Metabolism plays a big role in our health, it’s not just about helping your digestive system work smoothly, but the way your body breaks down the food and helps nutrients get absorbed into the body that matters. But often due to one reason or the other, your metabolism can slow down, which then causes issues with people. Many people think that the reason they may be gaining weight could be because of their poor metabolism, so how does one go about fixing this issue and how do you even know that the fault lies with your metabolism.

To understand why your metabolism may be slowing down, we must understand what role it exactly plays. Metabolism is the process your body uses to turn food into energy. It's essential for everything from breathing and digestion to keeping you warm. Several things affect how fast your metabolism works, including your genes, health, and lifestyle. A slow metabolism means your body burns fewer calories, which can lead to tiredness, dry skin, weight gain, and cravings.

Why Does Your Metabolism Slow Down?

There can be many reasons why your metabolism may be slowing down. You inherit some of it, and it tends to slow down as you age, often due to changes in your body and less muscle. Men and women have different metabolisms because of body size, makeup, and hormones. What you eat matters too – not enough healthy food or a very low-calorie or high-fat diet can slow it down. A lazy lifestyle, lack of sleep, and stress can also make your metabolism sluggish. Certain health problems like diabetes or an underactive thyroid, and even environmental factors, may also play a role.

Signs You Need To Improve Your Metabolism

While these are some common signs, it is best to visit a healthcare professional and ask for their opinions before you try a solution. There are many underlying reasons as to why you are experiencing slow metabolism, it can also be a side-effect of some medicine. A healthy lifestyle goes a long way, especially for people who already have digestive issues, kidney or even mental health issues like stress and anxiety.

Constant Fatigue

Feeling tired all the time, even without a good reason, could mean your metabolism is slow. A slow metabolism means your body breaks down food into energy slowly, leaving you with low energy levels. You might feel sluggish or get tired easily throughout the day. Changes in what you eat or your body composition (how much fat and muscle you have) can also make you feel more tired.

Dry Skin

Dry skin is common in winter, but if you have it all the time, it could be a sign of a slow metabolism. Thyroid hormones help control your metabolism and also keep your skin hydrated. If your thyroid isn't working right and your metabolism is slow, your skin might get very dry.

Weight Gain

If you're eating healthy and exercising but still gaining weight, a slow metabolism could be the problem. A slow metabolism doesn't turn food into energy quickly, so you burn fewer calories. Extra calories are stored as fat, making it hard to lose weight.

Feeling Cold

Feeling cold even when it's not cold outside can be a sign of a slow metabolism. Your body generates heat through metabolism. If your metabolism is slow, your body temperature might be lower. Some studies show that people with an underactive thyroid or obesity may have lower body temperatures because of a slow metabolism. This can be because of problems with thyroid hormones, which help your body make heat.

Food Cravings

Craving sugary or fatty foods can be a sign of a slow metabolism. Studies show that cravings are related to metabolic health. This is especially true for people who don't eat enough healthy foods, have bad eating habits, or have low muscle mass and high fat mass. Cravings might also mean your body isn't getting enough energy from the food you eat, so it wants more energy.

Mood Swings

Everyone has mood swings sometimes. But if you have them often, it could be from a slow metabolism. Low energy and hormone problems that come with a slow metabolism can make you irritable and frustrated. Some older research also suggests a link between mental health issues and a slow metabolism.

Digestive Problems

Digestion and metabolism are connected. Digestion breaks down food, and metabolism turns it into energy. If your metabolism changes, like slowing down, it can affect your digestion. A slow metabolism can cause constipation, bloating, or diarrhea.

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders and a leading cause of disability worldwide. Research has suggested that associated conditions, such as stigma, anxiety, and depression, can sometimes be more debilitating than the seizures themselves.

Stigma related to epilepsy can exist at both societal and individual levels, with many patients experiencing feelings of shame, fear, discrimination, and social isolation.

Now, research led by AIIMS New Delhi has suggested that yoga may help reduce epilepsy-related stigma while also improving seizure control. The 2023 study, published in Neurology, found that yoga-based interventions may offer benefits for both mental well-being and disease management.

“Yoga has been clinically proven to reduce the ‘felt stigma’ associated with epilepsy. By alleviating anxiety and improving both mindfulness and overall quality of life, mind-body interventions empower individuals to feel more in control and less socially isolated,” lead author Dr. Manjari Tripathi, Head of the Department of Neurology at AIIMS, told HealthandMe.

What Did the Study Find?

According to Dr. Manjari, the study identified three key benefits of yoga for people living with epilepsy:

• Stigma Reduction: Patients who participated in a six-month yoga and psychoeducation program reported a significant reduction in perceived stigma compared with the control group.

• Improved Seizure Control: The yoga intervention was associated with a higher rate of seizure reduction. "Participants were more than four times as likely to experience a greater than 50% reduction in seizures and were significantly more likely to achieve complete seizure remission," Dr. Manjari told HealthandMe.

• Better Mental Health: Yoga practice was linked to lower anxiety levels, improved emotional regulation, and reduced cognitive impairment.

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Dr. Rajesh Sagar, Professor of Psychiatry at AIIMS, told HealthandMe that yoga reduced the burden of epilepsy and improved the overall quality of life in epilepsy patients by reducing the perceived stigma. The overall quality of life was also improved in the yoga group.

How Was the Study Conducted?

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Researchers conducted a randomized clinical trial involving 160 adults with epilepsy who were followed for six months. Participants were assigned either a structured yoga program or a sham yoga intervention, while both groups also received epilepsy-related psychoeducation.

The yoga program included loosening exercises , breathing techniques, meditation, and positive affirmations.

While the impact on seizure frequency was reduced compared with the control group, the researchers cautioned that larger studies are needed to conclusively determine the effect of yoga on seizure control.

Yoga For Mental Health

Further, mood disturbances have been common among people with epilepsy and often remain inadequately addressed, particularly in developing countries.

According to the researchers, yoga may offer a scalable and accessible option for helping patients manage these challenges alongside conventional treatment.

Dr. Rajesh further told HealthandMe that yoga has well-established benefits for mental health.

“Yoga is important in mental health care, and it has been found that the three important things, which are pranayama, that is, breathing techniques, asanas, that is, physical posture, and dhyana, that is, meditation, have a positive effect on anxiety and even depression, and also improve sleep".

He added that yoga can help reduce stress, improve mood, lower anxiety levels, and enhance sleep quality.

“There is substantial evidence from around the world showing that yoga can benefit people living with certain mental health disorders,” he said.

Every morning, millions begin their day with a quick breakfast and blood pressure (BP) medication swallowed mechanically. But what happens when BP remains uncontrolled despite medicines? Uncontrolled hypertension is one of the most underestimated health threats. Often called the silent killer, it quietly damages the heart, brain, kidneys, and blood vessels.

The BP reading on the cuff captures only a visible measurement. BP that remains above goal over time despite treatment is concerning. Hypertension affects approximately 1.4 billion adults worldwide. Studies suggest that almost 54% of Indian patients have uncontrolled hypertension even while taking ≥2 medications. Thus, treatment does not necessarily mean control.

Why Does BP Control Matter?

Global organizations recommend stricter BP targets, aiming for readings below 130/80 mmHg or even 120 mmHg if tolerated. Studies show that each 10 mmHg reduction in systolic BP can decrease the risk of major cardiovascular events by 20%, stroke by 27%, heart failure by 28%, and death by 13%.

On the other hand, uncontrolled hypertension increases the risk of heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, end-stage kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, and death.

But What If The Numbers Don’t Change Despite Medication?

In persistently uncontrolled hypertension that other causes cannot explain, a hidden culprit called aldosterone is an under-recognized driver. Normally, aldosterone balances sodium and water to regulate BP.

However, in patients with uncontrolled hypertension, aldosterone production may remain abnormally high, causing sodium and fluid buildup, increasing BP.

Approximately 30% of patients with hypertension may have aldosterone dysregulation, and patients with resistant hypertension, obesity, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, and hypokalemia are at greater risk. Nearly 10–20% of patients with hypertension are treatment resistant, increasing their risk. In these patients, aldosterone dysregulation could be an important cause.

It is time to look beyond the cuff, as uncontrolled hypertension is a chronic, progressive, and often silent condition with serious consequences. Improving patient outcomes requires greater urgency, earlier intervention, better treatment optimization, and stronger awareness of underlying drivers such as aldosterone.

It is time to identify and treat the root causes of uncontrolled hypertension, so that patients can regain lasting BP control.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, affects millions of people worldwide. The lifelong condition commonly begins in adolescence or early adulthood and can require repeated hospital treatment, long-term immunosuppressive medication, and, in some cases, surgery.

Despite advances in treatment, many patients cycle through multiple therapies without achieving lasting disease control, impacting their lives and costing healthcare systems millions.

Now, a team of UK researchers from the Universities of Oxford, Newcastle, and Cambridge has identified an important driver of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

The findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggest that inflammatory bowel disease is not a single condition but a group of biologically distinct diseases driven by different underlying mechanisms.

"Understanding what drives the inflammation provides a clear explanation for disease in this group of people and opens the door to new treatments that target the autoantibodies themselves or cells that produce those autoantibodies," said Professor Holm Uhlig, a pediatric gastroenterologist and director of the Centre for Human Genetics, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford.

What Did the Study Find?

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The researchers analyzed more than 4,900 patients with IBD and discovered that:

• A substantial subset of patients shows autoimmune responses to one of the guardians of the immune system, interleukin-10 (IL-10), which leads to uncontrolled inflammation.
• This damaging immune response is the mechanism for one of the strongest known genetic risk factors for IBD.

Antibodies that block interleukin-10 (IL-10), a cell-to-cell messenger that normally acts as one of the body's key controls on inflammation, effectively remove the immune system's natural "brake" on inflammation, allowing inflammatory responses to continue unchecked.

The researchers found high levels of anti-IL-10 neutralizing autoantibodies in the blood of about 3.5% of IBD patients, including those with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, but not in healthy individuals. This could equate to 15,000–20,000 people with IBD in the UK carrying these autoantibodies.

The Genetic Link

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The researchers also found that the presence of these antibodies was strongly linked to carriage of a particular genetic variant known as HLA-DRB1*01:03.

The link between HLA-DRB1*01:03 and a severe form of inflammatory bowel disease was first identified by Oxford researchers 30 years ago.

The new findings show that people carrying this variant are far more likely to develop antibodies that block IL-10, helping explain how the gene contributes to disease.

What Could This Mean for Patients?

The researchers say the findings support the development of a blood test to identify this subgroup of patients, helping clinicians move quickly toward more appropriate treatment.

What Is IBD?

As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), IBD refers to a group of lifelong diseases that affect your intestines. The main types of IBD are ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.

Ulcerative colitis affects the large intestine, while Crohn’s disease can inflame any part of the digestive tract. Both are lifelong conditions of unknown cause that trigger abdominal pain, diarrhea and other complications, with no known cure.

What Are The Symptoms Of IBD That People Usually Ignore?

• Diarrhea or changes in bowel movements
• Stomach pain
• Fatigue
• Nausea
• Weight loss

• Dehydration
• Increased risk of colon and rectal cancers
• Low red blood cell count (anemia)
• Reduced bone density
• Joint pain
• Skin changes
• Eye irritation
• Delayed or impaired growth in some children.