your doctor. Knowing your numbers means you don’t have to fly blind. It gives you concrete targets to work on and a way to track improvements as you make changes.

Why does muscle mass matter for metabolism and heart risk?

One often overlooked hero in metabolic health is your muscle mass. Far beyond just strength or physique, muscle is metabolically active tissue that acts like a shield for your metabolism. Starting as early as our 30s, we naturally lose about 3–8% of our muscle mass per decade unless we proactively stay active. For women entering their 40s and 50s, this muscle loss can accelerate, especially through menopause. The drop in estrogen around menopause doesn’t just affect bones – it also tends to slow metabolism and promote more fat around the waist. The result can be a frustrating body composition shift: less muscle, more visceral fat, and a higher risk of metabolic issues even if your weight hasn’t drastically changed.

The good news is that building or maintaining muscle can counteract many of these changes. Here are some ways lean muscle acts as a metabolic shield for your body:

• Higher Resting Metabolism: Muscle tissue burns more energy than fat, even at rest. By preserving muscle, you keep your basal metabolic rate higher, which makes it easier to maintain a healthy weight (and not accumulate extra fat that stresses the heart).
  
  

• Better Blood Sugar Control: Muscles are like sponges for blood sugar – they soak up glucose from the bloodstream for fuel. More muscle mass improves your insulin sensitivity, meaning your body can manage blood sugar with less insulin needed. This helps prevent the spikes in blood glucose and insulin that contribute to diabetes and artery damage.
  
  

• Healthier Fat Distribution: Having stronger muscles often goes hand-in-hand with being more active, which helps prevent fat buildup around your middle. In contrast, low muscle combined with high fat (sometimes called sarcopenic obesity) is particularly harmful, as it drives inflammation and insulin resistance. Maintaining muscle reduces the likelihood of that risky visceral fat accumulating.
  
  

• Cardio-Protective Effects: Resistance training (the kind that builds muscle) has direct benefits for the heart and blood vessels. It can lower your resting blood pressure and improve your cholesterol profile – typically reducing triglycerides and boosting HDL. It also helps keep your bones strong and can improve overall fitness, making daily activities easier on your heart.

In essence, muscle is metabolically expensive in the best way – it burns calories and helps regulate fuels in your body, acting as a buffer against metabolic stress. To harness these benefits, prioritize activities that challenge your muscles. This doesn’t mean you need to become a bodybuilder! Simple body-weight exercises, lifting light weights, or yoga can all help. Aim to do some form of resistance or strength training at least 2 days per week (working all major muscle groups) in addition to aerobic exercise. Not only will you feel stronger and more capable, but you’ll also be fortifying that metabolic shield that keeps blood sugar steadier and heart risk lower.

What does it mean to be metabolically healthy?

Being “metabolically healthy” means your body’s inner workings are in balance – you efficiently process nutrients, maintain stable energy levels, and have low levels of the “silent” risk factors that lead to heart disease. Metabolic health is typically defined by having optimal levels of blood sugar, blood pressure, blood lipids (cholesterol/triglycerides), and a healthy fat distribution without the need for medications. Essentially, it’s the opposite of the metabolic syndrome, which is diagnosed when someone has a cluster of problems like high blood pressure, high blood sugar, large waist circumference, low HDL, or high triglycerides. The fewer of these issues you have, the more metabolically healthy you are – and the lower your risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Why does metabolic health matter so much for your heart? The connection is both direct and indirect. For example, chronically elevated blood sugar can injure the delicate lining of your arteries over time, while high insulin levels (from insulin resistance) can promote the growth of arterial plaques. Insulin resistance itself – when the body’s cells don’t respond well to insulin – is a central feature of poor metabolic health. If you are insulin resistant, your pancreas has to pump out more and more insulin to control blood sugar, and often still can’t keep sugars in check. This state contributes to higher blood glucose, higher insulin (which promotes fat storage), and often higher blood pressure – a triple whammy for your arteries. Visceral fat (the fat deep in your abdomen) plays a big role here: it actively contributes to insulin resistance by releasing fatty acids and hormones that interfere with insulin’s action. It’s a vicious cycle – more belly fat worsens insulin resistance, and insulin resistance can lead to storing more fat.

Another hidden player is chronic inflammation. Unlike the redness and pain of an acute injury, chronic inflammation is a subtle, ongoing fire in the body that you can’t see or feel – but it can wreak havoc on blood vessels. Visceral fat is hormonally active tissue that actually secretes inflammatory molecules. If you have a lot of belly fat, it can lead to increased levels of inflammation throughout the body, which in turn contributes to the development of atherosclerosis (plaque in the arteries). Over years, this can set the stage for heart attacks or strokes. In a metabolically healthy person, inflammation levels tend to be lower, because there isn’t that excess visceral fat stoking the fire.

Overall, being metabolically healthy means your body can “keep up” with life’s demands without showing signs of strain. Blood sugar doesn’t spike wildly after meals; blood pressure stays in a safe range; cholesterol and triglycerides are balanced; and you’re not carrying harmful fat around your organs. Many women don’t realize they’re edging away from metabolic health until a doctor points out a higher glucose or blood pressure reading. It often happens gradually. By age 50, roughly 40% of adults meet the criteria for metabolic syndrome (poor metabolic health), and by 60 that number is nearly 50%. The encouraging news is that metabolic health is not set in stone – it can be improved. If you find out you’re not in an optimal range, you can take targeted steps (through diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes) to restore balance. And doing so pays off: improving metabolic health markers has been shown to significantly cut the risk of heart disease, essentially because you’re defusing those hidden “time bombs” like high sugar, high blood pressure, and inflammation that would otherwise damage your heart and vessels.

How do nutrition and energy balance influence metabolic health?

Food is fuel, but it’s also information for your body. The foods and eating patterns you choose can either support a flexible, healthy metabolism or push it toward dysfunction. A key concept is how different foods affect your blood sugar and insulin levels. Foods high in refined carbohydrates – think white bread, sugary cereals, pastries, candy, sweet drinks – tend to have a high glycemic index, meaning they spike blood glucose quickly. These quick hits of sugar force your body to release lots of insulin to shuttle the glucose into cells. Over time, a diet full of high-GI foods is like riding a metabolic rollercoaster: your blood sugar soars and crashes repeatedly, and your cells may begin to tune out the constant insulin signals. Eventually, this can lead to insulin resistance, where more and more insulin is needed and blood sugar starts to creep up. High insulin also tells your body to store fat, especially in the belly region, so it’s no surprise that frequent sugar spikes can encourage weight gain around the waist. Many women notice this as the “sugar belly” effect – even if calories aren’t sky-high, a sugary diet makes it easier to accumulate visceral fat.

On the other hand, eating in a way that produces gentler blood sugar curves can protect your metabolism. That means emphasizing low-glycemic, high-fibre foods: vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and lean proteins. These foods digest more slowly, causing a lower and slower rise in blood glucose and insulin. This gives your body steady energy and helps you feel fuller longer, rather than the quick hunger rebound you get after a sugary snack. In fact, a high-fibre, whole-food diet has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and even reduce inflammation in the body over time. You’re essentially nourishing your body in a way that it was designed to handle – with gradual releases of glucose, plenty of vitamins and antioxidants, and no extreme surges for your pancreas and arteries to deal with.

It’s also worth noting that not all calories are equal when it comes to metabolism. The quality and composition of what you eat influence how your body uses and stores energy. Protein and fibre-rich foods, for example, actually make your body work harder (and use more calories) to digest them – this is called the thermic effect of food. Up to 20–30% of the calories in protein may be burned off just to process it, whereas highly processed sugary or fatty foods are absorbed with minimal effort. Also, whole foods tend to be more filling and trigger fullness signals, whereas refined foods can trick you into overeating because they’re digested so quickly. By choosing, say, an apple with peanut butter instead of a candy bar, you not only avoid a sugar spike, but you also engage your metabolism in doing a bit more work (chewing, digesting fibre and protein) which can help with weight control and blood sugar stability. Over time, these small differences add up – supporting a healthy weight, better blood pressure, and lower strain on your heart.

What does this mean in practice? It means small, sustainable dietary tweaks can make a big difference. Here are a few examples:

• Breakfast swaps: If you start your day with something like a sugary cereal or a pastry, you’re kicking off a blood sugar spike first thing. Try swapping in a bowl of oatmeal topped with berries and nuts, or some Greek yogurt with fruit and a sprinkle of granola. These options are rich in fibre and protein, which will keep you satisfied and your blood sugar stable (plus they provide natural sweetness without loads of added sugar).
  
  

• Choose whole grains over refined: Whole-grain bread, brown rice, whole wheat pasta – these contain more fibre and nutrients than their white counterparts. For example, if you’re making a sandwich, opt for whole grain bread instead of white. The fibre slows down digestion, so you get a steadier release of energy. Over time, this simple swap can even improve measures like your HbA1c and cholesterol levels.
  
  

• Prioritise healthy fats and lean proteins: Fats are not the enemy – it’s the type that matters. Use heart-healthy fats like olive oil or avocado in place of butter or margarine when cooking. Similarly, favor lean proteins (fish, chicken, beans, lentils) over fatty red meats or processed meats. For instance, try a grilled salmon or a tofu stir-fry instead of a fatty steak on a regular weeknight. These changes cut down on saturated fat (which can raise “bad” LDL cholesterol) and instead give you fats that can boost your HDL (“good”) cholesterol. They also reduce overall calorie density while still keeping you full and satisfied.

Beyond what you eat, how much you eat matters for maintaining a healthy energy balance. In midlife, metabolism can slow down a bit, and it’s easier for excess calories to turn into stored fat. Pay attention to portion sizes and hunger cues. Eating slowly and mindfully can help prevent taking in more than your body needs. Also, consider your daily calorie burn – your metabolism benefits not just from scheduled workouts but also from staying active throughout the day (take walks, use the stairs, stand up regularly if you have a desk job, etc.). This everyday movement can significantly increase your energy expenditure. Remember, consistently eating more calories than you burn will lead to weight gain over time. So if your goal is to lose weight or reduce waist size, you’ll want to create a slight calorie deficit by combining increased activity with modestly reduced calorie intake, all while choosing nourishing foods.

The take-home message for nutrition is: fuel your body like an ally. Give it high-quality foods that provide steady energy, and be mindful of the portions. By doing so, you’re not only feeding your immediate hunger, but also “feeding” your metabolism in a way that keeps your blood sugars, fats, and weight in a heart-healthy balance.

How can I self-check the four wellness pillars each week?

Metabolic and heart health isn’t a one-time project – it’s an ongoing journey, and it helps to regularly check in with yourself about the basics. In our Cento approach, we view heart wellness through four main pillars: Nutrition, Movement, Sleep, and Stress management. These pillars are deeply interconnected, and together they shape your metabolic health day by day. A great habit to cultivate is a simple daily or weekly “wellness check-in” where you reflect on each pillar and note any areas that need love or adjustment.

Before diving into habits, there are also a couple of easy self-measurements you can do. For example, take a tape measure and check your waist circumference every now and then – if it’s creeping above 35 inches, that’s a sign of increasing visceral fat and a cue to refocus on diet and exercise. Likewise, monitoring your blood pressure (many pharmacies or home monitors make this easy) can alert you to upward trends early. Remember, issues like an expanding waistline or rising blood pressure are early warning signs that often appear long before a serious event like a heart attack, so catching them gives you a chance to act preventatively.

Now, consider the four wellness pillars and how to self-assess them:

• Nutrition: Ask yourself, “How balanced and whole is my diet lately?” Take a quick mental (or written) inventory of what you ate today. Did you include vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, and healthy fats? Or was it mostly refined carbs and convenience snacks? By identifying patterns in your eating – maybe you notice you’ve been skimping on protein at breakfast or relying on takeout a bit too often – you can spot where a small change could help. One practical self-check is to keep a simple food journal for a few days, noting not just what you eat but also how you feel (energy, mood, cravings) after meals. This can highlight connections, like the fact that on days you eat a high-sugar lunch, you crash mid-afternoon. Use that insight to tweak tomorrow’s menu.
  
  

• Movement: Check in on your physical activity. “Have I moved my body enough today?” In practice, this could mean counting your steps (are you hitting a reasonable daily step count for yourself?) or gauging your exercise for the week. Health authorities recommend aiming for at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise per week, plus strength training on 2 or more days. You can break that down into whatever works for you – for example, a 30-minute brisk walk five days a week, and a couple of short home strength workouts. If structured exercise feels hard to schedule, focus on staying active in little ways: take the stairs, stretch during TV commercials, do a quick dance with the kids in the kitchen. If you notice you’ve been quite sedentary (perhaps your step count is very low or you get winded easily climbing stairs), that’s a nudge to build more movement into your routine. Start wherever you are – even a 10-minute walk on your lunch break is great – and gradually ramp up. Your muscles, metabolism, and mood will thank you.
  
  

• Sleep: Reflect on your rest. “Am I getting 7–9 hours of quality sleep?” Adequate sleep is a cornerstone of metabolic health. When you’re chronically sleep-deprived, your body produces more cortisol (a stress hormone), which can increase appetite, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels. Pay attention to how you feel in the mornings: Do you wake up refreshed or hit the snooze button multiple times? Are you relying on caffeine throughout the day to stay alert? These can be signs that your sleep needs improvement. To self-check, you might keep a sleep diary or use a wearable tracker for a week to see patterns. Prioritising a consistent bedtime, creating a calming pre-sleep routine (like turning off screens, dimming lights, or doing gentle stretches), and making sure your sleep environment is comfortable can dramatically improve your sleep quality. Good sleep isn’t a luxury – it’s essential self-care for your heart and metabolic system.
  
  

• Stress Management: Consider your stress levels and coping strategies. “How am I handling stress?” Life in our 35–60 age range can be full – careers, family responsibilities, possibly caring for both kids and aging parents – and stress can become a constant companion. Chronically high stress can keep cortisol levels elevated, which, similar to lack of sleep, promotes belly fat and insulin resistance over time. Take a moment to gauge your mental/emotional state. Do you often feel anxious, irritable, or overwhelmed? And importantly, do you have outlets for relaxation and joy? If you realize that “downtime” has been missing from your schedule, try to weave in small stress-relief habits daily. It could be as simple as a 5-minute breathing exercise in the morning, a short walk outdoors after work to clear your head, or a relaxing hobby in the evening. Some people benefit from yoga or meditation, others from journaling or talking with a friend – find what works for you. The goal is to regularly engage the “off switch” for stress. Not only will you likely feel more balanced, but managing stress also positively impacts blood pressure, blood sugar, and even inflammation levels. It’s truly a pillar of health, not an afterthought.

By routinely checking in on these pillars, you create a loop of awareness and adjustment. Maybe this week you notice your sleep has been off, so you focus on fixing that, and next week you realize your diet slipped during a busy period, so you refocus on meal planning. This ongoing self-assessment keeps you in tune with your body. It’s like course-correcting a ship – small adjustments along the way prevent you from drifting too far off into unhealthy territory. Remember, health is cumulative. The everyday choices in these four areas add up and directly influence your metabolic numbers and heart risk. So give yourself that few minutes each day or week to reflect: you’re the pilot here, and these are your navigation tools to keep you on a heart-healthy course.

Takeaway – Reframing Heart Health as Whole-Body Health

Heart health isn’t just about your heart – it’s a reflection of your whole body’s wellness. When we talk about protecting your heart, we’re really talking about caring for your metabolism, your muscles, your mind, and your lifestyle as a cohesive whole. The connection between metabolic health and cardiovascular health is so profound that improving one invariably benefits the other. By reframing “heart health” to mean whole-body health, we empower ourselves to look beyond just a single cholesterol number or the reading on the scale. It’s about the big picture: how well you regulate blood sugar, how you manage stress, how strong your body is, and how nourished and balanced your daily life feels.

The encouraging takeaway is that small habits sustained over time truly make a difference. You don’t need to strive for perfection or change everything at once. Start with small, doable steps – a vegetable at every meal, a 20-minute evening walk, an earlier bedtime, or a weekend yoga class with a friend. These may seem minor on their own, but they compound. Research and experience show that such small, consistent actions can have a powerful impact on your long-term cardiovascular well-being. For example, choosing whole foods more often, staying active daily, and keeping an eye on that waistline inch by inch can together tilt the odds in favor of a healthier heart. And as you’ve learned, those efforts aren’t only helping your heart – they’re improving your energy, mood, and overall vitality, because everything in the body is connected.

So, as you move forward, take a holistic view of your health. Celebrate the positive changes you make (every salad, every workout, every good night’s sleep is a win), and be gentle with yourself when life throws you off – just get back on track when you can. Your heart’s future is shaped by these everyday choices and the silent currents of metabolic health beneath them. By caring for the whole you, you’re truly investing in many healthy years to come.

We invite you to continue this journey with us. If you’re ready to turn these insights into action, consider joining Cento’s 10-Day Heart Health Programme – a supportive, step-by-step program where you’ll build sustainable habits across all these pillars. It’s a great way to kick-start a healthier routine and ensure that the knowledge from this article turns into lifelong practices that protect your heart and metabolism.

Disclaimer

This article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult your healthcare provider before making significant changes to your diet, exercise routine, or health management – especially if you have existing health conditions or risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Your doctor can provide personalized guidance and monitor your progress as you improve your metabolic and heart health. Here’s to your wellness journey!

Sources

• Levels (2024) The 2024 Levels Guide to cardiovascular and metabolic health. Available at: https://www.levels.com/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-cardiovascular-and-metabolic-health (Accessed: 27 January 2025).

• Zhang, Y. et al. (2023) ‘Metabolic disorders and risk of cardiovascular diseases: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study’, Frontiers in Endocrinology. Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10617200/ (Accessed: 27 January 2025).

• Abbott (2024) 5 Fundamentals That Can Improve Your Metabolic Health. Available at: https://www.abbott.com/corpnewsroom/nutrition-health-and-wellness/5-fundamentals-that-can-improve-your-metabolic-health.html (Accessed: 27 January 2025).

• Stanford, K.I. et al. (2024) ‘Exercise as a tool to mitigate metabolic disease’, American Journal of Physiology - Cell Physiology, 327(1). Available at: https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpcell.00144.2024 (Accessed: 27 January 2025).

• Metabolic Mind (2024) The Connection Between Metabolic and Mental Health. Available at: https://www.metabolicmind.org/blog/the-connection-between-metabolic-and-mental-health (Accessed: 27 January 2025).

• Sleep Foundation (2024) Sleep and Weight Loss. Available at: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/physical-health/weight-loss-and-sleep (Accessed: 27 January 2025).

• Veri (2024) The Relationship Between Sleep and Metabolic Health. Available at: https://www.veri.co/learn/sleep-and-metabolic-health (Accessed: 27 January 2025).

• Wu, T. et al. (2024) ‘Combined influence of eight lifestyle factors on metabolic syndrome incidence: a prospective cohort study from the MECH-HK Study’, BMC Medicine, 22, p.10892175. Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10892175/ (Accessed: 27 January 2025).