We talk about having a slow metabolism or a fast metabolism. We hear about what we should eat and avoid. When we hear “metabolism,” and when referred to in many spaces, it simply means “the rate at which we burn calories,” but it’s a more nuanced process than that.
Metabolism is a three-stage chemical reaction that includes converting food to energy for cellular processes, converting food into bodily building blocks (proteins, lipids, nucleic acids), and eliminating metabolic waste. It’s both breaking down and building up.